Nanocellulose, a kind of cellulose with nanometer sizes, has drawn great interest in the pulp and paper industry due to its unique structure and excellent performance. It can be divided into five categories: nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC), nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC), bacterial cellulose (BC), electrospun cellulose nanofibers (ESC), and precipitation regenerated cellulose nanofibers (PRC). In this paper, we reviewed the industrialization progress of nanocellulose in China. Furthermore, we proposed that efficient and environmentally friendly preparation methods and high value utilization would be the focus of nanocellulose development.

Nanocelluloses, obtained from the biopolymer cellulose, are a class of renewable functional nanomaterials with excellent properties and a broad range of applications. This review mainly illustrates practical and advanced applications of nanocellulose-based materials in the following categories. ① Fire-resistant materials: in the section on these types of materials, the fireprotection property of nanocellulose/clay hybrid composites (clay nanopaper) is illustrated; oriented montmorillonite (MTM) provides barrier properties and low thermal conductivity whereas cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) impart favorable charring. ② Thermal insulation materials: the best way to obtain materials with good heat insulation performance is to decrease the thermal conductivity of such materials. ③ Template materials: nanocellulose can direct the deposition and patterning of materials to form nanoparticles, nanowires, or nanotubes with improved properties.

In this study, a straightforward, one-step wet-end formation process was employed to prepare cellulose/graphene conductive paper for antistatic packing materials. Cationic polyacrylamide was introduced into the cellulose/graphene slurry to improve the graphene loading on the surfaces of the cellulose fibers. The effect of the super calender process on the properties of the cellulose/graphene conductive paper was investigated. When 55 wt% graphene was added, the volume resistivity of the cellulose/graphene conductive paper was 94.70 Ω·cm, decreasing to 35.46 Ω·cm after the super calender process. The cellulose/graphene conductive paper possessed excellent anti-static ability and could be used as an anti-static material.

In this work, melamine-formaldehyde resin was cationized by adding modifiers so that the fibers closely bonded to improve their usability and the wet strength of paper was greatly improved. Triethanolamine and dimethylamine were added to modify the melamine-formaldehyde resin, respectively.The mechanism of the cationized resin was explored and the possible chemical reactions were deduced. It was concluded that, with the use of triethanolamine, the most optimum product was obtained by hydroxymethylation for 30 min with a temperature of 85℃ and pH of 9.0 where n(melamine)∶n(formaldehyde)∶n(methanol)∶n(triethanolamine) was 100∶330∶450∶15. With the combined use of dimethylamine and methanol, the optimal product was acquired by condensation for 30 min at a temperature of 50℃ and pH of 2.0 at melamine, formaldehyde, methanol, and dimethylamine molar ratio of 100∶330∶350∶20. With the only use of dimethylamine, the optimal product was obtained by condensation at melamine, formaldehyde, dimethylamine molar ratio of 100∶330∶10. The wet tensile strength of fruit-bagging paper was improved by adding cationized melamine-formaldehyde resin. The zeta potential, charge density, and conductivity of the melamine-formaldehyde resin were also studied.