Etherification of Alkali-pretreated Sugarcane Bagasse Cellulose in Tetrahydrofuran

Sugarcane bagasse (SCB) is an important by-product in the sugar industry. It is a source of cellulose fibers or cellulose for paper mills and textiles factories. In this study, SCB was ethyl etherified in tetrahydrofuran (THF) after alkali pretreatment. The alkali concentration for the pretreatment, the ratio of ethyl bromide (EtBr) to dried SCB in the reaction, reaction time, and temperature were investigated for the etherification of SCB. The ethoxyl content and characterization of the product were determined using headspace gas chromatography (HS-GC), Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) and ¹³C-NMR spectroscopy, respectively. It was found that SCB was well-etherified with EtBr in alkali-THF. Upon ethylation of SCB, the ethoxyl content of the product was high when the alkali concentration and the ratio of EtBr to dried SCB were controlled from 50% to 75% and 4:1 (V/w) to 6:1 (V/w), respectively. The reaction occurred optimally when the temperature was controlled below 110℃; above this temperature, the degree of etherification decreased. The thermal stability of ethylated SCB was higher than that of SCB but slightly lower than that of commercial ethyl cellulose. Ethylated SCB has the potential to form composites with many materials because it is soluble in a wide variety of solvents.