An environmentally friendly method for the isolation of cellulose nano fibrils from banana rachis fibers

Abstract

Cellulose nano fibrils (CNFs) were isolated from banana rachis bran using enzyme hydrolysis with subsequent ultra-sonic treatment. The CNFs and bran were characterized by particle size distribution (only the CNFs), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy; the morphology of the banana rachis fiber and CNFs was observed using scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, respectively. The furnished nano fibrils had an average diameter of 14.02 ± 2.10 nm and length of 619.6 ± 90.7 nm. The aspect ratio of the CNFs is in the range of long fibrils, that is 44.18. XRD studies revealed that CNFs (48.83%) were more crystalline than the banana bran (27.76%). TGA and derivative thermogravimetry thermograms showed that CNFs were more thermally stable than the bran.