Isolation and Characterization of Nanocellulose from Banana Peels via a One-Pot Hydrolysis System Using the Taguchi Method

Nanocellulose (NC) has become a tremendous topic in recent years due to its versatility and renewability properties. Taking account of highly underutilized agro-waste, banana peel (BP) showed potential as a competent raw material for NC. NCs were synthesized through a one-pot hydrolysis system. Initially, the Taguchi orthogonal array was carried out to determine the effect of hydrolysis parameters (H₂SO₄%, reaction time, and temperature) on the properties (crystallinity, morphology, size, functional group and surface charge) of NC. In addition, to obtain the optimized hydrolysis condition to obtain the highest NC yield, minimum size and maximum surface charge. NC was successfully obtained with a crystallinity index of 21.46%, a particle size of 152.6 nm, and a zeta potential of -16.9 mV. This was achieved using 40% H2SO4 concentration, a reaction time of 106.316 min, and a temperature of 77.02 °C. The surface morphology and functional group present in the synthesized NC were comparable with the commercially available NC, thus justifying BP to be a good source for NC production.