Green preparation of porous corncob microcrystalline cellulose, and its properties and applications

Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), a cellulosic functional material, is widely used in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. However, conventional methods for MCC preparation are challenging due to economic and environmental concerns. In this study, p-toluenesulfonic acid (p-TsOH) treatment was used to remove hemicellulose and lignin from corncob in order to achieve green preparation of corncob MCC (CC-MCC). It demonstrated that corncob hemicellulose was removed effectively by low concentration p-TsOH treatment, and corncob lignin was removed effectively by high concentration p-TsOH treatment. After p-TsOH treatment and hydrogen peroxide bleaching, about 30.2% porous CC-MCC was obtained directly. Compared with commercial MCC, acetylsalicylic acid tablets prepared by porous CC-MCC exhibited better sustained release performance. This research not only provides a green method for the corncob MCC preparation, but also realizes the resource utilization of corncob. Graphical abstract