Production of carboximethyil-cellulose from cotton linter
Water soluble carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) is the most important cellulose-derived ether due to its applications in various industries. It is produced by chemical modification of cellulose through reactions that are easily applicable on an industrial scale. Based on previous studies, CMC obtaining tests have been performed and optimal conditions have been defined for a laboratory scale process using linter de semi processed and processed cotton.
Three important stages have been defined: cellulose swelling, etherification and purification of the product for commercialization. In the first two stages, variations were made in the process conditions (time, temperature, concentration), finding significant differences in the quality of the final product. The results obtained show that CMC can be obtained for different industrial applications, from the same raw material.
Under the optimum processing conditions, superior quality products have been obtained in terms of the three most important quality parameters: the degree of substitution (0.72 to 0.96); dynamic viscosity (11,000 to 21,000 cp at 11.3 s-1 velocity gradient) and purity (> 98%). This quality corresponds to CMCs from purified grade to food / pharmaceutical grade.
Responsible:
Ramiro Escalera Vázquez, Ph. D.
E-mail: rescalera@upb.edu
Researcher:
Ramiro Escalera, Ph. D.
Elizabeth Terán, Est.
References about the project: rescalera@upb.edu
