Extraction of High Crystalline Nanocellulose from Biorenewable Sources of Vietnamese Agricultural Wastes

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) is one of the interesting materials attracting many researchers from the decades, especially when they are extracted from natural biomass resources. This study focuses on the isolation of CNCs with high crystallinity from Vietnamese agricultural wastes (Nypa Fruticans trunk, coconut husk fiber, and rice husk). CNCs were extracted from the above natural sources by a three-step process including formic/peroxyformic acid pre-treatment, hydrogen peroxide/sodium hydroxide treatment, and a hydrolysis disintegration process. The structure and thermal property of obtained materials after each stage of treatments were characterized by XRD, TGA, TEM, and FT-IR analysis. TEM observation has showed the CNCs with high aspect ratio in shape of 200–500 nm in length and 10–15 nm in width. FT-IR results indicated that lignin was completely removed from the samples during chemical treatment. The high crystalline index (nearly 80%) and improved thermal stability of the CNCs nanofibers indicate its various potential applications.