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In this study, for the first time, a composite fluff pulp was produced based on the combination of softwood (i.e., long-length fiber), hardwood (i.e., short-length fiber), non-wooden pulps (i.e., bagasse) and bentonite, with specific amounts to be used in hygienic pads (e.g., baby diapers and sanitary napkins). After the defibration process, the manufactured fluff pulp was placed as an absorbent mass in diapers and sanitary napkins. Therefore, tests related to the fluff pulp, such as grammage, thickness, density, ash content, humidity percentage, pH and brightness, tests related to the manufactured baby diapers, such as absorption capacity, retention rate, retention capacity, absorption time and rewet, and tests related to the sanitary napkin, such as absorption capacity and rewet, were performed according to the related standards. The results demonstrated that increasing the amount of bagasse pulp led to increasing the ash content, pH and density of fluff pulp and decreasing the brightness. The addition of bentonite as a filler also increased ash content and pH of fluff pulp. The results also demonstrated that increasing of bagasse pulp up to 30% in combination with softwood pulp led to increasing absorption capacity, retention rate, retention capacity, absorption time and rewet of baby diapers and of sanitary napkins., Competing Interests: S.I., S.M., P.T. and M.S. are employees at Marinasun’s Company.

The bio-nanocomposites of cationic starch (CS)/montmorillonite (MMT)/nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) were produced by solution casting method. The effects of NCC and MMT nanoparticles on optical, barrier and mechanical properties of CS films were investigated. X-ray diffraction results confirmed the partly intercalated and partly exfoliated structure of CS/MMT/NCC films. The FTIR test showed the forming of new hydrogen bonds between the CS hydroxyl groups and nanoparticles. FESEM analysis proved that the dispersion of NCC and MMT in the CS matrix is homogenous. The optical clarity of CS based films was almost unaffected in presence of MMT and NCC. The ternary nanocomposites with 5 wt% NCC and MMT showed the best improvements in the properties. The tensile strength and the tensile modulus of nanocomposites increased up to 61% and 73% respectively, compared to the pure CS film. The nanocomposites demonstrated highest disintegrability rate and good reduction in water vapor and oxygen permeability with addition of NCC., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In this study, various amounts of nanoclay montmorillonite (MMT) and ZnO nanopowders were used to analyze the properties of biodegradable nanocomposites of cationic starch (CS). Nanocomposites are produced by solvent casting method. The structure of CS-MMT nanocomposite films that contain 3% montmorillonite was exfoliated and was proved by XRD test. New hydrogen bonds were successfully formed between the CS hydroxyl groups and nanofillers and this was proved by FTIR test. The water vapor permeability and the UV light transmittance of the nanocomposites reduced after the contents of MMT and ZnO increased. ∆E and opacity of the nanocomposites enhanced after the amount of ZnO increased. Tensile strength (TS) of nanocomposites increased after the incorporation of ZnO and MMT nanoparticles although the elongation at break was diminished. Results showed that the 3 and 0.7 wt% amounts of montmorillonite and ZnO nanopowders were sufficient in order to acquire a well-moderated mechanical behavior in plastic and elastic regions, and they also cause good improvements in barrier and optical properties., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

It is of technical and economic importance to develop an effective cosmetic ingredient against skin aging through low-cost and facile production. This study developed a polymer/layered silicate nanocomposite as cosmetic ingredient against skin aging. Firstly, quaternized carboxymethyl chitosan (QCMC)/organic montmorillonite (OMMT) nanocomposite (QCOM) was fabricated via solution-induced intercalation. QCOM with different mass ratios of QCMC to OMMT were studied by various characterizations as well as moisture-adsorption and retention activities and UV-protection capacity. QCOM was then added into a cosmetic formulation to prepare a cosmetic cream. And the evaluation of its efficacy about skin care was conducted. The results showed that the optimal QCOM had better moisture-adsorption and retention behaviors than hyaluronic acid, and QCOM solution displayed good UV-protection ability. Furthermore, the QCOM-containing cosmetic cream meets the hygienic standard for cosmetics; it has negligible dermal irritation and a prominent moisture-retention efficacy on human stratum corneum., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Quaternized chitosan/organic montmorillonite (QCS/OMMT) nanocomposites were synthesized under microwave irradiation. XRD and TEM analyses confirmed that QCS intercalated into the interlayer of OMMT and clay layers distributed uniformly in QCS matrix. QCS/OMMT nanocomposites were used as retention and drainage-aid agents in pulp suspension, during which the interface behavior of positively charged QCS/OMMT nanocomposites on negatively charged cellulosic substrate and CaCO3 substrate was investigated. With the addition of QCS/OMMT nanocomposites, the particle size of cellulosic substrate increased, while the beating degree and the total residual carbohydrate concentration decreased. The results indicated that QCS/OMMT nanocomposite made a difference in paper making process through the charge patch interaction. Moreover, QCS/OMMT nanocomposites had a strong interaction with CaCO3, which was significant in fiber fines retention and paper production. When the mass ratio of QCS to OMMT was 8:1, the QCS/OMMT nanocomposite demonstrated the strongest retention and drainage-aid effect., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The conversion of xylose, water-insoluble hemicelluloses (WIH) and water-soluble fraction (WSF) of corncob to furfural was performed using montmorillonite with tin ions (Sn-MMT) containing double acid sites as a solid acid catalyst. The co-existence of Lewis acids and Brønsted acids in Sn-MMT was shown to improve the furfural yield and selectivity. 76.79% furfural yield and 82.45% furfural selectivity were obtained from xylose using Sn-MMT as a catalyst in a biphasic system with 2-s-butylphenol (SBP) as the organic extracting layer and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as the co-solvent in contact with an aqueous phase saturated with NaCl (SBP/NaCl-DMSO) at 180°C for 30min. Furthermore, Sn-MMT also demonstrated the excellent catalytic performance in the conversion of pentose-rich materials of corncob and 39.56% and 54.15% furfural yields can be directly obtained from WIH and WSF in the SBP/NaCl-DMSO system, respectively., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

To obtain effective adsorbent that can remove emerging organic pollutant of triclosan (TCS) in aquatic environment, different ester-containing Gemini surfactant-modified MMT (EMMT) were prepared under microwave irradiation. The whole process was rapid, uniform, easy and energy-efficient. The structures and morphology of EMMT were characterized by XRD, TEM, FT-IR, SEM and TGA. The results revealed that the saturated intercalation amount of this surfactant was 0.8 times to cation exchange capacity (CEC) of MMT, and there was electrostatic interaction between ester-containing Gemini surfactant and MMT. In addition, they bound in the ways of intercalation, intercalation-adsorption or adsorption, which relied on the dosage of the surfactant. The surface of EMMT was hydrophobic, rough and fluffy, which contributed to its strong adsorption capacity. The adsorption equilibrium data of EMMT for TCS were fitted to Langmuir and Freundlich isothermal adsorption model. The result showed that Langmuir isothermal adsorption model could describe the adsorption behavior better, the adsorption behavior of TCS on EMMT was confirmed to a surface monolayer adsorption, and notably the theoretical maximum adsorption capacity was up to 133 mg/g. Therefore, this work lays important foundation on developing effective and safe absorbent materials for the treatment of emerging organic pollutants., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Drug-delivery systems, using natural drug carriers, have become increasingly important because of their nontoxicity and biodegradability. In this study, firstly, quaternized carboxymethyl chitosan (QCMC) was intercalated into the interlayer of organic montmorillonite (OMMT) to obtain the QCMC/OMMT nanocomposites, their structure, morphology, and thermal stability were investigated. Next, crosslinked alginate/QCMC/OMMT (AQCOM) microsphere was obtained by crosslinking with CaCl2, and the drug-controlled release behavior was evaluated with bovine serum albumin (BSA) as model drug. The results suggested that, carboxyl groups in alginate and QCMC crosslinked with Ca(2+), quaternary ammonium groups in QCMC or OMMT electrostatically interacted with carboxyl groups in alginate, and there was stable three-dimensional network in AQCOM microsphere. The swelling ratio of AQCOM microspheres decreased with the increase of OMMT content, the lowest one was only about 45% compared to the microsphere without OMMT of 197%. Besides, the in vitro release results for BSA indicated that the AQCOM microsphere displayed more excellent encapsulation and controlled release capacities than the microsphere without OMMT. The in vitro active cutaneous anaphylaxis test was carried out on Guinea pigs, which revealed that AQCOM microsphere did not cause anaphylaxis. Therefore, QCMC/OMMT nanocomposites from natural materials are considerably suitable to apply as drug-controlled release carriers.