Water-stable and degradable all-natural straws based on cellulose microfiber/nanofiber blends

The widespread utilization of disposable plastic straws has caused serious white pollutions. Cellulose-based paper straws are considered as a commercial alternative to plastic straws, which are limited by their inferior water stability and mechanical performance as well as harmful waterproof coating. Cellulose nanofibers have been proven to be an effective solution for improving the performance of cellulose-based straws. It is urgent to develop a facile, scalable and low-cost method of preparing cellulose nanofibers for straw production. Herein, cellulose microfiber/nanofiber blends are prepared using a green and low-cost H2O2 oxidation method. Highly degradable composite straws are fabricated via rolling up a wet film of cellulose microfibers/nanofibers/lignin and then baking at 140 °C. During the baking process, the molten lignin could infiltrate into the pores between the microfibers/nanofibers to enhance the mechanical strength and water stability of the straws. Compared with commercial paper straws, the proposed straws exhibit superior mechanical strength, good water stability, low cost and facile natural degradability. The cellulose/lignin straws are expected to be used widely to address the white pollutions caused by plastic straws.