ABSTRACT
Cellulose constitutes one of the most abundant and renewable organic materials on this planet. It is an integral part of all plants. It is estimated that by photosynthesis, 1011-1012 tons of cellulose is synthesized annually in the world; for example, sometimes it is found combined with lignin and other polysaccharides (hemicelluloses) in the cell wall of woody plants [1]. It is the most preferred raw material for the textile, paper, and packaging industry. CMC is the most important commercial cellulose ether. It is a cellulose derivative with sodium carboxy methyl group (–CH2COONa) substitution to some of the hydroxyl groups of the glucopyranose monomers that make up the cellulose backbone. The functional properties of CMC depend upon the degree of substitution (DS) of the cellulose chains. The DS indicates that the average number of hydroxyl groups of the glucose units in the cellulose chain has been substituted. The CMC has been synthesized by the base-catalyzed reaction of cellulose and chloroacetic acid [2]. Commercial water-soluble CMC usually has a DS between 0.4 and 1.2 [3].
