Soon Yee Liew
University of Nottingham
UK
Title: Continuous flow process for the scalable production of cellulose nanocrystals
Biography
Biography: Soon Yee Liew
Abstract
As oppose to widely practised batch process of producing cellulose nanocrystals (CNXLs), a continuous flow process for the scalable production process is being developed. The aim is to produce up to 1 kg of CNXLs per day, compared to the current laboratory scale of 15 grams per batch. The continuous process consists of 3 major unit operations: CNXL extraction from cotton with 64 wt% sulphuric acid (reaction), acid-CNXL separation and thereafter CNXL purification, and acid recycling. The major difficulties of the scaling up process are attributed to the nature of CNXLs, due to their small sizes and whisker-like shape, and also the high amount of acid used in the process. However, these challenges are overcome through careful application of process engineering principles together with the understanding of the underlying material physical and chemical properties. The motivation of this work is to prepare the right background that will enable the incorporation of these high performance renewable nanomaterials into consumer products. Its success will also accelerate and widen the research on these nanomaterials for the development of the next generation of advance materials