Cellulose
Cellulose is B,1-4 glycosidic linked glucoses most notably produced by plants as a structural material. Cellulose is useful to humans as a digestive and material fiber. Additionally cellulose can be extracted and polymerized with different functional groups as a bioplastic. Cellulose beta linkages are very stable and formed by plants to be very difficult to break, but the glucose monomers yield large amounts of energy once released. Waste biomass is largely cellulose and its companion polymers lignin and hemicellulose.
Sources of cellulose
Cellulose is one of the most abundant biomolecules on the planet and is produced in large quantities as a waste by agriculture. Agricultural waste at FeF could be refined for the cellulose and the characteristics of different biomass wastes need to be understood. Biomass waste from removal of high value products, such as sugar and lipids, may be a source that fits well with OSE product ecologies.
Bacterial Cellulose, as the name suggests is cellulose produced/grown by bacteria from a growing medium. It can be a useful material, and its derivation directly from bacteria cuts out the need to extract cellulose from other sources in what are fairly complicated processes (such as from wood or other plant matter).
Polycellulose
Cellulose acetate
Cellulose acetate is a polyester of glucose with acetate comonomers. Cellulose acetate can be made by reacting cellulose biomass with acetic anhydride and an acid catalyst.
Process for obtaining cellulose acetate from agricultural by-products