Extraction of Cellulose Fibers from Corn Cobs Agricultural Waste by a Simple and Sustainable Method
Corressponding author's email:
thanhnc@hcmute.edu.vnDOI:
https://doi.org/10.54644/jte.2025.1663Keywords:
Agricultural wastes, Corn cobs, Cellulose fibers, Biomass, Nitro oxidationAbstract
Corn cobs were common agricultural waste available in large quantities in many countries. Corn cobs contained a relatively high cellulose content of about 11,9-41,3%. Therefore, extracting cellulose fibers from corn cobs had significant economic and environmental implications. This study aimed to extract cellulose fibers from corn cobs using a simple method of nitro oxidation, which saved energy and cost. The extracted cellulose fibers had potential applications in various fields. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results showed that the dried extracted cellulose fibers had a tendency to form agglomerations, the individual separate fiber could not be observed. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis indicated absorbed peaks at wavenumbers corresponding to the vibrations of OH, CH, and COC groups, which were characteristic peaks for the chemical structure of cellulose. The crystallinity index of the extracted cellulose fibers was 69,68%, higher than that of the corn cobs. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) results showed that the cellulose fibers had higher thermal stability compared to the corn cobs. The thermal decomposition process of corn cobs and cellulose fibers occurred in three stages: below 200°C, 200-400°C, and above 400°C.
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