Valorization of Garlic Crops Residues as Precursors of Cellulosic Materials

Abstract: This work evaluated residues of garlic crops from Colombia, as promising sources of cellulosic materials. We demonstrated an efficient re-engineering of the waste products to highly valuable cellulose materials as precursors of cellulosic derivatives suitable for functionalization. To study the feasibility of extracting cellulose from garlic raw fibers, the steam explosion technique was used along with mild chemical treatment. These processes included usual chemical procedures such as alkaline extraction, bleaching, and acid hydrolysis but with a mild concentration of the chemicals. The chemical constituents of the fiber in each processing step were determined by standard procedures. The extracted cellulose microfibers were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Powder X-ray Diffractometry (XRD), and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The FTIR spectra, as well as XRD, TGA and SEM results, showed changes in the peaks corresponding to hemicelluloses and lignin, which were removed from the fiber surface because of the treatments. These promising results proved revalorization of garlic by-product to produce cellulose derivatives and its potential use as reinforcement in the preparation of useful composites. Graphic Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]