Cellulose Nanocrystals from Cellulosic Biomass Waste: Unique Green Material for Product Development across Industries with Income Generating Potential.

Cellulosic biomass has been looked as potential alternative for fossil fuel over decades now. Different annual and perennial crops like sweet sorghum, energy cane, napier grass, giant reed, switchgrass, miscanthus and others have been researched extensively in the past. There is an enormous amount of biomass that just get wasted as a result of processes or being residual in nature. Such biomass sources are rich in cellulose and can be used in developing value-added products. In addition, there are other clean cellulosic waste from everyday use that can also be utilized for similar purpose. This research aims to study the potential of different sources of cellulosic biomass in developing value-added products. Production of cellulose nanocrystals is looked as potential product development strategy due to its unique advantages including availability, biocompatibility, biodegradability, sustainability, recyclability and reinforcement potential. It can be used in various fields, such as agriculture, tissue engineering and biomedical sciences. We plan to evaluate biomass waste from energy cane, napier grass, giant reed and one clean source of everyday cellulosic waste to obtain cellulose nanocrystal and make hydrogels and aerogels for specific applications like water use efficiency and recyclable oil absorbents.