Isolation of microcrystalline alpha-cellulose from jute: A suitable and economical viable resource

Cellulose is a natural linear chain homopolymer that is an abundant and common component in all plants. Partially pure depolymerized cellulose, known as microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), is synthesized by mineral acids hydrolysis from α-cellulose precursors obtained from fibrous plants such as jute. Virgin soft and hardwoods are used as the main source of cellulose for raw materials of MCC production. These can be replaced by jute fiber to a great extent as it is considered one of the most promising alternatives. A proximate analysis had been carried out to determine the percentage of cellulose, hemicellulose, fats, and lignin in cellulose by standard methods. The cellulose purity of BJRI Tossa Pat-8 (Robi-1) fiber is identified from FT-IR. The IR results of MCC analysis were indicated 3,337.40cm-1 for the moisture and 1656.45cm-1 for carboxyl groups. In thermogravimetry analysis, at the first phase, 20-95oC is associated with moisture release. The oxidation of Tossa Pat-8 (Robi-1) MCC occurred in the range of 200-400oC. The remaining 0.65% of inorganic materials ash, was obtained at 425oC. This study indicates the cost-effective isolation of MCC from Tossa Pat-8 (Robi-1) and that can be promisingly applicable in several fields such as coatings and membranes explosives, cellulose, textiles, adhesives, films, textiles, food and tobacco, films, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry, which needs further research.