Synthesis of Micro-cellulose Reinforced Polyvinyl Alcohol Micro-Biocomposite Materials
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Date
2018-07
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
This study focused on developing and evaluating the performance of cellulose/polyvinyl alcohol
microbiocomposites. Cellulose has a potential to become a key resource in the development of biodegradable
films composites and therefore, incorporating microcellulose into different materials have become an attractive
research topics for production of micro-biocomposite materials. The objective of this study was to fabricate
cellulose reinforced polyvinyl alcohol micro-biocomposite materials and evaluate the effectiveness of the
reinforcement. The extraction of microcellulose was done by alkaline treatment with 8%-20%wt NaOH aqueous
solution with the ratio of 1:10 solid: liquid loading (w/v) in temperatures range of (40
C) for (1hr-5hr) and
36.65% optimum yield was obtained. The particle size analysis by dynamic light scattering (DLS) showed the
mean particle size found was 871.35µm confirming the product was microcellulose. The Fourier transform
infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) indicated the effectiveness of pretreatment in removing lignin and hemicellulose.
Solvent casting method was used to reinforce microcellulose in PVOH polymer. Water absorption test results
shown that the reinforcement reduced the water absorption of the PVOH from 84% for neat PVOH to 62 % for
8% MCC composite and from 84 % to 75 % for 4% SCB and 84% to 69 % for 4% MCC. Increment in tensile
strength from 31 MPa for neat PVOH to 54 MPa for PVOH/ 8%MCC and reduction in elongation at break
from 355MPa for neat PVOH to 132 MPa for PVOH/ 8%MCC were observed from the mechanical property test
results. The SEM micrograph and optical transparency of the films showed uniform distribution and formation
of network structure through hydrogen bonding.
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Keywords
bagasse, natural filler, extraction, celluloses, biocomposite, interaction, morphology