Microcrystalline Cellulose and its Films from Barkcloth Fibres

Barkcloth is a nonwoven material made from the bark of a tree popularly known as Ficus Natalensis (Omutuba). This manuscript reports a valuable white semicrystalline product called microcrystalline cellulose extracted from fibers embedded into the barkcloth and used to prepare biodegradable cellulose films which could act as green packaging materials. It significantly sheds light on the proper utilization of tree bark biomass which currently posse enormous disposal challenges to majority wood processing plants globally.