Due to the industrial revolution, evolving technology, rapid urbanization, industrialization, and increases in population and consumption have led to the production of vast amounts of waste in cities of developing countries, including Turkey. As a natural consequence of this situation, it is known that solid wastes have a significant share of the total amount of waste produced. Globally, an average of 0.74 kilograms of waste is produced per person daily, and it is estimated that by 2050, the amount of urban solid waste alone will reach 3.40 billion tons. To manage these wastes without harming the environment and human health, the "zero waste" approach has been adopted. In Turkey, the "Zero Waste Project" was launched as an environmental initiative aiming to reduce waste production, reuse waste sources to protect natural resources, improve waste disposal management, and contribute to sustainable development.
The recycling of biomass waste, a type of solid waste, has become a significant issue. Transforming industrial waste into valuable products is an ever-growing research area among biomass wastes. Materials derived from renewable biomass sources can serve as alternatives to petroleum-based synthetic products due to their relatively low cost, eco-friendliness, easy availability, renewability, and non-toxicity. One promising material for utilizing cellulose biomass waste is environmentally friendly and biodegradable. From renewable and sustainable sources, low-cost, high-performance cellulose nanomaterials are being prepared.
Papers primarily consist of cellulose fibers compressed into sheets during the paper-making process, and these cellulose fibers can be isolated using various mechanical and chemical methods. With the advancement of nanotechnology, nanocellulose (NS) prepared from waste papers, one of the primary sources of cellulosic waste for reuse and recycling, has attracted significant interest from academic and industrial researchers due to its low cost, biocompatibility, renewability, sustainability, strong surface reactivity, and desired physical properties (high surface area, modulus, tensile strength, surface reactivity, thermal resistance, light transmittance, and aspect ratio). Therefore, NSs can be prepared from wastepaper as a raw material, not only providing advanced physicochemical properties and good economic benefits but also contributing to environmental protection and sustainable resource use. The wastepaper recycling rate in Turkey is 55%, which is lower than Europe's 70-75%. Increasing this recycling rate is of great importance for our country within the scope of the "zero waste" concept. Today, wastepaper still poses a threat to the environment. Therefore, under the "zero waste project," the reduction of paper waste at its source and its proper recycling are necessary in Turkey, both because it constitutes a significant portion of waste categories and because it is recyclable.
Within the scope of this project, the aim is to develop a methodology for the synthesis of low-cost, high-performance crystalline nanocellulose from waste paper, a renewable resource, for future applications of natural cellulose in textile applications for the textile industry, which will contribute to Turkey's "Zero Waste" and sustainable development goals.
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