Enhancing cellulose nanofibrillation of eucalyptus Kraft pulp by combining enzymatic and mechanical pretreatments

摘要: Nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) extracted from biomass has potential applications in material science and biomedical engineering. In this study, NFC was obtained bleached eucalyptus Kraft pulp (BEKP) using two commercial enzyme cocktails with cellulolytic hemicellulolytic activities non-catalytic protein (swollenin), followed by ultrasonication. This work represents an initial study of the implementation proteins along enzymes to extract biomass. Enzymatic pretreatment performed partially remove hemicellulose while enhancing accessibility for extraction. Cellulase xylanase swollenin supplementation increased fiber swelling due extensive removal (> 80%) morphology changes. Subsequent ultrasonication nanofibrillation resulting high yields (61–97%), keeping properties almost unchanged. Through process, nanofibers diameters ranging 3 nm 10 nm were effectively isolated BEKP, which allows produce quality further applications.