Starch biocomposites based on cellulose microfibers and nanocrystals extracted from alfa fibers (Stipa tenacissima).

Cellulose-based biopolymers have emerged as one of the most promising components to produce sustainable composites as a potential substitutes to fossil-based materials. Herein, the aim of this study is to investigate the reinforcing effect of cellulose microfibers (CMFs) and cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), extracted from alfa fibers (Stipa tenacissima), on the properties of starch biopolymer extracted from potato. The as-extracted CMFs (D = 5.94 ± 0.96 µm), CNCs (D = 14.29 ± 2.53 nm) and starch were firstly characterized in terms of their physicochemical properties. Afterwards, CMFs and CNCs were separately dispersed in starch at different concentrations, and their reinforcing effects as well as the chemical, thermal, transparency and mechanical properties of the resulted starch-based films were evaluated. Thus, CMFs and CNCs incorporation into starch resulted in a minor impact on the films thermal stability, while a considerable impact on the transparency property was observed. In terms of mechanical properties, the addition of up to 20 wt% CMFs reduced the film's elongation but drastically increased its stiffness by 300 %. On the other hand, in the case of CNCs, a loading of 10 wt% was found to be the most effective in increasing film stiffness (by 57 %), while increasing the loading up to 20 wt% CNCs enhanced the film's ductility (strain-to-failure) by 52 %. This study showed that introduction of cellulosic fibers having different sizes into starch can produce biocomposite materials with a wide range of properties for food packaging application.

Crosslinked starch-coated cellulosic papers as alternative food-packaging materials.

In general, during the papermaking process or the production of cellulosic materials for food-packaging applications, lignin and other amorphous components are usually removed via the pulping and multilevel bleaching process to entirely separate them from the fiber. The aim of this work was to study the positive effect that can impart the residual lignin remaining in the alkali-treated fiber surface over bleached fibers to produce an alternative food-packaging cellulosic paper. Herein, cellulosic papers based on alkali-treated and bleached fibers obtained from the Alfa plant were successfully prepared using a compression process. The as-obtained papers were coated by crosslinked starch using a solvent-casting method to improve their mechanical and surface properties. The morphological and contact angle results showed that the residual lignin in the alkali-treated cellulosic papers strongly increased the interfacial adhesion by making the structure denser and more compact, resulting in an improved water resistance property over the bleached ones. On the other hand, it also promoted char formation, slowing down the burning process, resulting in better flame resistance. Additionally, the mechanical properties demonstrated that the presence of lignin contributed to the material rigidity improvement without compromising its flexibility (folding endurance). The as-developed cellulosic papers coated with crosslinked starch could be used for the production of high-quality materials for food-packaging applications using conventional industrial processes.

Phosphorylated cellulose paper as highly efficient adsorbent for cadmium heavy metal ion removal in aqueous solutions.

In search for more effective and eco-friendly adsorbent materials, this study comprehensively investigated Cd2+ adsorption onto phosphorylated cellulose paper (PCP). For this, cellulose microfibers (CMF) was extracted from Alfa fibers and phosphorylated using the solid-state phosphorylation approach. Then, the prepared PCP samples were characterized by SEM, EDX, XRD, FTIR, TGA, conductometric titration and zeta potential measurement. The adsorption of cadmium ions, the effect of time, pH and Cd2+ initial concentration were systematically studied in batch experiments. Based on the results, the highest adsorption capacity achieved was 479 mg of Cd2+ per g of PCP, which was remarkable compared to other modified cellulose capacities cited in the literature. Furthermore, the Cd2+ removal mechanism was investigated based on characterization results before and after adsorption and also based on the kinetics results. It was concluded that cation exchange and electrostatic attraction between phosphorylated cellulose and the cadmium ion mainly dominated the adsorption process. These findings highlighted that the phosphorylated cellulose paper has a broad application prospect in removal of divalent metal from aquatic solution.

Effect of chitosan/modified montmorillonite coating on the antibacterial and mechanical properties of date palm fiber trays.

In this study, the coated date palm fiber (Dpf) trays were developed using new non-toxic, and eco-friendly materials which are date palm fibers coated with a bio-composite of modified clay (Mt-Tbz). The thiabendazolium was intercalated in the interlayer space of montmorillonite and used in order to enhance the biological properties of final materials. This material was prepared as bilayer material, the first layer contains the treated palm fibers and the second one composes of bio-composite films through coating process. The elaborated coated Dpf trays were characterized using several techniques. The morphological characterization of the Dpf trays and coated Dpf trays (Dpf@Cs/Mt-Tbz), show a better dispersion/distribution of chitosan/montmorillonite modified thiabendazolium salt based coating bio-composite on the fibers surface, these results can improve the mechanical properties of the new coated Dpf trays in term of Young's modulus from 330 MPa to 1035 MPa and tensile strength from 0.5 MPa to 4 MPa. In addition, their inhibitory effect against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been investigated. Furthermore, the coating layer increase also the surface hydrophobicity compared to uncoated trays. The present study suggests that the elaborated coated Dpf trays can be used as potential bilayer material in the smart packaging industry.