Characterization of microcrystalline cellulose from red seaweed Gracilaria verucosa and Eucheuma cottonii

Abstract

Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) is pure cellulose isolated from alpha cellulose. The demand for renewable and sustainable raw materials for the industry has developed as one of the most pressing challenges in recent decades. The seaweed processing industry produces a large amount of solid fibrous waste, which can be utilized as an additional source of cellulose feedstock. The increase in seaweed production continues to increase, as well as waste that can be used as another source of cellulose raw materials. This study used red seaweed i.e., Gracilaria verucosa and Echeuma cottonii to produce high-quality MCC. Gracilaria verucosa and Echeuma cottonii are treated chemically through alkali, bleaching, and acid hydrolysis to obtain pure MCC. Following the X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis result, MCC in the standard had a crystallinity of 67.2%, while the Gracilaria verucosa-MCC (GV-MCC) sample was 53.0% and Echeuma cottonii-MCC (EC-MCC) was 58.4%. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy showed that GV-MCC and EC-MCC almost resemble the MCC standard. The morphology characteristic from Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis presented the difference between raw material before and after isolation into MCC. According to the Particle size analyzer (PSA) result, the mean sizes of EC-MCC and GV-MCC are 0.786 and 0.522 µm, respectively. The isolation of MCC from red seaweed has the potential to be used in a wide range of industries.