Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Characterization of nanocellulose recovery from Elaeis guineensis frond for sustainable development

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

As the demand towards nanocellulose increases day by day due to its excellent characteristics such as biodegradability, thermal stability and biocompatibility, Elaeis guineensis frond (oil palm frond, OPF) serves as a new promising renewable sources for sustainable nanocellulose production. Synthesis of nanocellulose from OPF was performed through three different chemical treatments including alkaline, bleaching and acid hydrolysis processes. Acid hydrolysis on commercialized Sigma cellulose was also performed in order to compare it with OPF nanocellulose. The chemical structure, crystallinity, suspension stability, particle size and morphology of the synthesized nanocellulose were characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), particle size analyser with zeta potential, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). FTIR spectra after the chemical treatments showed the elimination of certain chemical groups of lignin and hemicellulose from raw OPF. XRD diffractograms revealed that OPF nanocellulose showed crystallinity improvement compared to OPF cellulose, while Sigma nanocellulose showed crystallinity deterioration against chemical treatments. From physical appearance, both nanocellulose specimens were stable in suspension form. OPF nanocellulose specimens were smaller in size compared to Sigma nanocellulose as shown in the results of particle size analyser, FESEM, TEM and AFM. All these results confirmed the production of nanocellulose, which was synthesized from OPF that have potential for sustainable development, includes ecology and economics.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abdul Khalil HPS, Bhat AH, Ireana Yusra AF (2012) Green composites from sustainable cellulose nanofibrils: a review. Carbohydr Polym 87:963–979

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Abraham E, Deepa B, Pothan L, Jacob M, Thomas S, Cvelbar U, Anandjiwala R (2011) Extraction of nanocellulose fibrils from lignocellulosic fibres: a novel approach. Carbohydr Polym 86:1468–1475

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Abraham E, Elbi P, Deepa B, Jyotishkumar P, Pothen L, Narine S, Thomas S (2012) X-ray diffraction and biodegradation analysis of green composites of natural rubber/nanocellulose. Polym Degrad Stab 97:2378–2387

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Aljuboori AHR (2013) Oil palm biomass residue in Malaysia: availability and sustainability. Int J Biomass Renew 1:13–18

    Google Scholar 

  • Basiron Y (2007) Palm oil production through sustainable plantations. Eur J Lipid Sci Technol 109:289–295

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Braun B, Dorgan JR (2008) Single-step method for the isolation and surface functionalization of cellulosic nanowhiskers. Biomacromolecules 10:334–341

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brinchi L, Cotana F, Fortunati E, Kenny JM (2013) Production of nanocrystalline cellulose from lignocellulosic biomass: technology and applications. Carbohydr Polym 94:154–169

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter AW, de Lannoy CF, Wiesner MR (2015) Cellulose nanomaterials in water treatment technologies. Environ Sci Technol 49:5277–5287

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cherian BM, Leão AL, de Souza SF, Thomas S, Pothan LA, Kottaisamy M (2010) Isolation of nanocellulose from pineapple leaf fibres by steam explosion. Carbohydr Polym 81:720–725

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chirayil CJ, Mathew L, Hassan P, Mozetic M, Thomas S (2014) Rheological behaviour of nanocellulose reinforced unsaturated polyester nanocomposites. Int J Biol Macromol 69:274–281

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Deepa B, Abraham E, Cordeiro N, Mozetic M, Mathew AP, Oksman K, Faria M, Thomas S, Pothan LA (2015) Utilization of various lignocellulosic biomass for the production of nanocellulose: a comparative study. Cellulose 22:1075–1090

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dufresne A (2013) Nanocellulose: a new ageless bionanomaterial. Mater Today 16:220–227

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards JV, Prevost N, Sethumadhavan K, Ullah A, Condon B (2013) Peptide conjugated cellulose nanocrystals with sensitive human neutrophil elastase sensor activity. Cellulose 20:1223–1235

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fahma F, Iwamoto S, Hori N, Iwata T, Takemura A (2010) Isolation, preparation, and characterization of nanofibers from oil palm empty-fruit-bunch (OPEFB). Cellulose 17:977–985

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Goh CS, Tan KT, Lee KT, Bhatia S (2010) Bio-ethanol from lignocellulose: status, perspectives and challenges in Malaysia. Bioresour Technol 101:4834–4841

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jorfi M, Foster EJ (2015) Recent advances in nanocellulose for biomedical applications. J Appl Polym Sci 132:41719

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kardam A, Raj KR, Srivastava S, Srivastava MM (2014) Nanocellulose fibers for biosorption of cadmium, nickel, and lead ions from aqueous solution. Clean Technol Environ Policy 16:385–393

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Khouri S (2010) Experimental characterization and theoretical calculations of responsive polymeric systems. M.Sc. Dissertation, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada

  • Lahiji RR, Xu X, Reifenberger R, Raman A, Rudie A, Moon RJ (2010) Atomic force microscopy characterization of cellulose nanocrystals. Langmuir 26:4480–4488

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lee H, Hamid S, Zain S (2014a) Conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to nanocellulose: structure and chemical process. Sci World J 2014:1–20

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee KY, Aitomäki Y, Berglund LA, Oksman K, Bismarck A (2014b) On the use of nanocellulose as reinforcement in polymer matrix composites. Compos Sci Technol 105:15–27

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li W, Wu Q, Zhao X, Huang Z, Cao J, Li J, Liu S (2014) Enhanced thermal and mechanical properties of PVA composites formed with filamentous nanocellulose fibrils. Carbohydr Polym 113:403–410

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu D, Sui G, Bhattacharyya D (2014) Synthesis and characterisation of nanocellulose-based polyaniline conducting films. Compos Sci Technol 99:31–36

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Malhotra R, Prakash D, Shukla SK, Taesung K, Kumar S, Rao NJ (2013) Comparative study of toxic chlorophenolic compounds generated in various bleaching sequences of wheat straw pulp. Clean Technol Environ Policy 15:999–1011

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mandal A, Chakrabarty D (2011) Isolation of nanocellulose from waste sugarcane bagasse (SCB) and its characterization. Carbohydr Polym 86:1291–1299

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mandal A, Chakrabarty D (2014) Studies on the mechanical, thermal, morphological and barrier properties of nanocomposites based on poly(vinyl alcohol) and nanocellulose from sugarcane bagasse. J Ind Eng Chem 20:462–473

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Martínez JM, Reguant J, Montero MÁ, Montané D, Salvadó J, Farriol X (1997) Hydrolytic pretreatment of softwood and almond shells. Degree of polymerization and enzymatic digestibility of the cellulose fraction. Ind Eng Chem Res 36:688–696

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morais JPS, de Freitas Rosa M, Nascimento LD, do Nascimento DM, Cassales AR (2013) Extraction and characterization of nanocellulose structures from raw cotton linter. Carbohydr Polym 91:229–235

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Morán JI, Alvarez VA, Cyras VP, Vázquez A (2008) Extraction of cellulose and preparation of nanocellulose from sisal fibers. Cellulose 15:149–159

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noor MM (2003) Zero burning technique in oil palm cultivation: an economic perspective. Oil Palm Ind Econ J 3:16–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Postek MT, Moon RJ, Rudie AW, Bilodeau MA (2013) Production and applications of cellulose nanomaterials. TAPPI Press, Atlanta

    Google Scholar 

  • Reddy JP, Rhim J-W (2014) Characterization of bionanocomposite films prepared with agar and paper-mulberry pulp nanocellulose. Carbohydr Polym 110:480–488

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenfeld E (2009) Effects of pruning on the health of palms. AUF 35:294–299

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosli NA, Ahmad I, Abdullah I (2013) Isolation and characterization of cellulose nanocrystals from Agave angustifolia fibre. BioResources 8:1893–1908

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Satyamurthy P, Vigneshwaran N (2013) A novel process for synthesis of spherical nanocellulose by controlled hydrolysis of microcrystalline cellulose using anaerobic microbial consortium. Enzyme Microbial Technol 52:20–25

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Segal L, Creely J, Martin A, Conrad C (1959) An empirical method for estimating the degree of crystallinity of native cellulose using the X-ray diffractometer. Text Res J 29:786–794

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sukri SSM, Rahman RA, Illias RM, Yaakob H (2014) Optimization of alkaline pretreatment conditions of oil palm fronds in improving the lignocelluloses contents for reducing sugar production. Rom Biotechnol Lett 19:9006–9018

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sun R, Tomkinson J, Wang Y, Xiao B (2000) Physico-chemical and structural characterization of hemicelluloses from wheat straw by alkaline peroxide extraction. Polymer 41:2647–2656

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thomsen AB, Rasmussen S, Bohn V, Nielsen KV, Thygesen A (2005) Hemp raw materials: the effect of cultivar, growth conditions and pretreatment on the chemical composition of the fibres. Risø National Laboratory, Report No.: R-1507, Roskilde, Denmark

  • Trajano HL, Wyman CE (2013) Fundamentals of biomass pretreatment at low pH. In: Aqueous pretreatment of plant biomass for biological and chemical conversion to fuels and chemicals, John Wiley, Chichester, UK, pp 103–128

  • Wetterling J (2012) Modelling of hemicellulose degradation during softwood kraft pulping. M.Sc. Dissertation, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden

  • Wicaksono R, Syamsu K, Yuliasih I, Nasir M (2013) Cellulose nanofibers from cassava bagasse: characterization and application on tapioca-film. Chem Mater Res 3:79–87

    Google Scholar 

  • Zahari MW, Hassan OA, Wong H, Liang J (2003) Utilization of oil palm frond-based diets for beef and dairy production in Malaysia. Asian Australas J Anim Sci 16:625–634

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang PP et al (2014) Effects of acid treatments on bamboo cellulose nanocrystals. Asia Pac J Chem Eng 9:686–695

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou Y, Fu S, Zheng L, Zhan H (2012) Effect of nanocellulose isolation techniques on the formation of reinforced poly (vinyl alcohol) nanocomposite films. Express Polym Lett 6:794–804

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to highlight the Ministry of Higher Education of Malaysia, for their trust reposed in the authors’ ability to make this project a success, by providing the research fund under Research Acculturation Collaborative Effort (RACE) under Grant Nos.: 9017-00005 and MyBrain15 Scholarship (MyPhD).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Kompleks Pusat Pengajian Jejawi 2, Taman Muhibbah, 02600, Arau, Perlis, Malaysia

    Muhammad Safwan Mohaiyiddin, Ong Hui Lin & Wei Tieng Owi

  2. School of Applied Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Malaysia

    Chi Hoong Chan, Chin Hua Chia & Sarani Zakaria

  3. Physics Department, De La Salle University, Taft Avenue, 0922, Manila, Philippines

    Al Rey Villagracia

  4. School of Materials and Mineral Resources Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300, Nibong Tebal, Penang, Malaysia

    Hazizan Md Akil

Authors
  1. Muhammad Safwan Mohaiyiddin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ong Hui Lin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Wei Tieng Owi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Chi Hoong Chan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Chin Hua Chia
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Sarani Zakaria
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Al Rey Villagracia
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Hazizan Md Akil
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ong Hui Lin.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Mohaiyiddin, M.S., Lin, O.H., Owi, W.T. et al. Characterization of nanocellulose recovery from Elaeis guineensis frond for sustainable development. Clean Techn Environ Policy 18, 2503–2512 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-016-1191-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-016-1191-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation