Optimization of cellulose extraction from sugarcane bagasse and comparison of its quantity and quality with other cellulosic waste sources

Document Type : Original Research

Authors
Pouya Rezvani 1
Ali Forouhar 2
hamed saberian 3
1 Master student, Department of Food Science and Technology, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran
2 Assistant Professor of Department of Food Science and Technology, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran
3 Assistant Professor of Department of Agro-industrial Waste Processing, Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research (ACECR) at IUT, Isfahan, Iran
10.48311/fsct.2025.84035.0
Abstract
Agricultural waste contains valuable materials such as cellulose. Extracting cellulose from lignocellulosic biomass and agricultural waste like wheat straw, sugarcane bagasse, tree leaves, sawdust, etc., can be important in improving the agricultural value chain. The aim of this research was to optimize the process of cellulose extraction from sugarcane bagasse in terms of sodium hydroxide concentration (1-10%), solvent-to-solid ratio (1:10 to 1:20 mL/g), and process time (1 to 3 hours), and to investigate its effect on the quantity and quality of the resulting cellulose. Subsequently, the optimized extraction conditions were applied to other lignocellulosic wastes, and the resulting celluloses were compared. Reducing the sodium hydroxide concentration from 10% to 1% increased the cellulose extraction yield from bagasse. This could be due to the presence of residual impurities (lignin) in the sample as a result of the lower sodium hydroxide concentration. Increasing the sodium hydroxide concentration and the solvent-to-solid ratio reduced the amount of residual lignin. The highest cellulose yield (72%) was obtained from waste paper (which had only undergone bleaching treatment), but its crystallinity was significantly reduced. Subsequently, the highest yields were obtained from sawdust, waste paper (which had been subjected to all three alkaline, acidic, and bleaching treatments), and sugarcane bagasse, with yields of 35.3%, 34.6%, and 18.4%, respectively. The highest crystallinity was also observed in cellulose derived from waste paper (which had been subjected to all three treatments), mulberry leaves, and sugarcane bagasse, with crystallinity indices of 77.22, 64.16, and 61.18, respectively. The highest brightness index and the lowest color change were observed in cellulose extracted from waste paper and sugarcane bagasse.

 
Keywords
Cellulose extraction
Sugarcane bagasse
Agricultural waste
FTIR
XRD

Subjects

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