Tailoring nanofibrillated cellulose through sonication and its potential use in molded pulp packaging

Abstract Nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) was systematically tailored by ultrasonic-assisted esterification with lactic acid at different amplitudes and times, which led to modified NFC (mNFC) with different degrees of substitution (DS), between 0.21 and 0.55, as confirmed by titration, FTIR, and C13 NMR. A partial fragmentation and decrease in crystallinity of mNFC were revealed by TEM and XRD. To form molded pulp sheets, 5 wt% mNFC was added into a bagasse (BG) pulp slurry, then partially dewatered before hot-pressed. mNFC worked effectively as self-retention aid, partly solving the issue of drainage during sheet forming as commonly observed from unmodified NFC. The BG/mNFC (DS 0.55) sheet exhibited an enhancement in tensile properties. Water resistance and barrier performance of the current sheets were also evidently increased. The results suggested that the higher DS on mNFC can improve water resistance and mechanical properties, simultaneously overcoming drainage challenges in processing of molded pulp products. Graphical Abstract