Synthesis of nanocellulose aerogel from agricultural waste

In this study, cellulose fibers were extracted from agricultural date palm waste by carrying out alkali and bleaching treatments.Cellulose NanoFibrers(CNFs) were isolated from extracted cellulose fibers with used 2,2,6,6-Tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxy (TEMPO) pretreatment and Ball mill mechanical treatment.Then, the nanocellulose hydrogels werenanocellulose aerogels obtained.Field mission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) wasused to investigate the morphology of the isolated cellulose and cellulose nanofibers. Structural analysis and functional groups was carried out by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and crystalline index determined with X-ray diffraction (XRD).The qualitative properties of nanocellulose aerogels including porosity were evaluated by BET. The results showed that cellulose fibers and cellulose nanofibers have a rod structure and formedin 3D network. After TEMPO pretreatment, it was found that the carboxyl peak formed in the 1730 cm 0 spectrum, which accelerated the nano-process. The crystallinity of the fibers and nanofibers were 71% and 68%, respectively indicating a high degree of crystallinity in their structure. After freeze drying of nanofibers, nanocellulose aerogels were obtained with weigh of about 0.5(g), low bulk density of 0.0127 (g/cm3) and very high porosity of99.16%. As a result, ultralightweight biopolymer aerogels can beused in a wide range of industries including automotive, aerospace, filtration and construction