Synthesis and characterization of carboxymethyl cellulose from office waste paper: A greener approach towards waste management

In the present study, functionalization of mixed office waste (MOW) paper has been carried out to synthesize carboxymethyl cellulose, a most widely used product for various applications. MOW was pulped and deinked prior to carboxymethylation. The deinked pulp yield was 80.62 +/- 2.0% with 72.30 +/- 1.50% deinlcability factor. The deinked pulp was converted to CMC by alkalization followed by etherification using NaOH and CICH2COONa respectively, in an alcoholic medium. Maximum degree of substitution (DS) (1.07) of prepared CMC was achieved at 50 degrees C with 0.094 M and 0.108 M concentrations of NaOH and CICH2COONa respectively for 3 h reaction time. The rheological characteristics of 1-3% aqueous solution of optimized CMC product showed the non-Newtonian pseudoplastic behavior. Fourier transform infra red (FTIR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) study were used to characterize the CMC product. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.