Isolation of Cellulose from Sawdust of Cedrus Deodara: Effect of Preparation Conditions on their Morphological Behavior

Abstract

The Cedrus deodara was collected from Pakistan and was grounded and converts into powder. The powder was extracted through Soxhlet apparatus with various solvents to eliminate the soluble extractive and waxes. The raw cellulose was kept in autoclave to treat with alkaline solution to break the bond linkage. Most polar ingredients were removed through Ethylene diamine tetra acetate and hydrogen peroxide. The raw cellulose was further purified through acetic acid and nitric acid. The cellulose was neutralized by deionized water. The extracted cellulose was analyzed by analytical methods like X-ray Diffraction (XRD) to determine the crystallinity. Fourier Transfer Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) indicates different functional groups on the surface. Thermo gravimetric Analysis (TGA) specifies thermal degradation in which the mass loss is calculated with respect to time and temperature. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) determined external morphology by scanning with a focused beam of electron which detected extremely observable holes with channels on the external surface. The extracted cellulose has highly crystalline, thermal constancy and good mechanical properties.