Effect Of Combined Enzymatic And Chemical Treatment On Production Of Nanocellulose From The Banana Pseudostems

Abstract

Banana plant waste pseudostems were exploited as a favorable cellulose source for the production of nanocellulose via combined enzymatic and chemical treatments. Four different processing strategies to develop banana nanocellulose were utilized. The developed nanocellulose samples has been experimentally assessed by determining their functional characteristics such as its functional groups, morphology, crystallinity index, and thermal stability. The FTIR results displayed that the cellulose and nanocellulose spectra had no substantial differences. The XRD analysis has shown a high degree of crystallinity (60.13%) with enzymatic hydrolysis (70 units/gram of fiber) followed by mild acid treatment (5% oxalic acid). After comparing different methods for producing nanocellulose, it can be concluded that alkali pretreatment at room temperature for a longer duration (25 °C for 14 h) leads to high crystallinity with a more symmetric crystal structure as compared to alkali treatment at a higher temperature for a short duration under steam (121 °C for 1 hr in an autoclave). Typically, higher temperatures and long reaction times lead to decreased crystallinity. The produced nanocellulose from banana-derived cellulose shows great potential for using banana pseudostems as a raw material for nanocellulose production.