Volume 4 Issue 3

A series of ion exchangers was prepared from corn cobs. Phos-phate, sulfate, phosphosulfonate, and carboxylic groups were incorporated onto the corn cobs. The magnitude of functional groups incorporated onto corn cobs, as well as of the cross-linking, was taken as a measure of reactivity of the produced ion exchanger. The effect of treatment of corn cobs with different concentrations of sodium hydroxide, volume of used pyridine, and efficiency of the produced resin toward metal ions adsorption was investigated. The effect of cross-linking of corn cobs on the incorporation of phosphate group was studied. Sodium binding capacity as well as the adsorbed efficiency of metal ions efficiency as Zn, Pb, Ni, Fe, and Cr by produced resin from corn cobs was determined using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). It was found that the quantity and the type of incorporated functional groups, as well as the type of metal ions, play an important role in the efficiency of resin toward adsorption of metal ions.

In this study, the effects of heat treatment on some physical, mechanical, chemical properties, and cellulose crystallinity of calabrian pine (brutia Ten.) were evaluated. Wood specimens were treated with heat under atmospheric pressure at three different temperatures (130, 180, and 230 oC) and two different time levels (2 and 8 h). Air-dry density (Dm), oven-dry density (D0), shrinkage (β), swelling (α), fiber saturation point (FSP), compression strength parallel to grain (σc//), bending strength (σb), modulus of elasticity (MOE) in bending, equilibrium moisture content (EMC), holocellulose, and alcohol solubility were decreased, whereas 1% NaOH solubility and lignin content were increased, depending on the heating temperature and time. Cellulose crystallinity of the samples was not changed significantly. 130 oC showed a minimal effect; on the other hand, 230 oC showed a maximum effect on all properties of the treated wood. That’s why, for the heat treatment process, 130 oC for 2 h should be applied in situations where mechanical properties such as modulus of elasticity, compression strength, bending strength, and hardness are important. However, 230 oC for 2 h should be used in situations where it is preferred to obtain favorable physical properties, such as density, shrinkage, swelling, and moisture content.

The potentialities of different vapour sorption methods are analized for the investigation of the microstructure of wood sorbents (wood, cellulose and lignin) as a particular case of biopolymers. There are two important distinctions in the sorption behaviour of biopolymers from traditional rigid sorbents, namely, the dependence of the characteristics of the porous structure on the thermodynamic properties of the sorbate, and the manifestation of the sorption hysteresis over the whole region of the sorption–desorption isotherm. The reason for these distinctions is the low rigidity (low values of modulus of elasticity) of biopolymers, hence, their considerable deformability under the action of sorption forces, resulting in the cleavage of interstructural bonds. This process, manifesting itself phenomenologically as swelling, depends on the activity of the sorbate and results in the appearance of porosity and a new surface. The criterion for the activity of the sorbate is close values of the solubility parameters of the polymer and the sorbate. Inert substances are adsorbed on the surface of large morphological formations and characterise the intact structure of the sorbent, while active sorbates cause the swelling of these formations and penetrate them, which enables a study of the microstructure of sorbents. In the desorption process, the cleaved bonds are restored, blocking a part of the sorbate in the polymer’s structure, which results in the appearance of sorption hysteresis, not connected directly with the porous structure of the sorbent.

Particleboards can be manufactured from particles of any lignin-cellulosic material that can be combined with an adhesive and consolidated under the action of temperature and pressure. Because the raw materials in the industrial process are continually changing, the particleboard industry requires methods for monitoring the quality of their products. Hence, the aim of this paper was to evaluate the composition of the agro-based particleboards by near infrared spectroscopy. In this study, agro-based particleboards produced with different compositions of Eucalyptus and Pinus wood particles and sugar cane bagasse were evaluated by NIR spectroscopy and partial least square (PLS) regression. The PLS models to estimate the Eucalyptus and Pinus particles and sugar cane bagasse contents presented a strong coefficient of determination (0.90, 0.88 and 0.84, respectively), but also high magnitudes of standard errors of cross-validation were observed (ranging from 8.84 to 11.27%). Development work would be required in order to reduce the standard errors and improve predictive model performance to build robust models that could be applied as quality control tool.

The potential supply of biomass feedstocks in the US and Canada is estimated using a static supply function approach. Estimated total biomass available at a price of $100 per metric ton is 568 million metric tons in the US and 123 million tons in Canada, which together can displace 23-45 billion gallons of gasoline. Sufficient biomass, mainly agricultural and mill residues, will be available at prices of around $50/ton to meet the advanced biofuel mandates of the US Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. The estimates of agricultural residue supply are very sensitive to the assumed fraction of residues that can be sustainably removed from the field, and the potential of municipal solid waste as a feedstock depends on which components can be economically converted into liquid biofuels.

Paper-based test strips specific for the Cr(VI) determination in aqueous solutions were developed by impregnating a color-forming reagent, diphenylcarbazide, and a quaternary ammonium salt (Aliquat 336) into paper sheets. The results showed that the quaternary ammonium salt could effectively retain the colored complex in the paper substrate. This paper-based test strip showed a high selectivity for Cr(VI) in the samples to be tested. The method was applied to synthetic samples, and the results were compared to these from a reference method. The current work demonstrated that with a color chart, this portable paper-based test strip has the potential to be used for field screening or on-site semi-quantitative analysis.

Cellobiose-pendant polymers were synthesized by radical polymerization and their affinity for a cellulose matrix was investigated by quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). A 2-(methacryloyloxy)ethylureido cellobiose (MOU-Cel) macromer was synthesized by coupling cellobiosylamine with 2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl isocyanate followed by polymerization in an aqueous radical reaction system. The interaction of the resulting poly(MOU-Cel) with a pure cellulose matrix in water was evaluated by QCM analysis. Poly(MOU-Cel) was strongly adsorbed to the cellulose substrate, whereas neither cellobiose nor MOU-Cel macromer exhibited an attractive interaction with cellulose. This specific interaction was not inhibited by the presence of ionic contaminants, suggesting that multiple cellobiopyranose moieties in each polymer molecule might cooperatively enhance its affinity for cellulose. Moderate insertion of acrylamide units into the polymer backbone improved the affinity for cellulose, possibly due to an increased mobility of sugar side chains. Polymers such as these, with a high affinity for cellulose, have potential applications for the surface functionalization of cellulose-based materials, including paper products.

This paper reports high level production of a cellulase-free xylanase using wheat bran, a cost-effective substrate, under submerged fermentation by alkalophilic Bacillus subtilis ASH. Production of xylanase was observed even at alkaline pH up to 11.0 and temperature 60 °C, although the highest enzyme titer was recorded at neutral pH and 37 °C. The enzyme production under optimized fermentation was 1.5-fold greater than under unoptimized conditions. Pre-treatment of unbleached pulp of 10% consistency with crude xylanase (6 IU/g o.d. pulp) at 60 ºC for 2 h increased the final brightness by 4.9%. The enzyme treatment reduced the chlorine consumption by 28.6% with the same brightness as in the control. A reduction in kappa number and increase in viscosity was observed after enzyme pre-treatment. Scanning electron microscopy revealed loosening and swelling of pulp fibers. The strength properties viz. grammage, fiber thickness, beating degree, tensile index, breaking length, tear index and double fold of the treated pulp were improved as compared to the control pulp. This study reveals the potentialof B. subtilis ASH xylanase as a biobleaching agent for the paper and pulp industry.

Four metal organic frameworks (MOFs) are being evaluated as possible catalysts for alkaline lignin oxidation. One aspect of the screening process is the oxidation of in-situ hardwood lignin by a high mole ratio of Cu, Fe, or Cu + Fe contained in the MOFs. The MOF’s were prepared in a microwave-assisted synthesis. One of the MOFs, a benzenetricar-boxylic acid complex of Cu (II) and Fe (III), converted the phenylpropane (C9) units in in-situ poplar lignin to approximately 50% monomers. The ratio of syringyl (S) to guiacyl (G) monomers was similar to the S:G ratio obtained from nitrobenzene oxidation (NBO). The S:G ratio from NBO was then compared to that from MOF oxidation (MOFO) for two other poplars. The S:G ratios for the three poplars by MOFO were 1.20, 1.51 and 1.67, respectively while the corresponding NBO values were 1.25, 1.45 and 1.68. These initial results indicate that MOFO could be developed into a credible replacement for NBO, because it affords a higher yield of monomers when a large MOF dose is used. Some preliminary results are also presented for MOF acting as a catalyst (100 ppm Cu (II) plus 81 ppm Fe (III) in NaOH) for oxygenation of the hardwoods. The products from O2 + MOF are identical to MOF only, but the ratios amongst them are different.

Streptomyces sp. PG-08-3 was isolated from the desert of Rajasthan (India). The organism produced mannanase (15 Umg-1 protein) in the presence of 0.5% guar gum as a sole carbon source in minimal media by submerged fermentation (SmF). Enzyme production was enhanced by 7.3-fold when 0.5% soyabean meal and 0.25% of leucine were added to the minimal media. Increasing the guar gum concentration in the media by 0.1-1.0% resulted in linearly enhanced the production of mannanase.