A composition comprising nanocellulose is disclosed, wherein the nanocellulose contains very low or essentially no sulfur content. The nanocellulose may be in the form of cellulose nanocrystals, cellulose nanofibrils, or both. The nanocellulose is characterized by a crystallinity of at least 80%, an onset of thermal decomposition of 300° F. or higher, and a low light transmittance over the range 400-700 nm. Other variations provide a composition comprising lignin-coated hydrophobic nanocellulose, wherein the nanocellulose contains very low or essentially no sulfur content. Some variations provide a composition comprising nanocellulose, wherein the nanocellulose contains about 0.1 wt % equivalent sulfur content, or less, as SO.sub.4 groups chemically or physically bound to the nanocellulose. In some embodiments, the nanocellulose contains essentially no hydrogen atoms (apart from hydrogen structurally contained in nanocellulose itself) bound to the nanocellulose. Various compositions, materials, and products may incorporate the nanocellulose compositions disclosed herein.

A composition comprising nanocellulose is disclosed, wherein the nanocellulose contains very low or essentially no sulfur content. The nanocellulose may be in the form of cellulose nanocrystals, cellulose nanofibrils, or both. The nanocellulose is characterized by a crystallinity of at least 80%, an onset of thermal decomposition of 300° F. or higher, and a low light transmittance over the range 400-700 nm. Other variations provide a composition comprising lignin-coated hydrophobic nanocellulose, wherein the nanocellulose contains very low or essentially no sulfur content. Some variations provide a composition comprising nanocellulose, wherein the nanocellulose contains about 0.1 wt % equivalent sulfur content, or less, as SO.sub.4 groups chemically or physically bound to the nanocellulose. In some embodiments, the nanocellulose contains essentially no hydrogen atoms (apart from hydrogen structurally contained in nanocellulose itself) bound to the nanocellulose. Various compositions, materials, and products may incorporate the nanocellulose compositions disclosed herein.

The invention provides a mild procedure for the functionalization of cellulose and other substrates with a detection reagent such as N-(1-naphthyl)ethylenediamine and is able to achieve much higher functionalization density than previously reported. A paper-based device created using cellulose functionalized according to the invention allowed for much lower detection limits for nitrite in various kinds of water samples than have been seen using paper-based devices. In addition, grafting of N-(1-naphthyl)ethylenediamine to cellulose improved the stability of the N-(1-naphthyl)ethylenediamine in the presence of moisture and light.

The invention provides a mild procedure for the functionalization of cellulose and other substrates with a detection reagent such as N-(1-naphthyl)ethylenediamine and is able to achieve much higher functionalization density than previously reported. A paper-based device created using cellulose functionalized according to the invention allowed for much lower detection limits for nitrite in various kinds of water samples than have been seen using paper-based devices. In addition, grafting of N-(1-naphthyl)ethylenediamine to cellulose improved the stability of the N-(1-naphthyl)ethylenediamine in the presence of moisture and light.

The invention relates to an aqueous resin composition and a method for the manufacture of an aqueous resin composition which resin is a reaction product of an oxidised polysaccharide and a crosslinking agent, which oxidised polysaccharide is an oxidised cellulose comprising aldehyde groups, which crosslinking agent comprises two or more groups reactive with the aldehyde groups, wherein the aldehyde groups in the resin in the aqueous resin composition are in hydrated or un-hydrated form and are at least partly converted to inter- or intramolecular hemiacetals, wherein the resin is dispersed and/or dissolved but not gelled. The invention also relates to the use of this composition for a binder in inorganic fibres products

A method for manufacturing a fibrous cellulose having a high resin reinforcing effect and a method for manufacturing a fibrous cellulose composite resin having high strength. A method for manufacturing a fibrous cellulose includes: a step of subjecting a cellulose raw material and at least one of urea and a derivative of urea to a heat treatment to replace a part or all of hydroxyl groups of the cellulose raw material with carbamate groups; and a step of defibrating the cellulose raw material within a range in which an average fiber width is 0.1 μm or more. The heat treatment is performed under a condition that organic acid ions are added in an amount of 0.001 mmol or more with respect to 1 g of the urea and the derivative of urea. In addition, a fibrous cellulose thus obtained and a resin are kneaded to manufacture a fibrous cellulose composite resin.

A biopolymer film is provided that comprises a combination of crystalline nano cellulose (CNC)/esterified crystalline nano cellulose (ECNC) reinforced with chitosan. The two polymer components can be present in any ratio, but an approximate CNC to ECNC 70:30 ratio is preferred. The chitosan component is derived from exoskeletons of crustaceans. Also provided are methods of preparing biopolymer film and preparing food packaging components from said biopolymer film. The CNC/ECNC mixture is dissolved in an ethanol solution and the chitin is dissolved in acetic acid and mixed together to form a polymer blend.

The present invention provides a method for efficiently obtaining a fertilizer containing polysaccharide hydrolysates and nutrients such as calcium, phosphoric acid, and nitrogen. The present invention is a method for manufacturing a fertilizer, characterized by comprising: a hydrolysis step for obtaining a mixture including polysaccharide hydrolysates through hydrolysis of polysaccharides using an acid catalyst; and a neutralizing step after the hydrolysis step for adding at least one basic compound selected from the group consisting of potassium salt, phosphate, ammonium salt, and ammonia.

The present invention provides a method for efficiently obtaining a fertilizer containing polysaccharide hydrolysates and nutrients such as calcium, phosphoric acid, and nitrogen. The present invention is a method for manufacturing a fertilizer, characterized by comprising: a hydrolysis step for obtaining a mixture including polysaccharide hydrolysates through hydrolysis of polysaccharides using an acid catalyst; and a neutralizing step after the hydrolysis step for adding at least one basic compound selected from the group consisting of potassium salt, phosphate, ammonium salt, and ammonia.

A method for preparing a modified cellulose aerogel for glycoprotein separation is provided. In this method, cellulose aerogel is employed as a substrate. The cellulose aerogel is known to have a three-dimensional network structure with extremely high porosity and specific surface area and extremely low density. So, by using the cellulose aerogel as a substrate, it is possible to provide the glycoproteins to be separated with more binding sites. PEI dendrimer has abundant functional groups and can easily be modified. By modifying the cellulose aerogel substrate with the PEI dendrimer, it is possible to improve the density of the phenylboronic acid bound to the substrate, thereby leading to higher affinity toward the glycoproteins to be separated.