Cellulose fibers extracted from rice and oat husks and their application in hydrogel

- The cellulose fibers extracted from rice and oat husks showed a high purity degree.
- Hydrogels were obtained from the cellulose extracted from rice and oat husks.
- The hydrogels had different water absorption capacities, depending on temperature.
- The highest water absorption capacity was presented by rice cellulose hydrogel at 25 °C.

The commercial cellulose fibers and cellulose fibers extracted from rice and oat husks were analyzed by chemical composition, morphology, functional groups, crystallinity and thermal properties. The cellulose fibers from rice and oat husks were used to produce hydrogels with poly (vinyl alcohol). The fibers presented different structural, crystallinity, and thermal properties, depending on the cellulose source. The hydrogel from rice cellulose fibers had a network structure with a similar agglomeration sponge, with more homogeneous pores compared to the hydrogel from oat cellulose fibers. The hydrogels prepared from the cellulose extracted from rice and oat husks showed water absorption capacity of 141.6-392.1% and high opacity. The highest water absorption capacity and maximum stress the compression were presented by rice cellulose hydrogel at 25 °C. These results show that the use of agro-industrial residues is promising for the biomaterial field, especially in the preparation of hydrogels.