All-lignocellulose-based hard bioplastic

作者：Zhou, Hao; Guan, Yanhua; Yan, Xiaojie; Pan, Zheng; Xu, Jikun; Dai, Lin^*; Zhang, Meng; Si, Chuanling^*

来源：INDUSTRIAL CROPS AND PRODUCTS, 2023, 193: 116164.

DOI：10.1016/j.indcrop.2022.116164

• Lignocellulose
• Biorefinery
• Bioplastic
• Ball-milling
• DES

Environmental-friendly materials derived from abundant renewable biomass are considered to be the green alternatives to unsustainable petrochemical-based materials. However, the utilization ratio and material properties of biomass severely limit their practical applications. Here we demonstrate the almost total transformation of natural waste wood powder into a bioplastic over 74% yield (74.4-100% yield) by using ball-milling, deep eutectic solvent (DES) treatments, and simple molding processes. The obtained all-lignocellulose-based bioplastics were formed from entanglement and hydrogen bonding between micro-/nano-fibrillated cellulose and regenerated nano-lignin, which led to highly dense structure, improved hydrophobic property (water contact angle > 60 degrees, water absorption < 20%), and high hardness (Brinell hardness number > 11.3, more than 10 times harder than natural poplar wood). This study not only paves the way towards total and sustainable utilization of biomass feedstock but also provides a green and alternative raw material with the potential to replace petroleum resources for production of hard plastic materials.