The amount of biomass wastes is rapidly increasing, which leads to numerous disposal problems and governance issues. Thus, the recycling and reuse of biomass wastes into value-added applications have attracted more and more attention. Waste paper is a major contributor to municipal and industrial waste, and its recycle and reuse are a current challenge. We presented the conversion of waste paper into cellulose films through rapid dissolution in pre-cooled H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub> aqueous solution. Office paper and cardboard could be dissolved within 210s. The regenerated office paper films were transparent, and exhibited excellent mechanical properties (tensile strength: 77.55±6.52MPa, elongation at break: 2.67±0.30%, and Young’s modulus: 5451.67±705.23MPa), which were comparable to those of cellulose films prepared from spruce pulp in the same solvent. The mixed paper films showed a dramatically reduced UV transmittance due to the existence of lignin. Moreover, the regenerated films were a promising matrix to load antimicrobial compounds, and thus inhibited the growth of pathogenic bacteria. Therefore, it provides a convenient way to convert waste paper into biodegradable antimicrobial packaging materials. At the same time, more than 10 million tons of textile waste are disposed through landfill every year in North America. We explored the possibility to directly extract cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) from untreated textile waste through sulfuric acid hydrolysis and three-step oxidization. CNCs with cellulose I crystalline structure and rod-like shape were successfully obtained. The aspect ratios of CNCs prepared from acid hydrolysis and oxidization were 10.00±3.39 and 17.10±12.85, respectively. Their application as reinforcing agent of soybean protein film was evaluated. With the addition of 20% CNCs, the composite film maintained the high transparency, while the water vapor barrier property, tensile strength, and Young’s modulus were significantly improved. It demonstrates a promising approach to recycle textile waste, and more value-added applications based on the derived CNCs could be expected.

Recycling of cellulosic wastes into functional materials

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.