Extraction of cellulose from halophytic plants for the synthesis of a novel biocomposite

• Published in: Biopolymers Vol. 115; no. 4; pp. e23586 - n/a
• Main Authors: Ejaz, Uroosa, Shafquat, Yusra, Sohail, Muhammad, Shaikh, Aizaz Ahmed, Arain, Muhammad Daniyal, Ahmed, Tehmees, Alanazi, Abdullah K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.07.2024; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Anti-Bacterial Agents - chemistry; Anti-Bacterial Agents - isolation & purification; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Antibacterial activity; Biodegradability; Biomass; Cellulose; Cellulose - chemistry; Cellulose fibers; cellulosic nanofibers; Chenopodiaceae - chemistry; Chenopodiaceae - metabolism; Coliforms; Composite materials; Cressa cretica; Dumping; E coli; Endo-1,4-beta Xylanases - chemistry; Endo-1,4-beta Xylanases - metabolism; Fermentation; Food plants; Fourier transforms; Gram-negative bacteria; Hemicellulose; Industrial applications; Infrared spectroscopy; Klebsiella; Laccase - chemistry; Laccase - metabolism; Lignin; Lignin - chemistry; Nanofibers; Nanofibers - chemistry; Pectin; Pectinase; Pectins - chemistry; Pectins - isolation & purification; Pectins - metabolism; Phragmites karka; Physicochemical properties; Polygalacturonase - chemistry; Polygalacturonase - metabolism; Polysaccharides - chemistry; Polysaccharides - isolation & purification; Polyvinyl alcohol; Salt-Tolerant Plants - chemistry; Salt-Tolerant Plants - metabolism; Scanning electron microscopy; Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; Suaeda fruticosa; Synthesis; Tensile Strength; Xylanase; antibacterial activity; Suaeda fruticosa; Cressa cretica; Phragmites karka; polyvinyl alcohol; cellulosic nanofibers
• ISSN: 0006-3525; 1097-0282; 1097-0282
• DOI: 10.1002/bip.23586

Cellulose nanofibers, a sustainable and promising material with widespread applications, exhibit appreciable strength and excellent mechanical and physicochemical properties. The preparation of cellulosic nanofibers from food or agricultural residue is not sustainable. Therefore, this study was designed to use three halophytic plants (Cressa cretica, Phragmites karka, and Suaeda fruticosa) to extract cellulose for the subsequent conversion to cellulosic nanofibers composites. The other extracted biomass components including lignin, hemicellulose, and pectin were also utilized to obtain industrially valuable enzymes. The maximum pectinase (31.56 IU mL−1), xylanase (35.21 IU mL−1), and laccase (15.89 IU mL−1) were produced after the fermentation of extracted pectin, hemicellulose, and lignin from S. fruticosa, P. karka, and C. cretica, respectively. Cellulose was methylated (with a degree of substitution of 2.4) and subsequently converted into a composite using polyvinyl alcohol. Scanning electron microscopy and Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed the successful synthesis of the composites. The composites made up of cellulose from C. cretica and S. fruticosa had a high tensile strength (21.5 and 15.2 MPa) and low biodegradability (47.58% and 44.56%, respectively) after dumping for 3 months in soil, as compared with the composite from P. karka (98.79% biodegradability and 4.9 MPa tensile strength). Moreover, all the composites exhibited antibacterial activity against gram‐negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae) and gram‐positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus). Hence, this study emphasizes the possibility for various industrial applications of biomass from halophytic plants.