Nanocellulose Films from Amazon Forest Wood Wastes: Structural and Thermal Properties

The aim of this work was to determine the best fibrillation intensity that should be used to produce high crystalline and thermal stable microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) and nanocellulose films from C. goeldiana veneer wastes. The number of passages (cycles) of cellulose suspension tested in grinder were 10, 20, 30 and 40. Important properties to be analyzed included changes in morphology from the raw wood to the nanocellulose films, increases/decreases in cellulose crystalline index for inference on biomaterial strength, and thermal behavior changes to support conclusions on biomaterials processing and application possibilities. After chemical treatments for cellulose isolation, mechanical shearing was applied to produce cellulose nanostructures; hence nanocellulose films could be successfully produced from C. goeldiana wood wastes. Influence of more refining cycles on thermal properties, indicated higher stability for 40-cycles nanocellulose films. In general, grinder refining process decreased crystalline index of cellulose.