ABSTRACT
Biobased nanofibers, nanocelluloses, have been studied extensively and received a lot of attention recently due to its renewability, biodegradability, and superior mechanical properties. The production of nanocelluloses typically begins with physical, chemical, and enzymatic pre-treatment of biomass to remove lignin and hemicellulose from biomass sources to mitigate the high cost of nanocellulose production. There are three different types of nanocelluloses that can be extracted or produced, namely, cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), cellulose nanofibrils (CNF), and bacterial cellulose (BC). Each nanocellulose differs in its mechanical, physical, chemical properties, biomass sources, and its method of productions (pre-treatment and defibrillation method) are reviewed in this chapter. The multiple applications of nanocellulose with the focus on nanocomposites are also reviewed. The commercial production of nanocelluloses is expected to increase remarkably in near future.
