Characterization of the microfibrillated cellulose from water hyacinth pulp after alkali treatment and wet blending

In this study, the effect of mechanical treatment on the characterization of microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) from water hyacinth pulp was carried out. Chemical and mechanical treatments were used in this experiments. Chemical treatment such as cooking fibers into the high-pressure reactor. While, the mechanical treatment that provides shear stress on the fibers by means of the wet blending process. The experiments were conducted at the time of wet blending namely 15, 20, and 25 min respectively. The final products were characterized by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and tensile test. SEM observation was carried out on the surface of the film. XRD shows that the crystallinity index of MFC with wet blending 15, 20, and 25 min are 56.24, 78.41, and 85.97% respectively. The maximum value of tensile strength was 23.21 MPa at 25 min of wet blending.