Transforming agricultural stem waste into value‐added microcrystalline cellulose: A sustainable resource recovery strategy using Moringa oleifera

Abstract

This article examines the potential of Moringa oleifera stem waste as a sustainable and underutilized lignocellulosic source for the production of high‐purity microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). The biomass was first optimally alkaline‐delignified, bleached, and acid‐hydrolyzed to obtain pure MCC. The chemical and morphological properties were determined using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), x‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy‐dispersive spectroscopy, UV–vis, particle‐size analysis, roughness profiling, and thermal analysis. FTIR and XRD indicated that the major allomorph was cellulose Iβ, which had a crystallinity index of 70.86% ± 4.0% and a crystallite size of 3.5 ± 0.8 nm. SEM exhibited well‐structured fibrillar networks and broken microstructures characteristic of cellulosic material that has undergone acid hydrolysis. UV–vis spectra showed that it was very transparent in the visible range. The yield of the MCC was high at 54.8%, and a low density of 1.53 g/cm 3 was also obtained. In general, the results indicated that M. oleifera stem waste is an economical, renewable, and efficient feedstock to obtain industrial‐grade MCC. The thermal investigation revealed a maximum deterioration temperature of 364.13°C, which was much higher. The isolated MCC's physicochemical characteristics were investigated, showing its potential usage as an environmentally friendly reinforcing filler in future polymer composites. These results should be further investigated, including the development of polymer composites and testing of their properties for specific engineering applications.