Extraction of cellulose from sugarcane bagasse via ultrasonic-assisted alkaline technology

Ultrasonic-assisted alkaline (UAA) technology is applied to extract cellulose from lignocellulose biomass, sugarcane bagasse (SCB). The SCB is a type of agriculture residue that consists of about 50 %(w/w) of cellulose content, thus potential to serve as feedstock for cellulose production via UAA technology. Due to the complex and sturdy structure of lignocellulosic biomass, most of the current extraction processes in the industry still apply multi-step processes that involve chemical-mechanical technology, which is time-consuming and not eco-friendly. UAA technology is the potential to solve the issue but the details of the whole process are still required for its feasibility in the industry. The performance of UAA technology in the extraction process of cellulose is investigated with varying process parameters including ultrasonic amplitude (20%, 30%, 40%), treatment temperature (70 °C, 80 °C, 90 °C), and potassium hydroxide (KOH) concentration (0.25 M – 1.25 M). The highest purity of cellulose, 83.22 %(w/w) is obtained at an ultrasonic amplitude of 30 % that treated at a temperature of 80 °C under KOH condition of 1.25 M. The extracted cellulose is further reacted with sodium monochloroacetate to form carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), with degree of substitution of 0.3624. The obtained cellulose yield proved that UAA technology is promising, implying its potential applicability in the industry with more future works.