The bark biorefinery: a side-stream of the forest industry converted into nanocomposites with high oxygen-barrier properties
2014 (English)In: Cellulose, ISSN 0969-0239, E-ISSN 1572-882X, Vol. 21, no 6, p. 4583-4594Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
The purpose of the bark biorefinery concept is to upgrade the different constituents present in bark to multiple value-added bio-based products. Non-cellulosic polysaccharides (NCP) and cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) sequentially isolated from the inner bark of Norway spruce were used as raw materials for the formulation of renewable nanocomposites. The film formation abilities of NCP/CNC formulations prepared with different proportions of CNC were studied. Homogeneous transparent films with a glossy appearance were obtained when more than 30 wt% CNC was incorporated. The influence of the CNC content on the NCP/CNC films was assessed in terms of structural, thermal, mechanical and oxygen-barrier properties. All the films showed better performances with increasing CNC content, which was explained by the strong interactions between the two components. The effect on the film performances of adding sorbitol as a plasticizer was also evaluated. The presence of sorbitol decreased the thermal stability, the stiffness and the oxygen permeability of the films at 80 % RH. However, the addition of sorbitol enhanced the elongation of the films and further improved their oxygen-barrier properties at 50 % RH. The composite properties could thus be tailored by adding different amounts of sorbitol and CNC, resulting in all-carbohydrate materials with performances similar to or even better than the conventional barrier materials used in packaging.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Springer, 2014. Vol. 21, no 6, p. 4583-4594
Keywords [en]
Bark, Biorefinery, Cellulose nanocrystals, Nanocomposites, Oxygen-barrier, Pectins
National Category
Polymer Technologies
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:his:diva-15858DOI: 10.1007/s10570-014-0423-zISI: 000344802700060Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-84911878133OAI: oai:DiVA.org:his-15858DiVA, id: diva2:1228750
Funder
VinnovaÅForsk (Ångpanneföreningen's Foundation for Research and Development)
Note
This work was supported by the Wood Wisdom ERA-NET Program (WOBAMA Project) and by the VINNOVA and Ångpanneföreningens Forskningsstiftelse funding agencies (Myriam Le Normand). The authors acknowledge the Wallenberg and Lars-Erik Thunholm Foundation for the post-doctoral research position granted to Rosana Moriana.
2015-01-292018-06-282025-03-24Bibliographically approved