• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
• /
• v.48 no.2
• /
• pp.83-90
• /
• 2016

Increasing the amount of filler in paper is of high interest for paper industry while maintaining its key sheet quality properties. In this study, a MFC-GCC composite, made through a co-grinding NBSK (Northern bleached softwood kraft) pulp with a ground calcium carbonate (Intracarb 60), was used as a strength aid in paper in order to evaluate a potential cost reduction through filler increase without sacrificing paper quality. Hand-sheets were made of NBSK and/or eucalyptus pulp by using white water recirculation in a Tappi sheet former and was compared its properties without or with MFC additions at different filler levels. It was found that the MFC-GCC composite has a large surface area compared to the fiber, allowing the formation of more hydrogen bonds in the web, thus giving natural strength to the paper. Overall results are encouraging that the MFC-GCC composite allows papermaker to reduce basis weight and maintain critical sheet properties.

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
• /
• v.47 no.2
• /
• pp.61-69
• /
• 2015

A number of researches have been carried out regarding the utilization of nanocellulose(crystalline nanocellulose, microfibrillated cellulose, nanofibrillated cellulose) for the manufacture of various kinds of composites and functional products. However, only few research works on the manufacturing characteristics of nanocellulose could be found, although some companies started already the production of nanocellulose in commercial scale. However, the most important thing in commercializing of production and utilization of nanocellulose is to develop the economical and efficient process. Thus, this study was carried out in order to investigate the effects of refining, alkaline pre-treatment and grinder clearance on the characteristics of microfibrillated cellulose and energy consumption. There was no significant differences in crystalline index with the degree of microfibrillation. The initial fibrillation could be improved by refining pre-treatment, but its effect was not observed anymore since the fibrillation was done up to certain level by grinding. Refining pre-treatment did not improved the energy efficiency. Alkaline pre-treatment can be helpful because the swelling of pulp fiber will facilitate fibrillation. It was found that the decrease in grinder clearance was helpful to improve the energy efficiency.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.32 no.12
• /
• pp.1589-1598
• /
• 2022

Microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) is a valuable material with wide industrial applications, particularly for the food and cosmetics industries, owing to its excellent physiochemical properties. Here, we prepared high-solid microfibrillated cellulose (HMFC) from the centrifugation of Gelidium amansiiderived MFC right after fibrillation. Dispersion properties, morphology, and structural changes were monitored during processing. HMFC has a five-fold higher solid concentration than MFC without significant changes to dispersion properties. SEM images and FTIR spectra of HMFC revealed a stable surface and structure against centrifugal forces. HMFC exhibited 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging activity, although it could not scavenge 2,2-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). Moreover, HMFC inhibited the generation of LPS-induced excessive nitrite and radial oxygen species in murine macrophage RAW264.7 cells. Additionally, HMFC suppressed LPS-induced Keap-1 expression in the cytosol but did not alter iNOS expression. HMFC also attenuated the UVB-induced phosphorylation of p38, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) 1/2, and extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2, as well as the phosphorylation of c-Jun in the immortalized human skin keratinocyte HaCaT cells. Therefore, the application of centrifugation is suitable for producing high-solid MFC as a candidate material for anti-inflammatory and antioxidative marine cosmeceuticals.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF PACKAGING SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.103-110
• /
• 2023

The study aimed to enhance the properties of polylactic acid (PLA), a biodegradable and biocompatible substitute for fossil-based plastics. Since the applicability of PLA has been limited because of its toughness and brittleness, microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) and propolis were introduced into PLA. As a result, the PLA film with MFC/propolis showed significant improvements in mechanical strength, elongation, and storage modulus, while also experiencing a decrease in the glass transition temperature. Additionally, the presence of polyphenols in propolis led to a reduction in light transmittance in the UV wavelength range. These enhancements are attributed to MFC tightly bonding with PLA polymers, and propolis acting as a plasticizer and mediator between MFC and PLA, preventing agglomeration. These reinforced PLA films have the potential to be used in flexible packaging for light-sensitive products.

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
• /
• v.47 no.6
• /
• pp.57-65
• /
• 2015

Microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) or Nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) has been used to reduce the use of raw pulp and to improve paper strength. The problem of MFC preparation is high manufacturing cost. In this study, it was carried out to prepare MFC after enzyme beating and estimated properties of MFC. Endo-D was the best beating efficiency among three type of endo-glucanase. As the grinder pass number increased, the viscosity and the fines of MFC suspension increased while the crystallinity and the porosity of MFC sheet decreased. Also enzyme beating MFC was higher value in the crystallinity and lower value in the viscosity than non-enzyme MFC. In addition, the aspect ratio of MFC was the highest at 5 pass. MFC addition improved the handsheet strength and the air permeability but worsened the drainage.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
• /
• v.42 no.4
• /
• pp.483-490
• /
• 2014

The effect of microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) content and coupling agent (polymeric methylene diphenyl diisocyanate, pMDI) on the properties of MFC-reinforced polybutylene succinate (PBS) nanocomposite. With increasing MFC content, tensile strength and elastic modulus were increased. More than 1.5 times in tensile strength of PBS/MFC(70/30) nanocomposite was improved by the addition of pMDI (1 phr), compared to the nanocomposite without pMDI. This trend was being significant in nanocomposite with higher MFC content. Thermal stability of the nanocomposite was increased by the addition of pMDI. These improvements is considered to be due to the improvement of MFC dispersion and interfacial adhesion between MFC and PBS matrix.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.45 no.1
• /
• pp.1-11
• /
• 2017

In this review, we focus on one of the most attractive biomaterials, microfibrillated cellulose (MFC). MFC, a type of nanocellulose, mainly originates from cellulose in lignocellulosic biomass. MFC represents one of incredible important natural resources due to its abundancy, renewability, and sustainability. MFC is produced through mechanical pretreatment, and it is composed of various sizes of microfibers, ranging from a few nanometers to a few micrometers. Because of the heterogenetic compositions of MFC, it possesses superior properties as a material, such as high surface area, high aspect ratio, and peculiar insolubility as a biomaterial. These properties allow MFC to be used in various bio-industries, from the traditional pulp industry to the high-tech food/bio/chemical/medical industries. However, it is difficult to use MFC on a commercial scale owing to the high energy input required during its production and the challenge of controlling its reactivity. Therefore, future studies should be focused on accurately characterizing MFC's surface morphologies, regulating its characteristics in a desirable direction, and standardizing proper guidelines for the analysis of surface morphologies its analysis.

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
• /
• v.48 no.1
• /
• pp.5-18
• /
• 2016

Electron microscopy is an important investigation and analytical method for the morphological characterization of various cellulosic materials, such as micro-crystalline cellulose (MCC), microfibrillated cellulose (MFC), nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC), and cellulose nanocrystals (CNC). However, more accurate morphological analysis requires high-quality micrographs acquired from the proper use of an electron microscope and associated sample preparation methods. Understanding the interaction of electron and matter as well as the importance of sample preparation methods, including drying and staining methods, enables the production of high quality images with adequate information on the nanocellulosic materials. This paper provides a brief overview of the micro and nano structural analysis of cellulose, as investigated using transmission and scanning electron microscopy.

• Polymer(Korea)
• /
• v.38 no.1
• /
• pp.74-79
• /
• 2014

Microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) was chemically modified with two different silane coupling agents (3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane and 3-mercaptopropyltriethoxysilane) and lauroyl chloride. The surface modification of MFC was confirmed by infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and contact angle measurements. Composite paper was successfully prepared with surface modified MFC and polyamide (PA) fiber. The surface modification of MFC not only prevented aggregation of MFC but also improved adhesive property between PA fiber and surface modified MFC. It was impossible to prepare papers of only PA fiber because there is no binder to connect PA fibers. That is, surface modified MFC as a binder in PA fiber played a crucial role in making composite paper. Composite paper with silane modified MFC showed higher tensile strength and modulus than composite paper with lauroyl moiety modified MFC. The structure, morphology, and mechanical properties of composite paper were analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and universal testing machine (UTM).

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
• /
• v.43 no.1
• /
• pp.17-24
• /
• 2015

In this study, the effect of delignification degree of Korean white pine wood on fibrillation efficiency by wet disk-milling (WDM) and the properties of thus-obtained microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) were investigated. The effect on the tensile properties of nanopaper was also investigated. The delignification degree was adjusted by repeating 'Wise' method using sodium chlorite and acetic acid. The increase in delignification degree improved fibrillation efficiency, showing the smaller nanofiber dimension at the shorter WDM time. The filtration time of MFC water suspension was increased by the increase of WDM cycles. Tensile strength and elastic modulus of the nanopaper were increased by increasing delignification degree and disk-milling cycles.