Characterization of Micro-fibrillated Cellulose Produced from Sawmill Wastage: Crystallinity and Thermal Properties

In this work, micro-fibrillated cellulose (MFC) was prepared from sawdust and characterized by FTIR, WAXRD, and TGA. The MFC was synthesized by several steps such as alkali treatment, followed by NaClO2 bleaching and acid hydrolysis. The acid hydrolysis was performed by three different H2SO4 concentrations (1N, 3N and 5N) whereas other conditions were remained unchanged. MFC were exhibited the identical peaks in FTIR spectra. The oxidation reaction took place during the MFC preparation by using high concentrations of acid which was detected by FTIR spectra. The crystallinity index of prepared MFC was measured by peaks at 16.2º and 22.2º (2θ angles) of WAXRD curves. The crystallinity index was increased with acid concentration up to 1N H2SO4 and thereafter decreased. The TGA results showed that the MFC degrade earlier temperature compare to the bleached pulp. The peaks of differential thermo-gravimetric curves (DTG) were shifted to lower temperature with the increase of acid concentration during hydrolysis of bleached pulp.