Process Optimization of Microfibrillated Cellulose Extraction from Cotton Waste Using Response Surface Methodology

Cotton is a natural staple fiber that mostly consists of cellulose compared to wood. The major economic value of cotton is in textile industry. Over the recent past years the demand for cotton consumption has increased significantly than its production. In textile manufacturing, cotton is blended with various other synthetic fibers such as polyester, nylon and lycra to obtain the desired properties. Though fabric recycling methods are available for pre-consumer garment waste, the processes are quite complicated in actual practice. In this work Microcrystalline Cellulose (MCC) extracted from cotton fabric waste was converted into Microfibrillated Cellulose (MFC) using acid hydrolysis method. However, the major challenge in using acid hydrolysis method is the low amount of yield. Three experimental factors that includes; acid concentration, hydrolysis time and temperature show the highest effect in yield and quality of MFC. Therefore, this experiment was designed to optimize the effect of these three independent factors on yield (%) and width (nm) of MFC. Response surface methodology was adapted to design the experiment and ANOVA statistical test results were used to determine the significant effect of those listed parameters on acid hydrolysis.