Kasetsart University; Kasetsart University; University of Phayao; National Science & Technology Development Agency - Thailand; National Center Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology (BIOTEC)
Type
Article
Source Title
CATALYSTS
Year
2022
Volume
12
Issue
10
Page
-
Open Access
gold
Publisher
MDPI
DOI
10.3390/catal12101215
Format
PDF
Abstract
Sugarcane trash (SCT) is a promising, underutilized raw material for producing value-added bio-based materials. Nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) production conditions were obtained from the experiment. On the other hand, bioethanol production conditions were retrieved from the secondary data. This study compared the environmental impact of SCT in NCC production to that of bioethanol. For NCC production, SCT was subjected to organosolv pretreatment (140, 160, or 180 degrees C) in a mixed solvent system (methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK), ethanol, and water), bleached, and then hydrolyzed with different concentrations of sulfuric acid (50 and 58%) for varying times. Organosolv pretreatment at 180 degrees C removed 98.24 and 81.15% of the hemicellulose and lignin, respectively, resulting in 73.51 and 79.72% cellulose purity and recovery. In addition, bleaching increased the cellulose purity to 95.42%. Field Emission Transmission Electron Microscopy (FE-TEM) analysis showed that NCC's small 2:1 elliptical particles were found at the hydrolysis of 50% H2SO4 for 45 min. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern revealed 70% crystalline index values for NCC obtained from 50% H2SO4 with 45 min retention times. Then, the optimum conditions of NCC production were used for LCA analysis (Sigmapro software). The analysis included global warming, marine ecotoxicity, fresh water, and human carcinogenic toxicity. NCC production's electricity consumption (freeze-dried step) was the highest environmental impact on LCA analysis.
