EUBCE 2026 - Gayathri VANNIAPPAN - Development of Carboxymethyl Cellulose/lignin Composite Bioplastics from Wood Shaving Biomass Pretreated with a Deep Eutectic Solvent

Development of Carboxymethyl Cellulose/lignin Composite Bioplastics from Wood Shaving Biomass Pretreated with a Deep Eutectic Solvent

Short Introductive summary

The growing need for sustainable materials has driven interest in developing green processes for lignocellulosic biomass valorisation. This study presents a novel deep eutectic solvent (DES) based pretreatment strategy for wood shaving biomass (WSB) to recover lignin and obtain cellulose-enriched solids suitable for subsequent bioplastics synthesis. The DES was uniquely designed using DBTMEDABr as the hydrogen bond acceptor and an AA as the hydrogen bond donor. The recovered lignin was characterised through Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and proton nuclear magnetic resonance, and the cellulose-rich solid residue was characterised for X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope. The solid residue is further converted to a valuable compound, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). Keeping the synthesised CMC as the polymer matrix, while the recovered lignin was incorporated as a reinforcing filler at varying ratios for the fabrication of bioplastic films. This integrated approach not only demonstrates the potential of DES pretreatment as an eco-friendly alternative but also represents a resource-to-value strategy from renewable resources.

G. Vanniapan, Deakin University, Geelong Waurn Ponds, AUSTRALIA
M. Naebe, Deakin University, Geelong Waurn Ponds, AUSTRALIA
A. Haque, Deakin University, Geelong Waurn Ponds, AUSTRALIA
T.K. Panda, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, INDIA
D. Bhattacharyya, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, INDIA