The use of agricultural waste and residues in composite materials is a potential high-value commercial application for underutilized renewable resources and provides alternative commercial markets to the agricultural industry. Cotton gin trash (CGT) and cotton gin motes (CGM) are underutilized low-value commodities that are attractive targets due to their high cellulose content, however, each contains various amounts of lignin, hemicellulose and other components that impede their utilization as commercial products. In this work, lignin-containing cellulose nanofibers (LCNFs) with gradient degrees of lignin content were prepared from CGT and CGM. Analyses showed the lignin content and other components affected the physical properties of LCNFs, altering their thermal stability and crystallinity. The degree of polymerization (DP) was smaller after successive rounds of processing and was dependent upon the source (CGT or CGM) with CGT providing nanofibers with a smaller DP than CGM whereas films of CGM were more hydrophyllic. This translated into slightly different suspension viscoelastic behavior as determined by rheological measurements.

Cellulose nanofibers with gradient lignin degrees: Physicochemical comparison

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

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