Title
Synthesis and characterisation of carboxymethyl cellulose from various agricultural wastes
Authors
CAROLINE M. Y. HUANG PEI XIN CHIA CARINE S. S. LIM JUN QIN NAI DESIREE YEE DING PEI BEI SEOW CHEN WAI WONG and ERIC W. C. CHAN

Received December 1, 2016
Published Volume 51 Issue 7-8 July-August
Keywords agricultural wastes, cellulose yield, CMC yield, CM content, degree of substitution

Abstract
Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) synthesised from cellulose pulp of six different agricultural wastes was characterised. Spent tea leaves and sugarcane bagasse had the highest moisture content and cellulose yield. Using different concentrations of NaOH to alkalise the cellulose had a variable effect on the CMC yield, but carboxymethyl (CM) content and the degree of substitution (DS) were consistently the highest at 20% NaOH. From the different reaction temperatures tested, the CMC yield was the highest at 60 °C. For the CM content and DS, the highest values were obtained at 50 °C. The CMC yield increased with increasing amounts of sodium monochloroacetate (SMCA) for the etherification process. Maximum CM content and DS were observed at 3 g and 5 g of SMCA, respectively. The optimal conditions of NaOH, temperature and SMCA for deriving maximum yield, CM content and DS from CMC of the various plant materials were determined, and their performance was ranked.