Water-Soluble Sodium-Carboxymethyl Cellulosic Residue from Corn Biomass — 56p — Santosh Rijal¹, Senthil Subramanian², and Srinivas Janaswamy^1,2

¹Department of Dairy and Food Science, ²Department of Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD

Naturally occurring hydrophilic polysaccharides such as gellan, xanthan, carrageenans, pectin, carboxymethyl cellulose, and guar gum, are explored in the food, paint, paper, textile, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries to alter the texture, gelation, and viscosity of solutions. In this set, cellulose derivative carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) is gaining popularity due to its biodegradable, biocompatible, non-toxic, readily available, and cost-effective production method. CMC is mainly produced from wood cellulose obtained from forests and trees. However, these natural resources aid immensely in reducing the impact of climate change. The scientific and industrial communities are transitioning towards sustainability, emphasizing an environmentally friendly, clean, and green outlook. In this regard, using cellulosic residue from renewable agricultural residues is sustainable and contributes to the circular bioeconomy. Herein, cellulosic residue was extracted from corn biomass, and a water-soluble system was created by attaching carboxymethyl groups with a degree of substitution (DS) of 0.47. FTIR analysis confirmed the presence of the carboxyl group on the cellulosic residue and solution viscosity decreases with an increase in shear rate, suggesting the display of shear-thinning behavior. The outcome is deemed to open novel opportunities for agriculture biomass and agricultural processing byproducts in producing water-soluble cellulosic residues and replacing wood cellulose for various food and non-food applications.

Keywords: Corn biomass, Cellulosic residue, Degree of substitution, Shear-thinning

South Dakota State University
Dr. Srinivas Janaswamy; Dr. Senthil Subramanian