Preparation of micro-sized cellulose from rice husk using ball mill and acid hydrolysis method Yessi Gusnia and Widayani Sutrisno
Institut Teknologi Bandung
Abstract
Cellulose is an environmentally friendly natural polymer material that is most abundant in nature. Cellulose material processing is increasingly being carried out in various applications because of its attractive properties. Using cellulose in very small sizes (micro/nano) can potentially increase its performance, especially in developing micro/nano cellulose-based biocomposites. This study focuses on the preparation of micro-sized cellulose from rice husk by using ball-mill and acid hydrolysis methods. Ball mill strongly grinds the cellulose mechanically at very high rpm. Acid hydrolysis mainly removes the amorphous part of the cellulose. Examination using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) SU3500 shows that the obtained products have microcrystalline structure (microcrystalline cellulose/ MCC). Micro-sized cellulose obtained using Ball mill looks rougher, more uniform, and smaller in size compared to that obtained using acid hydrolysis. This may indicate that ball mill produces micro-sized cellulose-containing impurities. These impurities can come from bleaching agents and cellulose residues.
