Isolation, Characterization and Applications of Nanocellulose as Reinforcement in Polymer Composites

Chung, Shei Li (2018) Isolation, Characterization and Applications of Nanocellulose as Reinforcement in Polymer Composites. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University College.

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Abstract

Nanocellulose isolated from oil palm fibres (OPF) is one of the eye-catcher of the current research industry owing to previous researches showed the great potential of nanocellulose as reinforcing agent for various polymer composites. Extraction of cellulose from natural OPF was done by delignification process and then following by alkali treatment. The optimum ratio of NaClO to acetic acid during delignification process was 16ml : 8ml and the amount of deionized water required was 80ml. The yield varied with the amount of chemical during the process. This optimum ratio resulted in the greatest yield which was 20.8% of cellulose extracted from raw OPF. SEM images illustrated the reduction in fibre thickness which indicated the effectiveness of extraction of cellulose from raw OPF. The optimum conditions and parameters for acid hydrolysis was hydrolysed at a temperature of 40°C with the aid of magnetic stirring at a fixed rate of 750 rpm for 30 minutes. The ratio of cellulose to 64wt% sulphuric acid was 1g : 10ml. In this research, it was found that 1g of NCC could be derived from 10g of 3-5mm raw OPF. Three days were required for dialysis process by immersed visking tubes in 4 litres of deionized water. FESEM images showed that the size of NCC isolated was measured less than 100 nm. FTIR spectrum showed that the NCC isolated was having the similar composition with the commercial NCC. The results showed that 5wt% of NCC derived from 3-5mm OPF reinforced PVA sample improved in UTS, elastic modulus, yield strength while maintaining the elongation at break.