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March 5, 2020
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Industrial application of nanocelluloses in papermaking: A review of challenges, technical solutions, and market perspectives

Publicated to: Molecules. 25 (3): E526- - 2020-02-01 25(3), DOI: 10.3390/molecules25030526

Authors: Balea, A; Fuente, E; Monte, MC; Merayo, N; Campano, C; Negro, C; Blanco, A

Affiliations

Univ Complutense Madrid, Dept Chem Engn & Mat, Av Complutense S-N - Author
Univ Politecn Madrid, Dept Mech Chem & Ind Design Engn, ETSIDI, Ronda Valencia 3 - Author
Universidad Complutense de Madrid - Author
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid - Author
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Abstract

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Nanocelluloses (NC) increase mechanical and barrier paper properties allowing the use of paper in applications actually covered by other materials. Despite the exponential increase of information, NC have not been fully implemented in papermaking yet, due to the challenges of using NC. This paper provides a review of the main new findings and emerging possibilities in this field by focusing mainly on: (i) Decoupling the effects of NC on wet-end and paper properties by using synergies with retention aids, chemical modification, or filler preflocculation; (ii) challenges and solutions related to the incorporation of NC in the pulp suspension and its effects on barrier properties; and (iii) characterization needs of NC at an industrial scale. The paper also includes the market perspectives. It is concluded that to solve these challenges specific solutions are required for each paper product and process, being the wet-end optimization the key to decouple NC effects on drainage and paper properties. Furthermore, the effect of NC on recyclability must also be taken into account to reach a compromise solution. This review helps readers find upscale options for using NC in papermaking and identify further research needs within this field.

Keywords

cellulose microfiberscellulose nanocrystalscellulose nanofibersindustrial nanocellulose useBacterial cellulose nanowhiskersCationic polyacrylamideCelluloseCellulose microfibersCellulose nanocrystalsCellulose nanofibersFibrillated celluloseIndustrial nanocellulose useManufacturing industryMechanical-propertiesMicrofibrillated celluloseNanocrystalline celluloseNanofibersNanofibrillated celluloseNanostructuresPaperPaper propertiesPaper qualityPhysical-propertiesRheological properties

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Molecules due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency Scopus (SJR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2020, it was in position , thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Pharmaceutical Science.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations provided by WoS (ESI, Clarivate), it yields a value for the citation normalization relative to the expected citation rate of: 3.22. This indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 13, 2025)

This information is reinforced by other indicators of the same type, which, although dynamic over time and dependent on the set of average global citations at the time of their calculation, consistently position the work at some point among the top 50% most cited in its field:

  • Weighted Average of Normalized Impact by the Scopus agency: 4.4 (source consulted: FECYT Mar 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-12-05, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 87
  • Scopus: 110
  • Europe PMC: 7
  • Google Scholar: 140

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-12-05:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 218.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 214 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 3.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 4 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.