Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are typically obtained by strong sulfuric acid hydrolysis of native cellulosic fibers: the disordered segments of cellulose microfibrils are selectively cleaved leaving the crystalline cellulose intact. The downsides to the incumbent method include large water consumption, laborious purification of the CNCs from the reaction mixture, and difficulties in full recovery of the acid used. To this end, we have devised several alternative strategies which treat hydrolysis and dispersion as discrete steps leading to CNC manufacturing. The main emphasis in the hydrolysis step is set on the use of hydrogen chloride gas with a custom-built reactor setup. Moreover, we also review our recent progress on utilizing commercial microcrystalline cellulose for CNC production. The dispersion step was proven to be a bottleneck for efficient isolation of CNCs from the pre-hydrolyzed fiber matrix. Several attempts to successful dispersion are presented, including TEMPO-mediated oxidation, trials on different solvents, use of surfactants and polysaccharides as dispersing agents as well as chemical additions during the pre-hydrolysis step.<br/>

Engineering cellulose nanocrystals from pre-hydrolyzed substrates

2019 Spring National Meeting

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