326
14 Cellulose
species of the plant. The ethanol yield from aquatic plants is comparable to those
from crops presently used for ethanol production.
For the production of bioethanol from biomass containing a mixture of cellulose
and starch, the hydrolysis can be achieved simultaneously using a cocktail of different
enzymes since the enzymes do not interfere with each other.
The hydrolysis and fermentation of cellulose biomass from Azolla plants can be
used to achieve up to 11,700 L of ethanol per hectare of aquatic space annually
(Miranda et al. 2016). Duckweed has also been successfully used at experimental
stage as feedstock for biogas production via anaerobic digestion (Yadav et al. 2017).
Although this is yet to be industrially adopted, a 1:1 mix of cow dung and duckweed
biomass yields 12,070 mL of biogas when anaerobically digested at 37 °C over
55 days duration. The yield from combination of cow dung and duckweed was higher
than when cow dung was digested alone (11,620 mL) with comparable methane
contents.
14.7.3 Cellulose Filler in Composites
Cellulose extracted from green algae, Cladophora has been used as fillers in
polyurethane foams. At 5–10% content by weight, cellulose improves the thermal
properties, elastic modulus, color retention and biodegradability and reduces the
polyurethane content by part substituting with cellulose. The functional groups of
cellulose show good affinity to that of polyurethane resulting in good compatibility
between the cellulose fiber and polyurethane matrix.
Cellulose has shown good compatibility with other hydrophobic fossil-based
polymers and has been used as a filler for different purposes. This has significant
environmental impact as it improves the biodegradability of the materials.
14.7.4 Cellulose Nanofilters
One of the challenges in developing cellulose-based nanofilters is the limitation if
native cellulose in attaining stable microfibrils in the nanometer range. Membrane
filters developed using green algae-derived cellulose have addressed this challenge
(Mitsuo and Eisuke 1996). This is due to their highly ordered structures which make
achieving well-dispersed nanoscale fibers more possible. Therefore, aquatic-sourced
cellulose has some structural advantages which make them superior option in some
applications. Nanocellulose has broad range of applications in various industries.
These include drug delivery applications where they have been used to produce
polymeric drug delivery devices like microneedles (Olatunji and Olsson 2015).
14 Cellulose
species of the plant. The ethanol yield from aquatic plants is comparable to those
from crops presently used for ethanol production.
For the production of bioethanol from biomass containing a mixture of cellulose
and starch, the hydrolysis can be achieved simultaneously using a cocktail of different
enzymes since the enzymes do not interfere with each other.
The hydrolysis and fermentation of cellulose biomass from Azolla plants can be
used to achieve up to 11,700 L of ethanol per hectare of aquatic space annually
(Miranda et al. 2016). Duckweed has also been successfully used at experimental
stage as feedstock for biogas production via anaerobic digestion (Yadav et al. 2017).
Although this is yet to be industrially adopted, a 1:1 mix of cow dung and duckweed
biomass yields 12,070 mL of biogas when anaerobically digested at 37 °C over
55 days duration. The yield from combination of cow dung and duckweed was higher
than when cow dung was digested alone (11,620 mL) with comparable methane
contents.
14.7.3 Cellulose Filler in Composites
Cellulose extracted from green algae, Cladophora has been used as fillers in
polyurethane foams. At 5–10% content by weight, cellulose improves the thermal
properties, elastic modulus, color retention and biodegradability and reduces the
polyurethane content by part substituting with cellulose. The functional groups of
cellulose show good affinity to that of polyurethane resulting in good compatibility
between the cellulose fiber and polyurethane matrix.
Cellulose has shown good compatibility with other hydrophobic fossil-based
polymers and has been used as a filler for different purposes. This has significant
environmental impact as it improves the biodegradability of the materials.
14.7.4 Cellulose Nanofilters
One of the challenges in developing cellulose-based nanofilters is the limitation if
native cellulose in attaining stable microfibrils in the nanometer range. Membrane
filters developed using green algae-derived cellulose have addressed this challenge
(Mitsuo and Eisuke 1996). This is due to their highly ordered structures which make
achieving well-dispersed nanoscale fibers more possible. Therefore, aquatic-sourced
cellulose has some structural advantages which make them superior option in some
applications. Nanocellulose has broad range of applications in various industries.
These include drug delivery applications where they have been used to produce
polymeric drug delivery devices like microneedles (Olatunji and Olsson 2015).