Green synthesis of carboxymethyl cellulose from agricultural waste its characterization

Abstract In the present study, corncob (an agricultural waste) has been explored as a source of cellulose. Cellulose was extracted from corncob through removal of hemicellulose and lignin. The carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) was then synthesized from extracted cellulose by alkalization and etherification with 30% NaOH and 120% monochloro acetic acid (MCA) in ethanol medium respectively. Characterization of prepared CMC was carried out by various techniques like Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscpoe (SEM). Back titration method was used to determine the Degree of Substitution (DS). The synthesized CMC obtained has a large DS value of 2.27. The purity of CMC was high at 91.65% and showed a yield of 1.20g/g, intrinsic viscosity of 1.02, water holding capacity 3.81g/g and oil holding capacity 1.66g/g. Higher degree of substitution is achieved in this work. The synthesized product is effective suitable additive for food and various pharmaceuticals industries.