Abstract
The production of nanometric size particles from lignocellulosic pulp or waste and other cellulose biomass involves top-down techniques. The first stage is the fractionation of biomass, which is the first opportunity to apply more environmentally friendly methods. Subcritical water or supercritical CO2 are simple methods to extract hemicelluloses and extractives. A recently developed process involves lignin removal by chemical treatment with gamma-valerolactone to obtain a highly purified cellulosic fraction, avoiding subsequent bleaching stages and facilitating the nanofibrillation process. The most studied green methods for nanocellulose production are the enzymatic pretreatment of cellulosic fibers and alternative oxidant methods. Deep eutectic solvents are more efficient than traditional ones or one-pot oxidative hydrolysis to obtain nanocrystalline sizes that minimize wastewater generation. This chapter covers the most environmentally friendly processes and reagents that have been reported for nanocellulose production, including the fractionation of the raw material. Reported properties of nanocellulose produced by green solvents pretreatments are similar to those obtained by traditional chemical reagents such as TEMPO-oxidation. Then, the future of nanocellulose production from environmentally friendly processes is promising.
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Abbreviations
- AHP:
-
Alkaline hydrogen peroxide
- APS:
-
Ammonium persulfate
- APS-NC:
-
Nanocellulose from APS treatment
- ATU:
-
Ammonium thiocyanate-urea
- BGs:
-
β-glucosidases
- BNC:
-
Bacterial nanocellulose
- ChCl:
-
Choline chloride
- CNC:
-
Cellulose nanocrystals
- DES:
-
Deep eutectic solvent
- DP:
-
Polymerization degree
- ECF:
-
Elemental chlorine-free
- EGs:
-
Endo-1,4-glucanases
- EXs:
-
Exoglucanases
- F-DES:
-
FeCl3-catalyzed DES
- FE-SEM:
-
Field emission scanning electron microscopy
- GHU:
-
Guanidine hydrochloride-urea
- GVL:
-
Gamma-valerolactone
- HBA:
-
Hydrogen-bond acceptor
- HBD:
-
Hydrogen-bond donor
- ILs:
-
Ionic liquids
- NC:
-
Nanocellulose
- NFC:
-
Nanofibrillated cellulose
- OA:
-
Oxalic acid
- Pc:
-
Critical pressure
- SC-CO2:
-
Supercritical carbon dioxide
- SW:
-
Subcritical water
- Tc:
-
Critical temperature
- TCF:
-
Totally chlorine-free
- TEM:
-
Transmission electron microscopy
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Ehman, N., Vallejos, M.E., Area, M.C. (2022). Top-Down Production of Nanocellulose from Environmentally Friendly Processes. In: Shanker, U., Hussain, C.M., Rani, M. (eds) Handbook of Green and Sustainable Nanotechnology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69023-6_46-1
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