Industrial Agricultural Products Center
Date of this Version
5-8-2001
Abstract
This process involves feeding cellulose into an extruder with an acid solution. The extruder is comprised of a screw and a barrel. The screw is rotated so as to pressurize the cellulose, and the cellulose undergoes acid hydrolysis and forms microcrystalline cellulose. The invented process can be accomplished by using pure cellulose or a lignocellulosic material as the starting material. If a lignocellulosic material is used, then a basic solution is added to it and the lignocellulosic material is fed through an extruder so as to obtain a mixture comprising lignin, hemicellulose and cellulose. The lignin and hemicellulose are extracted and the remaining cellulose is processed, as discussed previously, to form microcrystalline cellulose.
Comments
United States Patent No.: US 6,228,213 B1