Characterization and proprieties of cellulose isolated from the Crambe abyssinica hull

Abstract The Crambe abyssinica hull was fractionated by steam explosion and organosolv treatments to isolate the cellulose component. After bleaching and alkali treatments the cellulose was characterized by X-ray, FTIR and CP-MAS 13 C NMR spectroscopy. The classical profile of the cellulose I allomorph was found to have a fairly low degree of crystallinity and relatively small crystal dimensions and is thus suitable to synthesize, in mild conditions, cellulose derivatives (i.e. carboxymethyl cellulose and cellulose esters).