Output details
12 - Aeronautical, Mechanical, Chemical and Manufacturing Engineering
Queen's University Belfast
Biorefining of perennial ryegrass for the production of nano-fibrillated cellulose
The output from this research featured in the final of the 2012 Northern Ireland '25k' innovation competition and its commercial potential is currently under evaluation by PVA manufacturer Kuraray Europe Gmbh in Germany (contact Niklas Steinbach).The findings from this paper give, for the first time, a direct comparison between different protocols for producing nanocellulose from ryegrass, in terms of the quality of fibres produced, the mass, energy water and chemical balances of the different processes. It also demonstrates their relative effectiveness as reinforcements for polvinyl alcohol (PVA), providing the basis for subsequent process commercialisation and scale-up for industrial use.