Thermo-mechano-chemical deconstruction of cellulose for cellulose nanocrystal production by reactive processing.

The commercial production of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) requires high concentration of sulfuric or other acids such as hydrochloric, phosphoric, and nitric acids. However, these acids and the involved process are corrosive, toxic, energy-intensive, and not environmentally safe. In this work, a batch mixer reactive process that entails high shear was implemented using 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (BmimCl) media and molten oxalic acid dihydrate (OA) to produce CNCs from cellulose.

Green mechano-chemical processing of lignocellulosic biomass for lignin recovery.

Lignin extraction from biomass is heavily dependent on chemical processes that are harmful to the environment and the quality of the recovered lignin. Ionic liquid solvents are some of the latest solutions in green processing; however, their implementation for lignin recovery is limited by their high cost, typically high loadings requirements, and long processing times. To overcome these issues, in this study, high loadings of mixed hardwood flour (MHF) were processed with 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (BmimCl) in a batch mixer.

Lignin derived nano-biocarbon and its deposition on polyurethane foam for wastewater dye adsorption.

Historically, lignin has been produced as a waste by-product in industrial processes. In this study, lignosulfonate nanoparticles were fabricated and freeze-dried for use as a precursor material for carbonization. The use of the carbonized lignins for the adsorption of textile effluent as a value-added application is demonstrated.

Degradation Behavior of Polypropylene during Reprocessing and Its Biocomposites: Thermal and Oxidative Degradation Kinetics.

Non-isothermal thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was employed to investigate the degradation of polypropylene (PP) during simulated product manufacturing in a secondary process and wood-plastic composites. Multiple batch mixing cycles were carried out to mimic the actual recycling. Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS), Ozawa-Flynn-Wall (OFW), Friedman, Kissinger and Augis models were employed to calculate the apparent activation energy ().

High yield production and purification of few layer graphene by gum arabic assisted physical sonication.

Exploiting the emulsification properties of low cost, environmentally safe Gum Arabic we demonstrate a high yield process to produce a few layer graphene with a low defect ratio, maintaining the pristine graphite structure. In addition, we demonstrate the need for and efficacy of an acid hydrolysis treatment to remove the polymer residues to produce 100% pure graphene. The scalable process gives yield of up to 5 wt% graphene based on 10 g starting graphite.

Controllable delivery of small-molecule compounds to targeted cells utilizing carbon nanotubes.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have emerged as a new alternative and efficient tool for transporting molecules with biotechnological and biomedical applications, because of their remarkable physicochemical properties. Encapsulation of functional molecules into the hollow chambers of CNTs can not only stabilize encapsulated molecules but also generate new nanodevices. In this work, we have demonstrated that CNTs can function as controllable carriers to transport small-molecule compounds (SMCs) loaded inside their hollow tunnels onto targeted cells.