Crystal and Thermal Response of Cellulose Isolation from Bamboo by Two Different Chemical Treatments

Cellulose is a biodegradable, renewable material, and its chemical, crystalline, and thermal properties place limits on how it can be used in industrial applications. In this study cellulosic preparations made from bamboo were fractionated using a one-step process (EtOH-HNO3) or a two-step process (NaClO2 delignification and KOH treatment). Partial degradation of cellulose was observed in alkaline conditions. Although the crystal configuration was maintained, it was observed that the cellulose structure after delignification and alkaline post-treatment exhibited unique exothermic pyrolysis properties. By comparison, the acidic EtOH-HNO3 process efficiently removed hemicellulose and lignin from bamboo, achieving the highest purity of cellulose (96.8%) with the highest degree of polymerization (DP) value (815).