Effect of ball milling on the production of nanocellulose using mild acid hydrolysis method

Nanocellulose was extracted from two kinds of general cellulose feedstocks, i.e., cellulose paper and cellulose powder, by coupling planetary dry ball milling with mild acid hydrolysis. The effect of ball milling time on the yield and properties of nanocellulose obtained by mild hydrolysis in lower concentration (47 wt%) of sulfuric acid was investigated in details. The obtained nanocellulose was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). It is found that the crystallinity and crystal size of ball-milled cellulose decreased with the increase of ball milling time, and the mild acid hydrolysis of the ball-milled cellulose resulted in the crystallinity and thermal stability of nanocellulose at the high temperature range increased but without any changes in chemical structure. It indicates that the appropriate ball-milling of cellulose feedstock could be beneficial for the mild hydrolysis process for the production of high quality nanocellulose with high yield. (C) 2015 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.