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. 2023 May 19;8(21):18930-18939.
doi: 10.1021/acsomega.3c01222. eCollection 2023 May 30.

Effect of Leaf Powdering Technique on the Characteristics of Date Palm-Derived Cellulose

Zinab Fuad Ahmed Al-Awa  1 , Farah Idris Mohamed Said Sangor  1 , Sara Baseem Babili  1 , Asif Saud  1 , Haleema Saleem  1 , Syed Javaid Zaidi  1
Affiliations

Effect of Leaf Powdering Technique on the Characteristics of Date Palm-Derived Cellulose

Zinab Fuad Ahmed Al-Awa et al. ACS Omega. .

Abstract

The date palm tree (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is the oldest cultivated tree and is very commonly seen in the Arab countries. In recent times, researchers are working on the conversion of the plant-based biowaste into value-added products. Cellulose is identified as one of the best options to be synthesized from plant-based materials due to its immense application possibilities. It is a natural hydrophilic polymer consisting of linear chains of 1,4-β-d-anhydroglucose units, and the most used method for cellulose extraction is acidic hydrolysis. However, in this study, a very sustainable, ecofriendly, and simple process of isolating cellulose from date palm leaves is discussed. In this study, the best mechanical approach (ball milling, grinding, or its combination) for changing the leaves into powder form, as well as the sustainable and simple chemical extraction of cellulose from those date palm leaves, is analyzed. SEM analyses confirmed that the mechanical treatment process affected the appearance of the cellulose formed. Raman spectrum confirmed the difference in stretching vibrations among the cellulose obtained. From the results obtained, it was noted that cellulose derived utilizing the grinding technique and subsequent chemical treatment was considered as the finest cellulose prepared with respect to its properties and structure, and the greatest yield obtained for Cellulose 2 was 42%. As a future scope, this cellulose developed can be used to produce advanced materials like nanocellulose.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic representation of the current study.
Figure 2
Figure 2
XRD pattern of pure cellulose extracted from date palm leaves. Cellulose 1: cellulose extracted from ball-milled leaves; Cellulose 2: cellulose extracted from ground leaves; Cellulose 3: cellulose extracted from ground and ball-milled leaves together.
Figure 3
Figure 3
XRD pattern of pure cellulose extracted from date palm leaves. Cellulose 2: cellulose extracted from ground leaves treated with 48% NaClO; Cellulose 4: cellulose extracted from ground leaves treated with 64.0% NaClO.
Figure 4
Figure 4
FTIR spectra of pure cellulose extracted from date palm leaves. Cellulose 1: cellulose extracted from ball-milled leaves; Cellulose 2: cellulose extracted from ground leaves; Cellulose 3: cellulose extracted from ground and ball-milled leaves together.
Figure 5
Figure 5
FTIR spectra of pure cellulose extracted from date palm leaves. Cellulose 2 represents cellulose extracted from ground leaves treated with 48% NaClO, and Cellulose 4 represents cellulose extracted from ground leaves treated with 64.0% NaClO.
Figure 6
Figure 6
SEM images of cellulose isolated from date palm leaves (a–d) from different methods. (a) Cellulose 1––ball milling, (b) Cellulose 2––grinding, (c) Cellulose 3––both ball milling and grinding, and (d) Cellulose 4––increased bleaching treatment.
Figure 7
Figure 7
DSC analysis of the three types of cellulose isolated from date palm leaves.
Figure 8
Figure 8
TGA of three types of cellulose isolated from date palm leaves.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Raman analysis of cellulose isolated from date palm leaves.
Figure 10
Figure 10
EDX analysis of cellulose isolated from date palm leaves: (a) Cellulose 1, (b) Cellulose 2, (c) Cellulose 3, and (d) Cellulose 4.
Figure 11
Figure 11
FTIR analysis of the date palm leaf extract.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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