Nanocellulose Calculator

The development of this calculator is based on Rémy Dreyfuss-Deseigne’s (2017) article and my own research to evaporation cast cellulose nanofibres (CNF) (also called microfibrillated cellulose (MFC)) for use in paper conservation. The goal was to make nanocellulose film in a consistent way using a variety of different container shapes and sizes.

“To make a thin film (with a thickness between 0.009 and 0.01 mm) using the casting-evaporation method, 10 g of the gel was mixed with 100 mL of deionized water to obtain a homogeneous suspension. Next, 20 mL of the suspension was poured into polystyrene petri dishes with a diameter of 9 cm. After 2-3 days of drying in a controlled environment (23°C-50%RH), the water had evaporated and a homogeneous MFC film had formed.”

(Dreyfuss-Deseigne 2017, 22)

Using this procedure, I often found it hard to ensure the nanocellulose solution dispersed evenly over the dish, as surface tension and cohesive forces of the distilled water prevented this. So the volume of water added was increased. To be clear, the volume of water isn’t too important, what is important is the mass of the nanocellulose in the container(s). The volume of water added serves to disperse the nanocellulose evenly over the surface of the dish. Additionally, by using this calculator, the resulting formulation should leave you with no leftover, wasted nanocellulose.

This calculator continues to be a work in progress. If you are making nanocellulose in your lab I hope this calculator will help you. Feedback and questions are welcomed.

– Robin Canham

Please Enter Your Values:

% w/v

CIRCLE       RECTANGLE

ERROR

mm

 

Your Custom Formula at a Glance:

  • mass of MFC gel   ERROR   g
  • volume of distilled H2O   ERROR   mL
  • volume to add in each dish   ERROR   mL

To Create Your Custom MFC Film Using a Casting-Evaporation Method:

   

Detailed Results from Calculations:

note: these results assume 1 mL = 1 cm3

area of individual dish (area = πr2)
  cm2

mass of cellulose (total from all dishes)
  g

mass of gel (required to make homogeneous suspension)
  g

volume of water (required to make homogeneous suspension)
  mL

volume of suspension per individual dish (pour this into each dish)
  mL

volume of suspension (total from all dishes)
  mL

concentration of homogeneous suspension
  % w/v

initial depth of fluid in dish
  cm

Reference

Dreyfuss-Deseigne, Rémy. 2017. “Nanocellulose Films in Art Conservation: A New and Promising Mending Material for Translucent Paper Objects” Journal of Paper Conservation 18, no. 1 : 18-29. doi: 10.1080/18680860.2017.1334422.

Supplier

Cellulose Lab / 2 Garland Court, Room 212, Enterprise Bld / Fredericton, NB / E3B 5A3 / Canada

email: contact@celluloselab.com / website: https://www.celluloselab.com

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Richard Yeomans and Rosaleen Hill for their support on this project.

calculator last updated: October 6, 2021 by Robin Canham and Richard Yeomans