Extraction of nanocrystalline cellulose from Kapok fiber as potential water-resistant composite.

This study focused on synthesizing of nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) from kapok fiber with the combination of chemical and mechanical methods. The as-synthesized NCC is used to produce nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) paper. It was determined that the optimum condition to synthesis nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) from kapok fiber using acid hydrolysis process treatment was at 45oC, 2 hours and 50% concentration of H2SO4. The particle size of the synthesized nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) was 262.9 - 455.6 nm. The disappearance of peaks 1731.89, 1594.68, 1505.51 & 1240 cm⁻¹ in the (FTIR) spectroscopy was related to the removal of non-cellulose component such as lignin and hemicellulose. Based on the contact angle, the value gained for that contact angle of the filter paper was increased from 29.650o to 40.261o and 32.002o due to presence of nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) in the filter paper. It was determined that the modified filter paper with the nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) had the highest water-resistances property and was considered the most hydrophobic of all the other papers.