Physico-Chemical Characterization of Cellulose Extracted from Ficus Leaves

Many by-products of agricultural activities and agro-based processing litter the environment and constitute to waste problems. This research is aimed at converting one of the unwanted forestry waste products (Ficus leaves) to commercially useful cellulose using the acid chloride-soda method. The chemical composition of raw fiber and extracted cellulose was investigated by the gravimetric method. The morphology was investigated using scanning electron microscopy revealing the cellulose in micro-fibrils form with diameters ranging from 3-12 mu m. FTIR and C-13 CP-MAS NMR spectra revealed the removal of hemicellulose and lignin from the raw fiber due to several chemical treatments. TGA demonstrated the thermal stability enhanced noticeably for the extracted cellulose. This work provides utilization of Ficus leaves examining their potential use as paper pulp and reinforcement fibers in biocomposite applications.