C. Danumah, B. Ahvazi
InnoTech Alberta,
Canada
Keywords: pulp, pre-processing, lab-scale, alpha-cellulose content, formulations, cellulose nanocrystals, yields improvement
Summary:
Cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) can be utilized in various industrial and commercial applications such as fibre reinforced composite materials and rheological additive based industrial fluids due to their desirable properties. However, the CNC production and quality control have not been fully understood. In this study, InnoTech Alberta CNC team has investigated the effect of pulp grade, pulp pre-processing, -cellulose content of the pulp, acid concentrations and hydrolysis reaction formulations on the CNC production yields at lab-scale. The emerging experimental results strongly suggested that CNC yield could be improved under proper acid hydrolysis conditions and several other parameters. This development of processes at lab-scale is extremely relevant for the InnoTech Alberta CNC pilot plant. The production of pilot scale samples of CNC represents a critical step for application development, developing industrial markets and ultimately commercialization.