Microcrystalline cellulose powder from banana pseudostem fibres using bio-chemical route

Microcrystalline cellulose powder was prepared from banana pseudostem fibres. The conventional method for preparing cellulose powder requires cooking of raw material with high concentration of alkali followed by washing, bleaching and grinding. In this study cellulose powder was prepared by a method which was developed by CIRCOT in which raw material (banana fibres) were subjected to anaerobic treatment in the presence of microbial consortium for 7 days at room temperature. Fibres were washed with water and cooked in 1 % alkali at 100 degrees C for 30 min. followed by bleaching and thorough washing. Hydrolysis of bleached pulp was carried out using 2.5N HCl to get the microcrystalline cellulose powder and studied the properties of the produced cellulose powder such as moisture content, ash content, cellulose content, starch content, pH value, solubility, degree of polymerization, molecular weight, particle size, degree of compressibility, x-ray crystalinity and infrared spectroscopy. Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) powder prepared from banana fibres has properties at par with commercial grade MCC.