Bagasse ‐ a resource for fibres and nanocelluloses for biocomposites and 3D printing

CHINGA-CARRASCO, G.; EHMAN, N.V.; VALLEJOS, M.E.; FELISSIA, F.E.; AREA, M.C.; JOHANSSON, J.; HÅKANSSON, J.

Chiba

Congreso; International Conference on Nanotechnology for Renewable Materials; 2019

TAPPI's International Nanotechnology Division

Surgarcane bagasse, an abundant residue, is usually burned as an energy source. However, provided that appropriate and sustainable pulping and fractionation processes are applied, bagasse can be utilized as a main source of cellulose nanofibrils (CNF). We explored in this study the production of CNF inks for 3D printing by direct-ink-writing technology. The CNF were tested against L929 fibroblasts cell line and we confirmed that the CNF from soda bagasse fibers were found not to have a cytotoxic potential. Additionally, we demonstrated that the alginate and Ca2+ caused significant structural changes to the 3D printed constructs. The CNF-alginate grids exhibited a lateral expansion after printing and then shrank due to the cross-linking with the Ca2+. The release of Ca2+ from the CNF and CNF-alginate constructs was quantified thus providing more insight about the CNF as carrier for Ca2+, which combined with 3D printing offer potential for personalized wound dressing devices.