production of nanocellulose from rice husk

In this work, nanocellulose was produced from rice husk, as a lignocellulosic waste of rice. Initially, purified cellulose was produced with chemo-mechanical and soda-anthraquinone (soda/AQ) pulping and bleaching. The purified cellulose was then sonicated for 15 min using an ultrasonic processor, resulted in nanocellulose. The nanocellulose obtained by sonification has been characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Diameter of nanocellulose from rice husk by chemical method was 30-40 nm and that of produced by soda-AQ pulping method were 10-20 nm. The nanocellulose crystallinity for chemical method obtained 60% and for that of produced with soda-AQ pulping method was 66%. The degradation onset temperature for nanocellulose from rice husk by chemical method was 165°C and that of produced with soda-AQ pulping method were 188°c. The thermal behaviors of nanocellulose and purified cellulose were almost the same, suggesting the ultrasonic treatment had minor effect on the thermal decomposition of the nanocellulose.