ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE - Potentials of microcrystalline cellulose prepared from wood dusts wastes of Ficus Platyphyla, Planatus Occidentalis and Gmelina Aborea

Abstract

This research aims to prepare microcrystalline cellulose (MCCs) from native cellulosic wastes in order to find potential applications for each of the tree species. The physico-chemical characteristics of the MCCs were studied using physical and spectroscopic techniques. Acid hydrolysis in 2M HCl was used for the preparation of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) obtained from agricultural waste sample, Gmelina aborea (GA) Ficus platyphyla (FP) and Planatus occidentalis (PO) wood dust. The MCCs obtained were off-white and powdery in appearance. The yield of MCCs were 67.55% for Ficus platyphyla, 77.00% Planatus occidentalis and 80% for Gmelina Aborea (GA). The functional groups in the MCC samples were confirmed by the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic method with characteristic absorption bands of ;OH stretching at 3416 cm-1; C-H stretching at 2918 cm-1; -OH bending at1377 cm-1;, 1159 cm-1; and C-O-C pyranose ring skeletal vibrations at 1026-1033 cm-1, with crystallinity absorption bands showing up at 1432 and 850 cm-1 respectively. The thermal stabilities were determined from Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) and showed that the MCC samples are thermally stable (50% weight loss at 450OC or PO, 50% weight loss 470OC for FP and 50% weight loss at 590OC for GA). The characteristic morphological features were established by scanning electron micrograph (SEM) and the crystallinity of the microcrystalline cellulose were further confirmed using the X-Ray Diffraction (X-RD) technique which showed three main reflections at 2?=14.70, 22.09 and 34.24, this therefore indicates microcrystalline cellulose were cellulose I type and that acid pretreatment did not affect the structure of the MCC. The crystallinity index values were 69.4, 68.7 and 79.6 for FP, PO and GM MCCs and respectively. The Samples were tested for pH, Moisture content, Hydration and swelling capacities as well. These results showed that the wood dusts form the tree species are good potential sources of high-grade cellulose which can serve as useful starting materials for further processing and applications.