An Investigation of Cellulose, Hemicellulose, and Lignin Co-Extraction from Water Hyacinth

Water hyacinth, an abundant aqueous source of biomass, can be considered as a cash crop if properly utilized. As a lignocellulosic biomass, water hyacinth consists of three major chemical components-cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. These components have their direct industrial applications and can be used as raw materials to synthesize numerous chemicals. The objective of this study was to co-extract the cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin from water hyacinth. Hemicellulose and lignin were isolated from water hyacinth by acidic and basic treatment, respectively. The operating conditions (concentration, temperature, and time) of the acid and basic treatment processes were optimized based on the hemicellulose and lignin yield. The solid residue was further oxidized by a bleaching process to obtain cellulose. The yields for cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin-rich solids were determined as 20.5%, 7.9%, and 13.8%, respectively. The products were confirmed and characterized by FTIR and XRD. Highly crystalline nanocellulose particles were produced. From XRD, the crystallinity index and average crystallite size were calculated as 61- 67.59% and 4.26 nm, respectively.