Thermal analysis of microcrystalline cellulose prepared from esparto grass

Abstract

Alfa fibres are extracted from the plant Stippa tenacissima, or esparto grass (alfa is the Arab name for esparto), and grows in the dry regions of North Africa. It belongs to the graminacies family and grows to a height of about 1 m. These fibres are mostly used in the production of paper. Recently, they have been used as reinforcement in the production of biodegradable composites. The aim of the present work was to prepare microcrystalline cellulose from esparto grass using the hydrolysis process. The products obtained are characterized with thermogravimetric analysis. As a result, the thermal decomposing patterns of the cellulosic preparations, obtained by hydrochloric hydrolysis gave additional evidence to the relatively higher stability of the more crystalline cellulosic preparations. In the main decomposition stage, the cleavage of the glycosidic linkages of cellulose reduces the polymerization degree leading to the formation of CO2, H2O and other hydrocarbon derivatives. © Owned by the authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2013.