Hybrid films based on holistic celery nanocellulose and lignin/hemicellulose with enhanced mechanical properties and...

The endeavor to isolate celery lignocellulosic components and reconstruct into nanocellulose filled and holistic biocomposite films is to demonstrate the potential of re-engineering vegetables into nanocomposite films. The structure-properties relations of these hybrid films were analyzed systematically. The work explored that celery was isolated into the cellulose-rich solid and lignin/hemicellulose (LH) solution using moderate alkali immersions. The 16.1% LH yield was obtained, and cellulose nanofibrils (CCNF) were derived from the solid, at 43.1% yield of the original celery by oxalic acid hydrolysis. Oxalic acid hydrolysis followed by microfluidization was used to separate CCNF with dimensions of 5-6 nm and 1.3-1.7 μm. The LH solution containing CCNF was cast into film structures that exhibited significantly improved mechanical and flexibility properties. Moreover, results suggested that these hybrid films showed a high MB removal efficiency, which ranged from 192.1 to 429.9 mg/g. Totally, over 67.9% celery hybrids were used and it provided an effective and value-added utilization technology for celery and other vegetables.