Catching up with nanotechnology to support the Philippine forest products industry: [Nanotechnology for the Philippine Forest Product Industry: development of protocols for preparing nanocellulose from Philippine Bamboo and Exploring their potential applications]

The Philippine forest products industry has been saddled with problems stemming from scarcity of timber in view of the deforested state of the country's production forests. This has hampered the industry's ability to supply panels and other modern materials needed for the burgeoning construction of buildings for commerce and services, residences, and other infrastructure. Meanwhile, the forests abound with renewable non-timber resources like bamboo, while large areas had been planted with fast-growing industrial tree species which are harvested at relatively younger age and smaller diameter than trees that once thrived in the primary forests. When utilized, the smaller timber affords significant wastes that are too valuable to squander, while bamboo poles re relatively abundant, renewable wood-like resources that are still awaiting opportunities for expanded utilization. Nanotechnology affords the opportunity to support the Philippine forest products industry by enabling the conversion of otherwise less valuable forest-based materials to nanosized particles that can be integrated in composites in minute amount, but with resultant improvement in their properties. This lecture presents results of experiments undertaken to prepare nanocellulose from two Philippine species of bamboo, namely Bambusa bluemeana and Bambusa vulgaris, and from the wastes of three industrial tree plantation species, Gmelina arborea, Paraserianthes falcataria, and Acacia mangium. The bamboo species were selected following chemical analyses that showed favorable cellulose and minimal lignin content. Protocols involving a series of preparative treatments such as pulping, bleaching, chlorite and alkali treatment to afford cellulose were developed, while two types of nanocellulose products were isolated. Cellulosic nanocrystals were obtained from the sulfuric acid hydrolysis of alkali-insoluble cellulose, while cellulosic nanofibrils were prepared from variously treated precursors using Masuko sup R friction grinder super mascolloider. Yield was determined at various stages of preparation, while the nanocellulose products were characterized by microscopy (optical, atomic force, and electron), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, and X-ray diffraction analysis. Application trials of the nanocelluloses involved preparation ofxylan and thermoplastic starch enriched with nanocellulose, nanopaper made from nanocellulose with and without termiticide, and handsheets made from bamboo pulp with various amounts of bamboo nanofibrils to replace inorganic fillers. Results showed the feasibility of producing composites whose physicO-mechanical properties and water-vapor transmission rate improved with small addition of nanocellulose. Likewise, favorable enhancement of paper properties was obtained in bamboo handsheets with small percentages of nanocellulose, while nanopaper with termiticide showed efficacy for use as a barrier against termites. There are promising outcomes that indicate the potential of nanotechnology to uplift the Philippine forest industry.