The development of process engineering approaches to integrate the production of biofuels and high value-added biobased products, such as enzymes and nanocellulose, is crucial to improve the financial performance and sustainability of lignocellulosic biomass biorefineries. Here, the feasibility of applying enzymes produced on-site to obtain nanocellulose was evaluated using eucalyptus cellulose pulp as a model feedstock. A systematic analysis of the structural properties of the nanomaterials obtained after hydrolysis using a cellulolytic enzymatic complex with high endoglucanase specific activity (17.09 IU/mg protein ), produced by Aspergillus niger, followed by sonication, revealed that longer ball milling pretreatment and reaction times favored extraction of the cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs). The highest yield (24.6%) of CNCs was achieved using 96 h of enzymatic hydrolysis of the ball-milled cellulose pulp, followed by sonication for 5 min. The CNCs presented approximate lengths of 294.0 nm and diameters of 24.0 nm, and the crystallinity index increased from 57.5% to 78.3%, compared to the cellulose pulp that was only ball milled. These findings demonstrated that nanocelluloses could be successfully extracted using on-site produced enzymes and that the sustainable integrated process reported here could contribute to the development of the nascent biobased economy.

Bonding of polymer-based microfluidics to polymer substrates still poses a challenge for Lab-On-a-Chip applications. Especially, when sensing elements are incorporated, patterned deposition of adhesives with curing at ambient conditions is required. Here, we demonstrate a fabrication method for fully printed microfluidic systems with sensing elements using inkjet and stereolithographic 3D-printing.

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This work explored gelatin films incorporated with cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) and tannic acid as bio-based multifunctional food packaging materials. The effects of nonoxidized tannic acid (nTA), oxidized tannic acid (OTA), and CNC on the physical, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties of gelatin films were investigated. Rheological and ultraviolet (UV)−visible measurements showed that gelatin films with nTA and CNC presented a lower chemical cross-linking and more noncovalent intermolecular interactions in comparison with those containing OTA. When compared to the film containing only nTA, the one with nTA and CNC presented substantial increases in the antioxidant capacity (52%), UV barrier (76%), tensile strength (79%), and water vapor barrier (67%) properties of gelatin. This evidence suggested that noncovalent interactions from nTA molecules and CNC play an important role in the modification of gelatin. The gelatin films designed with nTA and CNC also exhibited antimicrobial effects against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Overall, the incorporation of CNC and nTA as active components to gelatin films is a suitable approach for producing sustainable, multifunctional materials for food packaging and other applications.

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