Parametric optimization of the production of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) from South African corncobs via an empirical modelling approach.

Olawumi O Sadare, Nomthandazo Mabunda, Ugochukwu M Ikegwu, Molly K Keitemoge, Michael O Daramola, Kapil Moothi

Open access · goldAbstract read

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Article in Scientific reports, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

5citing papers in PubMed

1.9field-weighted citation impact, top 15% of its field

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 25 citations in OpenAlex.

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Magnetic Cellulose Nanocrystal Composites: Synthesis, Properties, Applications, and Opportunities.Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026
Review
Cellulose Nanofibril-Based Biodegradable Polymers from Maize Husk: A Review of Extraction, Properties, and Applications.Polymers · 2025
Review
Isolation and Characterization of Spherical Cellulose Nanocrystals Extracted from the Higher Cellulose Yield of the Jenfokie Plant: Morphological, Structural, and Thermal Properties.Polymers · 2024
Article

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Olawumi O SadareDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering the Built Environment, Doornfontein Campus, University of Johannesburg, PO Box 17011, Johannesburg, 2028, South Africa. wumisadare@gmail.com.

Nomthandazo MabundaDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering the Built Environment, Doornfontein Campus, University of Johannesburg, PO Box 17011, Johannesburg, 2028, South Africa.

Ugochukwu M IkegwuDepartment of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.

Molly K KeitemogeDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering the Built Environment, Doornfontein Campus, University of Johannesburg, PO Box 17011, Johannesburg, 2028, South Africa.

Michael O DaramolaDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, Pretoria, 0028, South Africa.

Kapil MoothiDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering the Built Environment, Doornfontein Campus, University of Johannesburg, PO Box 17011, Johannesburg, 2028, South Africa.

University of Johannesburg · ZAUniversity of Pretoria · ZAUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

In this study, cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were obtained from South African corncobs using an acid hydrolysis process. The delignification of corncobs was carried out by using alkali and bleaching pretreatment. Furthermore, the Box-Behnken Design (BBD) was used as a design of experiment (DOE) for statistical experimentations that will result in logical data to develop a model that explains the effect of variables on the response (CNCs yield). The effects (main and interactive) of the treatment variables (time, temperature, and acid concentration) were investigated via the response methodology approach and the obtained model was used in optimizing the CNCs yield. Surface morphology, surface chemistry, and the crystallinity of the synthesized CNC were checked using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), a Fourier Transform Infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR), and an X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, respectively. The SEM image of the raw corncobs revealed a smooth and compact surface morphology. Results also revealed that CNCs have higher crystallinity (79.11%) than South African waste corncobs (57.67%). An optimum yield of 80.53% CNCs was obtained at a temperature of 30.18 °C, 30.13 min reaction time, and 46 wt% sulfuric acid concentration. These optimized conditions have been validated to confirm the precision. Hence, the synthesized CNCs may be suitable as filler in membranes for different applications.

Indexed as

CelluloseNanoparticlesSouth AfricaTemperatureZea maysCellulose

Identifiers

PMID36333383

DOI10.1038/s41598-022-22865-y

PMCPMC9636206

OpenAlexW4308198799

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LicenceCC BY

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.