The aim of this study is to evaluate the optimum sodium hydroxide (NaOH) concentrations (2 to 12 wt%) for extraction of cellulose from agricultural waste -rice straw fiber towards preparation of cellulose-based hydrogel. The increase in weight loss with increasing alkaline concentration, suggested that delignification took place progressively up to 6 wt% NaOH as supported by reduction in color intensity of the fiber and chemical analysis using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).After extraction, the cellulose was firstly dissolved in N,N'-dimethylacetamide/lithium chloride solution. Then, hydrogel was regenerated via phase inversion in ethanol.Remarkably, the highest swelling, gel fraction, tensile strength, and elongation at break (EB) were also found for hydrogels when regenerated from cellulose treated with 6 wt% NaOH. This study verifies that 6 wt% of NaOH is the optimum concentration for cellulose extraction that enhances the key aspects of good properties of cellulose hydrogels. The uniqueness findings of the study is, the swelling ratio and EB increase although gel fraction and tensile strength also increases which has never been reported. Ultimately, extraction of cellulose from waste to produce hydrogels may have novel impact for solving under-utilized biomass as well as good prospects as biomaterials.
The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of alkaline treatment on the physical, thermal, mechanical and chemical properties of pristine lemba leaves fibres (LeLeFs). LeLeFs were treated with 6, 8, and 10 wt% sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution at room temperature for 24 h. In order to determine the functional group presence after the alkaline treatment, LeLeFs were analyzed using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy. The density of LeLeFs treated with 10 wt% NaOH solution recorded the highest density with 1.168 g/cm³. Morphology study showed that the diameter of fibre reduced with the increment of NaOH concentration. The removal of lignin and hemicellulose could be observed in the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Alkaline treatment enhanced the tensile properties of fibre and 10 wt% alkaline treated fibre resulted in the highest tensile strength, modulus and elongation of the fibre at 511.10 MPa, 11.76 GPa and 3.69% respectively. Chemical resistance analysis found that the treated fibre had better chemical resistance compared to untreated fibre. Therefore, it is substantiated that alkaline treatment affects the properties of LeLeF.
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