Manufacturing and stabilization of nanocellulose in a scale up process using functional maleates as a colloidal dispersion

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), a form of cellulose, shows a lot of promise in the development of sustainable materials thanks to its unique properties such as high performance, large surface area, is readily available, renewable, and biodegradable. Early methods to synthesize CNC have not been very successful. In order to isolate CNC, to make them ready for fast production of industry needs, these challenges need to be resolved by chemical modifications. Therefore, the goal of this project is to develop fast and easy methods to manufacture cellulose nanocrystals and for the homogeneous dispersion. An eco-friendly one-pot method will be used to achieve the objective of synthesizing large batches CNC treated with the use of environmentally friendly chemicals. The resulting CNC will be examined in detail for its properties.

Faculty Supervisor:

Ya-Huei Chin

Student:

Prashant Chauhan

Partner:

Ford Motor Company

Discipline:

Engineering - chemical / biological

Sector:

Manufacturing

University:

University of Toronto