Volume 1 Issue 1

In this inaugural issue, the Co-Editors of BioResources would like to welcome you. In your role as a reader, we welcome you to download scholarly articles and opinion pieces; this is an open-access journal, providing a maximum of potential impact. BioResources will deal with new and emerging uses of materials from lignocellulosic sources, including wood and crop residues. Topics will include biofuels, biomass-derived chemical products, papermaking technology, and other new or improved uses of biomaterials. We also would like to welcome you as a prospective author. Our goal is to maintain very high standards of peer-review, as well as providing a mix of scholarly research articles, review articles, and editorials. By using an automated, online system of review and publication, we hope to accelerate scientific discourse. Our hope is to contribute to progress in the direction of a post-petroleum economy, taking advantage of the renewable, biodegradable, and relatively abundant nature of materials from lignocellulosic sources.

The lipophilic extractives of Eucalyptus globulus , Eucalyptus grandis , Eucalyptus urograndis , Betula verrucosa and Acacia mangium woods and of the corresponding ECF bleached kraft pulps, were characterised by GC-MS. The five hardwoods showed significant differences in the content and composition of the main families of extractives, namely fatty acids, long chain aliphatic alcohols and sterols. Significant differences in the composition persist after wood pulping and ECF bleaching of pulps. The fate of the various types of extractives during the wood and pulp processing is discussed. Long chain aliphatic acids and alcohols are quite stable during the pulp production and are retained to a great extent in the final bleached pulp; delta 5 sterols are mostly oxidised and partially retained in the pulps, while delta 7 sterols are completely degraded and/or dissolved. B. verrucosa and A. mangium bleached pulps show contents of fatty acids about 4 and 20 times higher than that of Eucalyptus pulps, respectively, while the content of long chain aliphatic alcohols in A. mangium pulp is of the order of 100 times higher than Eucalyptus and B. verrucosa pulps.

Thirteen fungal isolates included in this study expressed multiple xylanase isoforms as observed by xylan zymograms of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and isoelectrofocussing (IEF) fractionated proteins. Eighty-three xylanases produced by these thermophilic and thermotolerant strains were detected using the IEF profiling technique. Xylanases identified on the basis of their isoelectric points (pI) were functionally diverse and exhibited differential catalytic activities against various xylan types (birch wood xylan, larch wood xylan, oat spelt xylan, rye arabino xylan and wheat arabino xylan) as well as debranched arabinan. Thermophilic isolates, Chaetomium thermophilum , Humicola insolens , Melanocarpus sp., Malbranchea sp. and Thermoascus aurantiacus , were found to produce alkaline active xylanases that showed a bleach boosting effect on Decker pulp resulting in increased brightness (1.60-2.04 ISO units).

The delignification efficiency of different laccase enzymes was examined on the eucalyptus Kraft pulp. The laccase enzyme from Trametes versicolor showing the highest delignification efficiency was selected and used in the elemental chlorine-free bleaching sequence for improving the pulp bleachability. A n appreciable reduction in chlorine dioxide consumption was also obtained. Further reduction in chlorine dioxide consumption was obtained when the same laccase treated pulp was subjected to an acid treatment after the extraction stage followed by the DE P D sequence. Elemental-chlorine free bleaching was also performed using the xylanase-laccase treated pulp. Xylanase treatment was incorporated to the laccase mediator system in the elemental-chlorine free bleaching both sequentially and simultaneously. The bleaching sequence DE P D followed and in both the cases, the reduction in chlorine dioxide consumption was greater in comparison to the control. The chlorine dioxide consumption was reduced further when xylanase-laccase treated pulp was given an additional acid treatment. The final pulp properties of the treated pulps were comparable to the control pulp.

The anatomical structure and chemical composition of the stem-wall material of giant reed is considered from the viewpoint of raw material characterization for industrial fiber production. The effect of stem morphology (nodes and internodes) on pulping results and general pulp properties is discussed. The advantages of application of modern organic solvent based (organosolv) pulping technologies to giant reed are shown in comparison with the conventional (kraft) method. The conditions optimization for Ethanol-Alkali pulping (a selected organosolv pulping process) is given, and the chemical kinetics of the principal macromolecular components during ethanol-alkali pulping is described. The bleachability of organosolv pulps by short totally chlorine free (TCF) bleaching sequences using hydrogen peroxide and ozone as the active bleaching chemicals without pulp pre-delignification is examined and compared with kraft pulps. The enzymatic pre-treatment of reed organosolv pulps by commercial xylanase preparation is considered as a possibility toward the improvement of pulp bleachability.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the decay resistance of cement bonded oriented strand board (OSB) against brown ( Coniophora puteana) and white rot ( Termites versicolor ) fungi. Overall, both fungi failed to attack the cement-bonded OSB. Boards made with 3.0 cement-to-wood ratio showed weight gain instead of weight loss. Therefore, it is recommended that cement-bonded OSB is technically suitable for exterior use where both moisture and favourable conditions for fungi development are present.

The purpose of this paper is to show the effects of level of substitution with a linear chain anhydride (propionic anhydride) on decay resistance and on water vapour sorption of modified Scots pine sapwood. The work described herein has demonstrated that chemically modified Scots pine sapwood with propionic anhydride afforded substantial bioprotection against Coniophora puteana . It required a weight gain of approximately 17% following reaction to ensure complete protection. The sorption of water vapour of propionic anhydride modified wood was greatly reduced.

A nontraditional method for chemical analysis of light weight coated (LWC) grade paper is described. Laser-induced plasma emission spectrometry (LIPS) produces three-dimensional profiles of coatings and fillers. The technique ablates the coating from the top to the paper base with a laser beam. LIPS provides spatial resolution and characterization of the chemical homogeneity of the paper coating and relates that information to the efficiency of the coating method. It provides information on binder migration which is a hindrance for improved stable coatings. Herein, several commercial LWC paper grades and their base papers were analyzed. Pigment identification of light weight paper coatings, coat weight distribution maps, and profiles were obtained. Blade and film coating generate different coating distribution profiles that are detected by LIPS. The phenomenon of binder migration was demonstrated by observing its masking effects on Si spectra. An investigation of filler content in base papers involved analysis of base paper used in LWC grades. The papers represented two different types of formers, but because of confidentiality issues, little else was revealed. A significantly higher amount of filler was observed at the surface of the base stock in Former A than in Former B, as indicated from Mg spectra of the filler.

Information on Australian biomass resources including bagasse, black liquor from paper pulp production, wood waste and forestry residues, energy crops, crop wastes, food and agricultural wet waste, and municipal solid wastes is provided in the review. The characteristics of the Australian biomass are typical of those of other countries, i.e. high moisture and volatile matter, low heating value and density, and low sulfur and nitrogen content, but high Ca and Mg for woody biomass. The characteristics influence biomass utilization. Biomass is used extensively at present within Australia , primarily for domestic heating, as bagasse in the sugar industry, and for electricity generation. Biomass usage for electricity generation is increasing and is expected to reach 5.2 Mt/year by 2019-20. Exports, as wood chips, are approximately 10 Mt/year in 2000-01. Forestry residues have been estimated to be 23 Mt/year. Current technologies that utilize biomass in Australia include those for electricity and heat by direct combustion, cofiring with coal and fluidized bed combustion), for biogas generation (from landfills, and aerobic digestion, and as bio-liquids. Related to bio-liquid fuels, ethanol production from molasses and wheat is making progress. The resultant ethanol is used as a petrol extender, and a bio-diesel process is under development.

The charged nature of a cellulosic fiber surface is expected to play major roles in such phenomena as fiber dispersion, flocculation, adhesion, and adsorption of polyelectrolytes. This review focuses on the evaluation of such charges by means of electrokinetic measurements, with emphasis on the fiber-pad streaming potential technique. Results of recent experiments suggest that a continuous network or networks of pores below the outer surface of a kraft fiber can significantly contribute to observed streaming potential data. At present it is not clear whether the main subsurface contributions to the observed electrokinetic effects come from fibrillar layers on the fiber surfaces or from systems of nanopores within the cell walls of fibers. Based on the literature it is possible to suggest two conceptual models to account for the fact that the streaming potential of polymer-treated fibers can change in sign, dependent on the concentration of salt. Additional research is needed to clarify various theoretical and practical points. There may be oppor-tunities to make more effective use of streaming potential tests in the future by carrying out such tests at reduced salt levels.