A Novel Nano Cellulose Preparation Method and Size Fraction by Cross Flow Ultra-Filtration

A novel energy-efficient method called nanopulping (patent pending) to produce nanocellulose from chemical pulp, and a novel cross-flow ultra-filtration method to separate nanofibrils fractions of different size were applied in this study. Pretreatment with endoglucanase or 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO) oxidation seems to enhance the nanopulping process. Results were evaluated with atomic force microscope and ultrafiltration. The nanopulping produced a relatively inhomogeneous material with larger particles/fibers in addition to nanofibers. However, by ultrafiltration of the material it was possible to obtain more homogeneous material in different dimensions with methods industrially acceptable.