In this study, surface chemistry, the morphological properties, water retention values, linear viscoelastic properties, crystallinity index, tensile strength and thermal properties of water hyacinth (WH) cellulose were correlated with the degree of mechanical processing under high-pressure homogenisation. An initial low-pressure mechanical shear of WH stems resulted in the ease of chemical extraction of good quality cellulose using mild concentrations of chemical reagents and ambient temperature. Further passes through the homogeniser resulted in an overall improvement in cellulose fibrillation into nanofibrils, and an increase in water retention property and linear viscoelastic properties as the number of passes increased. These improvements are most significant after the first and second pass, resulting in up to 7.5% increase in crystallinity index and 50% increase in the tensile strength of films, when compared with the unprocessed WH cellulose. The thermal stability of the WH cellulose was not adversely affected but remained stable with increasing number of passes. Results suggest a high suitability for this process to generate superior quality cellulose nanofibrils at relatively low energy requirements, ideal for sustainable packaging applications and as a structural component to bioplastic composite formulations.

在这项研究中，水葫芦（WH）纤维素的表面化学，形态学特性，保水值，线性粘弹性，结晶度，拉伸强度和热性能与高压均质下的机械加工程度相关。WH茎的初始低压机械剪切力使得使用适度浓度的化学试剂和环境温度可以轻松地化学提取高质量的纤维素。通过均质器的进一步通过导致纤维素原纤化成纳米原纤维的总体改善，并且随着通过次数的增加，保水性和线性粘弹性的增加。这些改进在第一遍和第二遍之后最为显着，最多可以达到7。与未加工的WH纤维素相比，结晶度指数提高5％，薄膜的拉伸强度提高50％。WH纤维素的热稳定性未受到不利影响，但随着通过次数的增加而保持稳定。结果表明该方法非常适合在相对较低的能量需求下生产出高质量的纤维素纳米原纤维，是可持续包装应用的理想选择，并且是生物塑料复合制剂的结构成分。