Even though a feasible treatment process of waste food containers has been established, only a low recycling rate of paper containers was fulfilled till now due to the severe contamination issues and difficulties in separation processes. In addition, low economic value of regenerated products along with high recycling costs also limit its development. High value-added nano celluloses, with merits of superior mechianical properties and environmental benign, could provide a possibility for paper circular economy. The composition analyses of the recycled pulps were conducted in this project. Although the compositions of different pulps are varied, the physical properties, including crystallinity and thermal stability, are similar. In addition, the manufacturing process of nano cellulose from pulps was established. Metallic chloride salts-based ionic solutions were adopted to produce nano cellulose. The effects of composition, reaction temperature and time on cellulose defibrillation has been evaluated. Under the optimized reaction paramaters, the pulp cellulose could form cellulose nanofibers homogeneously, of which the diameters ranging from 30-50 nm. The yield of nano cellulose could reach 80-90% due to a mild reaction in nature. The surface polarity of nano cellulose was adjusted via modification to enhance the compatibility with polymers. The evaluation of reinforcement effect of nano cellulose was conducted by compounding with different polymers. The nano cellulose/HDPE composite shows an increasement of Young’s modulus over 30%.

pulp, nano cellulose, high value-added