Patiño-Masó Josefina, Serra-Parareda Ferran, Tarrés Quim, Mutjé Pere, Espinach F Xavier, Delgado-Aguilar Marc
IRQV Institute, Department of Nursing, University of Girona, Emili Grahit, 77-17003 Girona, Spain.
LEPAMAP Research Group, University of Girona, Maria Aurèlia Capmany, 61-17003 Girona, Spain.
Nanomaterials (Basel). 2019 Sep 6;9(9):1271. doi: 10.3390/nano9091271.
Single-use plastics are expected to disappear, mainly due to the rise of stricter regulations to combat their impact on the environment. As an example, the recent European Directive on Single-Use-Plastics (SUP) will be implemented between 2021 and 2024 and will directly prohibit the use of some SUP. Baby diapers are one of the most used single-used products in our daily lives, and it is estimated that most of the ~4000 diapers that each baby uses in their life go to landfill. Such diapers usually contain superabsorbent polymers (SAP) that are based on acrylic acid-acrylamide mixtures with high water retention capacity, but they are neither bio-based nor biodegradable. In this work, we have developed bio-based superabsorbent aerogels made of cellulose nanofibers (CNF) and propose their potential use in baby diapers. TEMPO-oxidized CNF at different oxidation degrees were prepared and tested. The obtained CNF exhibited higher free swelling capacity (FSC) than the commercial fluff pulp (ranging from 117.62% to 245.21% higher) and also than the diaper absorbent, except for CNF-5 (ranging from 31.56% to 54.55%), even under compression. Overall, the present work shows a case study where CNF could have a potential application with market opportunities.
一次性塑料制品预计将会消失，这主要是由于为应对其对环境的影响而出台的更严格法规不断增加。例如，近期的欧洲一次性塑料制品指令（SUP）将于2021年至2024年实施，该指令将直接禁止某些一次性塑料制品的使用。婴儿尿布是我们日常生活中使用最频繁的一次性产品之一，据估计，每个婴儿一生中使用的约4000片尿布大部分都被填埋。此类尿布通常含有基于丙烯酸 - 丙烯酰胺混合物的高吸水性聚合物（SAP），具有高保水能力，但它们既不是生物基的也不可生物降解。在这项工作中，我们开发了由纤维素纳米纤维（CNF）制成的生物基高吸水性气凝胶，并提出了其在婴儿尿布中的潜在用途。制备并测试了不同氧化程度的TEMPO氧化纤维素纳米纤维。所获得的纤维素纳米纤维表现出比商业绒毛浆更高的自由溶胀能力（FSC）（高出117.62%至245.21%），并且除了CNF - 5（高出31.56%至54.55%）之外，甚至在压缩状态下也比尿布吸收剂的自由溶胀能力高。总体而言，本研究展示了一个案例，即纤维素纳米纤维在市场上具有潜在应用机会。
