The influence of supermasscolloider on the morphology of sugarcane bagasse and bagasse cellulose

Sugarcane bagasse (SB) was subjected to mechanical and chemical treatments in order to investigate the influence of both treatments on the morphology of cellulose extracted from SB. Samples treated with supermasscolloider (SMC) showed a slight increase in the cellulose content and a highest content after chemical treatment. Furthermore, SEM and XRD results revealed a decline in the fibre average diameter (10-2 μm) and sheet-like fibrils from mechanically treated samples, while the crystallinity index values increased for both mechanical and chemical treatment. FTIR and chemical composition analysis confirmed a partial removal of hemicellulose and lignin by supermasscolloider, whereas the chemical treatments removed a significant amount and this was effectively reflected on the improved thermal stability of cellulose mechanically and chemically treated respectively.