Development of Green Nanocomposites Reinforced by Cellulose Nanofibers from Waste Newspaper

Abstract

Nano-scale cellulose fibers have shown much greater potential to improve mechanical properties in water soluble polymer than micro-scale cellulose. The objective of this study was to extract the crystalline cellulose from waste newspaper as one of the cellulosic sources. Newspaper was treated chemically and physically in order to extract individualized crystalline cellulose. Acid hydrolysis and mechanical extraction treatments resulted in crystalline cellulose with diameter mostly between 10-40 nm. The reinforcing effect of obtained crystalline cellulose was investigated by composing with starch-based biodegradable resin. Celish®-reinforced composites were used as reference to newspaper crystalline cellulose-reinforced composites in mechanical properties test. The results showed the increase in mechanical properties of reinforced composites for both composites. However, Celish®-reinforced composites showed much greater enhancement than newspaper crystalline cellulose-reinforced composites. For example, the maximum tensile strength of Celish®-reinforced composites at a fiber load of 20% was 29.8 MPa, which is 3.7 times higher than neat starch. Meanwhile, the newspaper crystalline cellulose-reinforced composites at a fiber load of 20% recorded tensile strength of 12.6 MPa, which is 1.6 times higher than neat samples.