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Cellulose microfibrils from banana farming residues: isolation and characterization

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Abstract

Cellulose microfibrils have been prepared from banana rachis using a combination of chemical and mechanical treatments. The morphology and structure of the samples were characterized using transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to characterize the chemical modifications of the samples after each treatment. Suspensions of bundled or individualized 5-nm-wide microfibrils were obtained after homogenization (PH) whereas an organosolv (PO) treatment resulted in shorter aggregates of parallel cellulose microcrystallites. The sharper rings in the X-ray diffraction pattern of the PO-treated sample suggest a higher crystallinity due to a more efficient removal of hemicelluloses and dissolution of amorphous zones by the acid treatment. Both microfibrils and microcrystals prepared by both methods can be used as reinforcing filler in nanocomposite materials.

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Abbreviations

TEM:

Transmission electron microscopy

SEM:

Scanning electron microscopy

AFM:

Atomic force microscopy

PH:

Peroxide/homogenization

PO:

Peroxide/organosolv

FTIR:

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their gratitude to Colciencias, for the financial support that has made this research work possible. We also thank M. F. Marais (CERMAV) for providing a sample of bacterial cellulose.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. New Materials Research Group, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Circular 1 no. 70-01, Medellín, Colombia

    Robin Zuluaga, Adriana Restrepo & Piedad Gañán

  2. Agro-industrial Engineering Programme, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Circular 1 no. 70-01, Medellín, Colombia

    Robin Zuluaga

  3. Centre de Recherches sur les Macromolécules Végétales (CERMAV-CNRS), Université Joseph Fourier and member of the Institut de Chimie Moléculaire de Grenoble, BP 53, Grenoble cedex 9, 38041, France

    Jean-Luc Putaux

  4. “Materials+Technologies” Group, Chemical and Environmental Engineering Department, Polytechnic School, Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, Pza. Europa, 1, Donostia-San Sebastián, 20018, Spain

    Iñaki Mondragon

Authors
  1. Robin Zuluaga
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  2. Jean-Luc Putaux
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  3. Adriana Restrepo
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  4. Iñaki Mondragon
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  5. Piedad Gañán
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Correspondence to Piedad Gañán.

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Zuluaga, R., Putaux, JL., Restrepo, A. et al. Cellulose microfibrils from banana farming residues: isolation and characterization. Cellulose 14, 585–592 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-007-9118-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-007-9118-z

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