5. Conclusion

There is currently an explosion of interest in the use of biomass as a source of energy and renewable materials. This has led to a simultaneous increase in research activity into the biosynthesis, isolation and properties of cellulose, the key structural component in plant cell walls. One of the main thrusts of this activity stems from the possibility of producing a nanoscale fibrous material by means of appropriate chemical and mechanical treatments from numerous natural sources of cellulose. As is usually the case when a new field is developed, the terminology is a little confusing, but the term "nanocellulose" is now classically used to cover the range of cellulose-derived materials with dimensions in the nanometer range. Cellulosic materials are carbon-neutral, sustainable, recyclable, non-toxic and therefore have real potential to be true green nanomaterials with many useful and unexpected...