Increasing yield of nanocrystalline cellulose preparation process by a cellulase pretreatment

• Published in: Bioresource technology Vol. 192; pp. 574 - 581
• Main Authors: Beltramino, Facundo, Roncero, M. Blanca, Vidal, Teresa, Torres, Antonio L., Valls, Cristina
• Format: Journal Article Publication
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.09.2015
• Subjects: Acid hydrolysis; Cellulase; Cellulase - chemistry; Cellulose; Cellulose - chemical synthesis; Cel·lulasa; Cel·lulosa; Cel·lulosa microcristal·lina; Chemistry; Crystallization - methods; Enginyeria paperera; Enzymatic treatment; Gossypium - chemistry; Hydrolysis; Nanocrystalline cellulose; Nanoparticles - chemistry; Nanoparticles - ultrastructure; Particle Size; Plant Extracts - chemistry; Primeres matèries papereres; Sulfuric Acids - chemistry; Yield increase; Àrees temàtiques de la UPC; Enzymatic treatment; Acid hydrolysis; Nanocrystalline cellulose; Yield increase; Cellulase
• ISSN: 0960-8524; 1873-2976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2015.06.007

•A cellulase was used as a pre-treatment for NCC isolation for the first time.•Cellulase treatment increased yield and particle size of NCC.•Sulfur content of CNC was reduced as a consequence of enzymatic treatment.•Enzyme effects were found to vary depending on application conditions. In this work the introduction of a cellulase treatment prior to NCC isolation was assessed. NCC was produced using sulfuric acid at two different concentrations (62 and 64% wt.). The effect of pore size for filtration step was also assessed. The smaller acid dose leaded to yields up to 65–70% and average size up to 160nm. It also produced crystals with reduced sulfur content (0.6–1%). Cellulase pretreatment influenced NCC characteristics, as it increased overall yield a 12%, increased average particle size around 35nm and reduced NCC sulfur content up to a 0.8%. We found that different conditions of enzymatic treatments led to quantitative differences on their effects on NCC. Acetate buffer used for enzymatic treatments was found to counteract effects of acid. The evidence presented in this work suggested that pretreating fibers with this cellulase represents a very interesting option to partially replace chemicals on NCC isolation.