Preparation of Agrowaste-Based Nanocellulose by NaOH-Assisted Ball Milling Technique: Influence of Component Intervention

Abstract

Pineapple peel cellulose nanofibrils (PCNFs) were facilely prepared by the ball milling method assisted by alkali solution (3 wt% NaOH) and a wet grinding medium, using various treated pineapple peels (hot water treatment (WT), bleaching treatment (BT), alkaline treatment (AT), and baleaching–alkaline treatment (ABT)) as raw materials. The structure of the obtained PCNFs (i.e., WT-PCNF, BT-PCNF, AT-PCNF, and ABT-PCNF) was characterized to analyze the influence of component intervention. The results indicated that NaOH-assisted ball milling did not change the crystal structure of cellulose, and the yield and thermal stability of the PCNFs was improved. The average diameters of WT-PCNF, BT-PCNF, AT-PCNF, and ABT-PCNF were 24.16, 21.53, 23.04, and 19.46 nm, respectively, in which BT-PCNF and ABT-PCNF exhibited a higher defibrillating degree and smaller diameter. Particularly, NaOH-assisted ball milling can promote the removal of non-cellulose components. The viscosity and modulus of BT-PCNF were relatively higher due to the presence of residual hemicellulose as a natural linker of fibers. The current research provides insights for simplifying the preparation and functionalization of nanocellulose.