Development of Carboxymethylcellulose from corn residue produced in Coxim-MS and region

Abstract

Brazilian corn production is the third-largest worldwide producer and occupies an important place in the world production. This agricultural goods is produced from the North to the South of the Brazil in two planting seasons, that generate large amount of residues resulting from this cultivation activity. the residues when inadequately used they constitute a source of contamination and aggression to the environment. But corn residue is rich in cellulose and can be transformed into products with high added value. Cellulose is the main component of plant cell walls, and is the most abundant polymer on Earth. It is the basic building block for many commercial products such as textiles, packaging, explosives, paper
and many more. Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), generally used as sodium salt is a derivated cellulose that is used is used across many industrial sectors. Our goals in this work is to take advantage of the natural resources such as corn, in the city of Coxim and Pedro Gomes, Mato Grosso do Sul. Corn residues were collected and treatment and purification processes were performed to obtain cellulose followed by reaction of CMC synthesis and subsequent development of biopolymer material. The synthesized CMC was subjected to thermal analysis (TG / DTG) and miscibility test in acidic, basic and neutral aqueous solutions to confer hydrocolloid properties. The CMC obtained from the corn residue presented acceptable characteristics of thermal stability, with potential thickener that can be used in the food, pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.