Nanofibrillar cellulose from Posidoniaoceanica: Properties and morphological features

• Nanofibrillar cellulose was isolated from Posidonia oceanica balls and leaves.
• The NFC gel was produced via high pressure homogenizer.
• The NFC was characterized in terms of their morphological features and colloidal properties.
• The reinforcing potential of NFC from Posidonia was shown to be within the common NFC from wood and annual plants.

Posidonia oceanica a dominant Mediterranean Sea grass was used as a starting material to produce nanofibrillar cellulose. Thus, NFC gel was produced by the disintegration in a high pressure homogenizer of cellulose pulp extracted from P. oceanica. The ensuing NFC suspension was characterized in terms of fibrillation yield, transparency, rheological behavior and morphological features. The reinforcing potential of the ensuing NFC was also investigated using dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) from measurements carried out on nanocomposites films prepared by casting a mixture of NFC suspension and commercial acrylic latex. The prepared materials have showed promising mechanical properties.