Abstract :
[en] Humans have been cultivating land for approximately 12,000 years. As such, most countries worldwide have considered crop waste as a global issue linked with environmental protection, economic development, and healthy living. Many varieties of straw are produced all over China in massive quantities (more than 900 million tons per year). Although banned by the government, stubble burning is widely applied by Chinese farmers as an easy and cheap way to remove stalks after harvests. However, this practice significantly contributes to China’s carbon dioxide emissions and health risks associated with the thick mists it produces. As a renewable biomass resource, straw can be used to make new marketable materials, but its full potential has yet to be realized. Thus, future studies should be directed toward the isolation and rational use of agricultural waste. In addition to the pollution caused by agricultural waste, water shortage, particularly in northern and northwestern China, severely hinders agricultural production. This region accounts for half of the total surface of China but has less than 20% of the total national available water resources. Despite the severity of the water shortage in this region, the efficiency of irrigation water use is only 40%. Many strategies have been applied to promote a water-saving agriculture. One such strategy is the use of water-saving materials, such as plastic mulching films and superabsorbent polymers. However, these two materials are non-biodegradable, and their mechanical properties are unsatisfactory.
A systematic analysis of the literature revealed that agricultural waste is a cheap and promising source of raw materials that could be used to obtain cellulose and nanocelluloses. Nanocelluloses can be used for the industrial production of super-strong but lightweight nanocomposite materials.
The first step involved the isolation of cellulose, cellulose nanocrystallines (CNCs), and cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) from wheat straw. First, four CNCs were isolated from four commercial microcrystalline celluloses (MCCs) through sulfuric acid hydrolysis. The effects of the characteristics of the MCC on the morphology, structure, and properties of the resulting CNCs were assessed. The results revealed that both particle size and dispersity influenced the isolated CNCs. Second, cellulose was isolated from wheat straw through a microwave-assisted chemical treatment process that reduced chemical use. The reaction conditions and promoting effect of microwave on the resulting fibers were investigated. The results indicated that temperature played the most important role in cellulose isolation, and that microwave can reduce either the reaction time or the chemical use during the microwave-assisted alkali hydrolysis process.
High-purity (94%) CNFs were isolated from wheat straw through an environmentally friendly, multi-step treatment process that combined steam explosion, microwave-assisted hydrolysis, and microfluidization. Chemical identification and characterization were performed to study the effect of each treatment step and investigate the potential utilization of CNFs in nanocomposites. Chemical analysis showed that the cellulose content increased from 44.81% to 94.23%, whereas the hemicellulose and lignin contents significantly decreased from 33.41% and 8.75% to 5.54% and 1.68%, respectively. Long and loose 10–40 nm wide nanofiber bundles and an entangled network of cellulose fibers with an average individual diameter of 5.42 nm were observed during this eco-friendly process.
In the last part of this study, nanocelluloses were introduced into superabsorbent polymers and mulching films used in agriculture to improve their performance. The effects of nanocelluloses on their structure, properties, and mechanical performance were investigated. First, superabsorbent polymers of acrylamide–acrylate copolymers and others with CNFs, CNCs, or MCC were synthesized. The swelling capacities in pure water and in various solutions, the capacities for repeated water absorption, the water-retaining capacities in soil, and the mechanical properties of the hydrogels were compared. The results revealed that the 3D structures of the acrylamide–acrylate–CNF and acrylamide–acrylate–CNC hydrogels were strengthened by the nanocellulose. These two polymers exhibited excellent capacities for repeated water absorption. By contrast, the biodegradable agricultural mulching film did not present satisfying mechanical and barrier properties as an alternative for ordinary polyethylene film. In this thesis, CNC was introduced into the film of poly (butyleneadipate-co-terephthalate) /polylactic acid composites. Poly(butyleneadipate-co-terephthalate)/polylactic acid/CNC films with various contents of CNC were prepared, characterized, and tested as for their properties. Compared with the film without CNC, poly (lactic acid) / poly (butylene-adipate-co-terephtalate)/3% CNC film showed an increased deformation by 188.80%. The barrier performance of the films increased with increasing CNC content. However, the tensile properties decreased when the CNC content exceeded 3%. Both the mechanical and barrier properties were promoted.
These results highlighted that (i) wheat straw is a cellulose-rich natural resource of CNF and CNC; (ii) microwave can reduce either the reaction time or the chemical use during the cellulose-isolation process; (iii) high-purity CNF could be obtained through an environmentally friendly method; and (iv) nanocellulose could improve the mechanical properties of both superabsorbent polymers and mulching films, and enhance their performances in agricultural applications.
In a broader perspective, microwave and other techniques should be further explored in the context of green isolation processes. Agricultural biomass natural fiber-based composites must be further investigated to maximize their applications. Approaches that could offer significant cost savings for the industrial production of nanocellulose and new nanocellulose-based materials should be developed further. We aim to promote the research interest for the isolation and application of agricultural-waste-based nanocellulose, which deserve further research and documentation. This thesis is only the beginning of a greater endeavor.
