Author(s)

Tchigo Alifa¹, Hamida Aminatou², Oumar Said³, Jean-Bosco Tchatchueng²

¹Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Mineral Industries, University of Ngaoundere, Ngaoundere, Cameroon.
²Department of Applied Chemistry, National Advanced School of Agro-Industrial Sciences, University of Ngaoundere, Ngaoundere, Cameroon.
³Department in Charge of Coordination and Valorisation of Research, National Advanced School of Engineering, University of Yaounde 1, Yaounde, Cameroon.

This study focuses on the extraction of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), from microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), derived from Ayous sawdust. The process involves multiple steps and a large amount of chemical products. The objective of this research was to determine the effects of factors that impact the isolation process and to identify the optimal conditions for CNC isolation by using the response surface methodology. The factors that varied during the process were the quantity of MCC, the concentration of sulfuric acid, the hydrolysis time and temperature, and the ultrasonic treatment time. The response measured was the yield. The study found that with 5.80 g of microcrystalline cellulose, a sulfuric acid concentration of 63.50% (w/w), a hydrolysis time of 53 minutes, a hydrolysis temperature of 69˚C, and a sonication time of 19 minutes are the ideal conditions for isolation. The experimental yield achieved was (37.84 ± 0.99) %. The main factors influencing the process were the sulfuric acid concentration, hydrolysis time and temperature, with a significant influence (p < 0.05). Infrared characterization results showed that nanocrystals were indeed isolated. With a crystallinity of 35.23 and 79.74, respectively, for Ayous wood fiber and nanocrystalline cellulose were observed by X-ray diffraction, with the formation of type II cellulose, thermodynamically more stable than native cellulose type I.

Ayous Sawdust, Lignocellulosic Waste, Isolation, Cellulose Nanocrystals, Optimization, Response Surface Methodology

Alifa, T. , Aminatou, H. , Said, O. and Tchatchueng, J. (2024) Optimization of Cellulose Nanocrystal Isolation from Ayous Sawdust Using Response Surface Methodology. Journal of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, 12, 36-55. doi: 10.4236/msce.2024.121004.