14.7 Applications
327
14.7.5 Drug Carrier
The high surface area and inert structure of cellulose from green algae make it a
suitable drug carrier. A good drug carrier should have sufficient surface to embed the
drug compound but without altering the integrity and activity of the drug. In addition
to the crystalline structure, the low degree of hornification makes it a good material for
producing stronger tablets than other plant-based cellulose (Stromme and Mihranyan
2002; Mihranyan et al. 2004). Nicotine loaded in liquid carrier formulation using
cellulose from green algae showed higher loading capacity and stability compared
to microcrystalline cellulose grade.
14.7.6 Papermaking
One of the oldest applications of cellulose is in papermaking. Paper is said to have
been invented by Ts’ai Lun in 105 AD china from mixture of plant and textile fibers
(Hunter 1974). Today, the papermaking process still follows the same fundamental
principle of using the fibers from plants to create thin sheets for various purposes.
Over the years, however, these clear sheets are known to be made mostly of cellulose
and the techniques have been refined to obtain more pure forms of paper. As of 2016,
FAO reports a global pulp for paper production of 107,042,000 metric tonnes which
is 92% of a production capacity of 150,273,000 metric tonnes, projected to rise to
156,850,000 metric tonnes production capacity by 2021 (FAO 2017).
The papermaking industry is also a water-intensive industry (Shen and Qian 2012),
and sourcing the cellulose from aquatic plants which have water remediating properties offers possibilities of a paper production system, whereby the aquatic plants
from with the cellulose produced are used in the cleaning of the gray water generated from the paper production process. This is a mare concept, and however, as the
paper industry develops toward more sustainable production processes, such should
be explored.
14.7.7 Production of Cellulose Derivatives
Cellulose derivatives such as carboxymethyl cellulose and cellulose acetate have
numerous applications which cut across various industries. CMC is used as a rheological property enhancer. Cellulose diacetate, for example, is used in the production
of membranes for water filtration. Cellulose extracted from water hyacinth has been
successfully used in the production of membranes which effectively filtered humic
acid from water showing that such membranes can effectively filter surface water
(Istirokhatun et al. 2015).
327
14.7.5 Drug Carrier
The high surface area and inert structure of cellulose from green algae make it a
suitable drug carrier. A good drug carrier should have sufficient surface to embed the
drug compound but without altering the integrity and activity of the drug. In addition
to the crystalline structure, the low degree of hornification makes it a good material for
producing stronger tablets than other plant-based cellulose (Stromme and Mihranyan
2002; Mihranyan et al. 2004). Nicotine loaded in liquid carrier formulation using
cellulose from green algae showed higher loading capacity and stability compared
to microcrystalline cellulose grade.
14.7.6 Papermaking
One of the oldest applications of cellulose is in papermaking. Paper is said to have
been invented by Ts’ai Lun in 105 AD china from mixture of plant and textile fibers
(Hunter 1974). Today, the papermaking process still follows the same fundamental
principle of using the fibers from plants to create thin sheets for various purposes.
Over the years, however, these clear sheets are known to be made mostly of cellulose
and the techniques have been refined to obtain more pure forms of paper. As of 2016,
FAO reports a global pulp for paper production of 107,042,000 metric tonnes which
is 92% of a production capacity of 150,273,000 metric tonnes, projected to rise to
156,850,000 metric tonnes production capacity by 2021 (FAO 2017).
The papermaking industry is also a water-intensive industry (Shen and Qian 2012),
and sourcing the cellulose from aquatic plants which have water remediating properties offers possibilities of a paper production system, whereby the aquatic plants
from with the cellulose produced are used in the cleaning of the gray water generated from the paper production process. This is a mare concept, and however, as the
paper industry develops toward more sustainable production processes, such should
be explored.
14.7.7 Production of Cellulose Derivatives
Cellulose derivatives such as carboxymethyl cellulose and cellulose acetate have
numerous applications which cut across various industries. CMC is used as a rheological property enhancer. Cellulose diacetate, for example, is used in the production
of membranes for water filtration. Cellulose extracted from water hyacinth has been
successfully used in the production of membranes which effectively filtered humic
acid from water showing that such membranes can effectively filter surface water
(Istirokhatun et al. 2015).