Volume 10 Issue 2

The teak trees in certain areas of Java Island are frequently attacked by Neotermes tectonae termites. Trees attacked by this species have a tumor-like growth in the stem that can be easily identified in the field. This study evaluated the chemical properties of the attacked wood. Based on a visual inspection, the type of attacks were classified as either type I, if included phloem was formed in the heartwood, or type II, which was distinguished by the softened and hollowed areas in the heartwood. For each type, three trees were cut along with a healthy tree for comparison. Comparison among type I, type II, and normal tree tissues showed huge differences in hemicellulose and extractive contents, composition of ethanol-toluene soluble extracts, ash/acid insoluble ash contents, and pH values. Comparing the two types of abnormalities along the radial direction, significant differences were observed in the cellulose contents. The lowest values of both sugars were obtained in the soft part of type II. Further, the levels of ethanol-toluene soluble extracts and their fractions (mainly low-polarity fractions) were affected by the radial direction. No significant differences in radial direction were found in the inorganic materials levels or in pH values.

Considering the possible threats to the oil supply due to the rapid depletion of oil reservoirs and the negative environmental impacts of petroleum use, developing an environmentally friendly biofuel such as bioethanol is needed. Pretreatment is a critical step in the production of lignocellulosic bioethanol. In this study, the effect of sulfuric acid on the pretreatment of the YSS-10R variety of sorghum was evaluated. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was employed to develop an experimental design matrix and evaluate the effect of pretreatment parameters on the release of fermentable sugars. Sorghum straw was treated with sulfuric acid concentrations of 0.5, 1.75, and 3% (V/V) at temperatures of 70, 100, and 130 °C for reaction times of 10, 20, and 30 min. The maximum glucose yield was 7.66 g/L (0.064 g/g) and was obtained via pretreatment with 0.5% H2SO4 at 100 °C for 10 min. That of xylose was 7.62 g/L (0.064 g/g), obtained via pretreatment with 0.50% H2SO4 at 130 °C for 20 min. The pretreatment conditions for maximum xylose yield were determined to be 2% H2SO4, 130 °C, and 20 min. Results indicate that sulfuric acid is an efficient catalyst for pretreatment at high temperatures and relatively long reaction times.

The effects of acetylation of wood flour with vinylacetate and the content of Maleic Anhydride Polypropylene (MAPP) coupling agent before compounding were evaluated relative to water absorption and thickness swelling. Hot water was used to extract materials of sawdust fir flour before acetylation. Fir flour was successfully acetylated using vinylacetate (VA) in the presence of potassium carbonate. The modification was confirmed by the weight percent gain (18.8%) and Fourier transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The acetylated or control wood flour was mixed with MAPP coupling agent (0, 3, & 6 wt%) at 60 rpm and 160 °C, followed by extrusion. The wood plastic composite (WPC) was made by hot pressing at 200 °C and 25 MPa for 5 min. Specimens were exposed to white-rot decay for 16 weeks. In addition to the weight loss due to fungal treatment, water absorption, thickness swelling, and contact angle of the acetylated and decayed samples was investigated. Increasing the percentage of MAPP was found to decrease the percentage of weight loss, water absorption, and thickness swelling in all of the samples. In contrast, increasing the MAPP percentage increased the contact angle in all samples. The SEM micrographs revealed that the bonding between fibers and polymeric material was improved and strengthened by MAPP addition.

An innovative myrcene-based ultraviolet curable vinyl ester monomer was synthesized, and its molecular structure was analyzed with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance (1HNMR and 13CNMR) analysis. A series of copolymers were also prepared by mixing the myrcene-derived monomer with another vinyl ester monomer, acrylated epoxidized soybean oil, under ultraviolet light. The curing process was monitored using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Ultraviolet curing analysis showed that all the mixed systems had high curing rates and were fully cured within the first 30 seconds. When the weight ratio of myrcene-derived monomer to acrylated epoxidized soybean oil was 50/50, the ultimate double bond conversion reached 94.08%. Dynamic mechanical analysis showed that the storage modulus and glass transition temperature of the cured resins both increased with increasing content of myrcene vinyl ester monomer because the molecular structure of myrcene-derived vinyl ester monomer was more rigid and stronger than that of acrylated epoxidized soybean oil. Thermogravimetric analysis indicated that the main thermal initial decomposition temperatures were all above 360 °C, demonstrating that the copolymers had modest thermal stability.

Swollen softwood cellulose pulp in a DMAc/LiCl solvent system was compressed under elevated pressure (up to 900 MPa) in a Bridgman anvil press. The influence of high pressure on two cellulose systems was studied by measuring X-ray diffraction, mechanical and optical properties and observing scanning electron micrographs of the morphology. Compressed swollen cellulose, washed with distilled water, had lower elastic modulus and hardness compared to swollen cellulose washed with a combination of 2-propanol and deionized water. This work showed that material with lower mechanical properties will be affected more by compression and will result in higher mechanical properties after pressure treatment. Transmitted light in the visible range for both systems was increased after elevated pressure was applied. The XRD measurements revealed the decrease of the cellulose crystallinity after high pressure treatment for all swollen cellulose samples. The morphology of the compacted samples showed noticeable differences between the compact smooth surface and the layered core.

A major drawback of natural-based composites is the incorporation of reinforcements that are less thermally stable than the matrix; therefore, the thermal properties of the resultant composite material needs to be studied. In this work, orange wood fibers were used to reinforce polypropylene. The effects on the thermal properties of the polymeric matrix were analyzed. To this end, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetry (TGA), thermomechanical analysis (TMA), and dynamic-mechanical analysis (DMA) were performed. It was found that the degradation of the material took place in two distinct phases: the reinforcement, close to 250 °C, and the matrix, above 340 °C. DSC results showed that fiber reinforcement did not influence the transition temperatures of the materials, although it did affect the polymer crystallinity value, increasing by 7% when the composite is reinforced with 50% of the lignocellulosic reinforcement. The coefficient of expansion obtained by TMA indicated that thermal expansion decreased as the amount of reinforcement increased. DMA assays showed that the reinforcement did not modify the glass transition (20 to 25 °C) temperature and confirmed that the addition of reinforcement increased the crystallinity of the product.

The antioxidant functions of two feruloyl oligosaccharide (FO1 and FO2) were investigated in vivo and in vitro. Effects of FO1 and FO2 on hemolysis of rat red blood cell (RBC) and malondialdehyde (MDA) formation in rat liver homogenate and rat liver mitochondria in vitro were studied. Hemolysis of rat RBC and MDA formation in rat liver homogenate and rat liver mitochondria were inhibited in a dosage-dependent manner by FO1 and FO2 in the tested concentration range of 0.5 to 10 mg/mL. The results showed that FO1 and FO2 had antioxidative activity in vitro, and the effect of FO2 was better than that of FO1. With increasing dosage, FO1 and FO2 could increase the activity of SOD and GSH-Px in serum of S180 tumor-bearing mice, reduce the level of MDA, and thus improve the activity of the antioxidant in vivo. When the dosage reached 250 mg/kg/d, FO2 was more likely to improve the capabilities of the antioxidants of tumor-burdened mice than were 5-FU and FO1 in vivo.Thus, these oligosaccharides may be used as functional biological materials produced from fermented lignocellulose of WB.

Effective pretreatment of wood pulp waste is important for enhancing enzymatic saccharification. For this reason, wet oxidation process conditions were considered with the hypothesis that the alkaline oxygen conditions would favor delignification and hydrolysis of lignocellulose. Enzymatic saccharification was greatly improved to 42.9% in terms of reducing sugar yield under the conditions of pH = 10, oxygen pressure = 1.2 MPa, time = 15 min, and temperature = 195 °C. A total of 39% of lignin and 73% of hemicellulose were removed and dissolved into the hydrolyzate. Furthermore, the chemical structure, crystallinity, and morphology of the treated substrate were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

Bacterial cellulose was alkylated by alkyl halide in the ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimmidazolium chloride ([Bmim]Cl) with NaH as the alkaline agent. The derivatives were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, elemental analyses, X-ray diffraction, and thermal gravimetric analyses. The resultant bacterial cellulose alkylated derivatives (BCADs) had a degree of substitution (DS) between 0.21 and 2.01. The effects of the alkylating agent, reactant amount, and temperature on the DS were investigated. BCADs with a butyl substituent had a higher DS than did those with ethyl or propyl groups. The crystallinity and thermal stability of the derivatives decreased after modification owing to the change in morphological structure.

This work examined the impact of SuperBatch™ (SB), CompactCooking™ (CC), and Lo-Solids™ (LS) modified kraft pulping on the fiber wall structure of unbleached and bleached unrefined pulps of E. globulus and E. nitens. The kappa number target for all pulps was 17 ± 0.5. It was found that E. nitens had higher water retention values (WRVs) and fiber saturation point (FSP) for both bleached and unbleached pulps versus E. globulus. Fibril lateral aggregates width of unbleached pulps increased as WRV increased. After bleaching there was an inverse trend in correlation of WRV versus the lateral fibril aggregate width. The modified cooking methods or wood species did not have an influence on lateral fibril aggregate width. The higher WRV and FSP values for E. nitens were not reflected in the cumulative pore volume measurements including pore widths below 216 nm.