Enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose nanoplatelets as a source of sugars with the concomitant production of cellulose nanofibrils

Abstract

Cellulose, the most abundant biopolymer on earth, is produced at different ratios by all land plants. Since the morphology and crystallinity of cellulose are key factors involved in its enzymatic hydrolysis, in the present work, we tackled the study of the effects of such variables on the nanocellulose conversion into glucose. Cellulase from Trichoderma sp at 37 °C was used to produce glucose, the best results were found for the cellulose nanoplatelets (S-CNP) after 60 h of hydrolysis, which afforded a conversion of 47% to glucose, in contrast to 15% for the non-purified sample (W-CP) and 22% for microcrystalline cellulose (MCC20) used as control. The X-ray diffractogram recorded on the samples showed an initial crystallinity index of 45%, 54% and 72% for W-CNP, S-CNP and MCC20, respectively. Also, we showed that after 24 h of hydrolysis, long cellulose nanofibrils (∅ ≈ 30 nm) were found as a residue.

Keywords: Agave; Entangled nanofibrils; Nanocellulose; Xerophyte plant.