Published on April 2022 | Material Science, Analytical Chemistry, Cellulose Chemistry

ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF CELLULOSE DERIVED FROM KOLA NUT ( COLA- STERCULIACEAE ) TESTA

True cellulose in kola nut testa was isolated by the techniques of multi-stage pulping and bleaching using NaClO2 after initial delignification using NaOH as alkali. After identification by the iodated-ZnCl2 method, KT α-cellulose was evaluated for organoleptic properties and characterized according to physiochemical properties, inherent functional groups as well as surface morphology and degree of crystallinity. The results showed that 12.4% of granular, off-white, odourless, tasteless and insoluble KT α-cellulose was recovered from 150 g of extractive free KT. KT α-cellulose, characterized by a pH of 6. 4 and moisture sorption capacity of 1.8% as well as true, bulk and tap density values of 1.19, 0.29 and 0.43 gcm-3 respectively showed to contain 1.5% ash after carbonization. Fourier Transform Infra-red spectrophotometric (FTIR) analysis showed the presence of strong and broad absorption bands around 3257 cm-1 which were assigned to intermolecular and intramolecular stretching vibrations of the -O–H groups in KT α-cellulose. A sharp band identified near 2919 cm-1 was ascribed to the asymmetric and symmetric stretches of the –CH2 and –C-H bonds in the biopolymer. The scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of KT α-cellulose revealed that the biopolymer consists of irregularly shaped particles characterized by an average size of 33 ± 0.3 µm while the result of the X-ray diffraction analysis estimated the crystallinity index (CI) as 0.67 degree of crystallinity, thus, the proportion of crystallinity in KT α-cellulose and 35% of the particles as amorphous in structure. KT α-cellulose, therefore has great potential for use in the food, pharmaceutical and allied industries and is recommended as a way to promote creativity by turning wastes into wealth.