There are many methods used nowadays to obtain cellulose nanofiber (CNF) from plant fibers. However, a major drawback of these methods is the %yield of CNF obtained. In this study, the preparation of CNF from cassava pulp (CP) with the application of a high-pressure homogenizer was explored. CP was treated with sodium hydroxide and then bleached by sodium chlorite/acetate buffer solution. Then a high-pressure homogenizer was used to obtain CNF. The effect of homogenization pressure and the number of cycles on the structure and properties of CNF were investigated. From emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) images, the diameters of CNF decreased with increasing homogenization pressure and the number of cycles, these fibrils were split off into smaller fiber bundles. At optimal preparation conditions, CP with treatment of alkali, bleaching and homogenizing at 25,000 psi and 15 cycles showed diameters in the range of 15-37 nm and estimated lengths of 500-5000 nm, which met the size of the CNF requirement. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy of all CNF demonstrated that the alkali and bleaching treatments partially removed hemicelluloses and lignin from the structure of fibers leading to higher purity of cellulose. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results were revealed that alkali and bleaching treatments also improved the crystallinity of fibers from 19% in CP to 46% in CNF. Furthermore, FTIR spectroscopy and XRD curves of all CNF showed no significant difference, indicating that the chemical compositions and crystallinity of CNF were not affected by increasing pressure and the number of cycles of the homogenizer. Especially, the preparation of CNF from CP using a high-pressure homogenizer gave a 14.72 % yield. In conclusion, the development of novel CNF from CP can be achieved by an application of the homogenization process.

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