Preparation of Spherical Nanocellulose from Waste Tobacco Stem
Fanghan Luo,
Xueju Xu,
Yongze Jiang,
Jinqiu Qi,
Jian Zhou,
Yaxi Liu,
Shaobo Zhang
Affiliations
Fanghan Luo
Wood Industry and Furniture Engineering Key Laboratory of Sichuan Provincial Department of Education, College of Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
Xueju Xu
Wood Industry and Furniture Engineering Key Laboratory of Sichuan Provincial Department of Education, College of Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
Yongze Jiang
Wood Industry and Furniture Engineering Key Laboratory of Sichuan Provincial Department of Education, College of Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
Jinqiu Qi
Wood Industry and Furniture Engineering Key Laboratory of Sichuan Provincial Department of Education, College of Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
Jian Zhou
China Tobacco Sichuan Industrial Co., Ltd., Harmful Components and Tar Reduction in Cigarette Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
Yaxi Liu
State Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Exploration and Utilization in Southwest China, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
Shaobo Zhang
Wood Industry and Furniture Engineering Key Laboratory of Sichuan Provincial Department of Education, College of Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
Tobacco stems constitute a large amount of waste biomass generated during tobacco production, and their recycling is of great significance to the environment and the conservation of resources. In this study, an efficient, inexpensive, and less toxic strategy is reported for recycling waste tobacco stem, wherein the spherical tobacco stem nanocellulose (STsN) with a size of 10 to 100 nm was prepared from waste stems using a NaOH/urea/thiourea aqueous system. The morphology of STsN was characterized using scanning electron microscopy. The crystal structure of STsN was determined using X-ray diffractometry. The nanocellulose exhibited the crystal structure of cellulose II. Fourier-transform infrared spectra of the STsN indicated that STsN retained the typical chemical structure of cellulose. The thermal properties of STsN were investigated by thermogravimetry. It is concluded that the STsN had better thermal stability than cellulose. The product has potential for practical application with high thermal stability requirements, such as transistors and batteries.
