Volume 5 Issue 2

It is ironic to think that the venerable pulp and paper industry is now considering ways to degrade cellulose. This notion can be understood as a way that the industry can face a protracted downturn in profitability and ever-mounting socio-economic pressures to enhance the efficiency of biofuels production. Many approaches have been recently taken to deconstruct cellulosic biomass, but this Editorial explores one key that may start to explain the increasing momentum in the biofuels community – biotechnology. Two approaches appear to be possible as scientists search for an effective way to unzip cellulose to its key constituents through the use of biotechnology. On the one hand, there are efforts to re-engineer the chemical composition of the tree, rendering it more digestible by enzymes and decreasing the need for mechanical or chemical pretreatment. On the other hand, what we are learning about lignocellulose biosynthesis can be of potential help in designing more efficient systems to essentially reverse that process.

Fibers and fillers are important raw materials for the preparation of paper products. Similar to fiber engineering, filler engineering for papermaking has become an active research area. There are similarities as well as differences between engineering involving each of these classes of materials. There are differences in such aspects as the nature of materials to be engineered, applicable engineering methods, and engineerablity of the material surfaces. The co-development of fiber engineering and filler engineering can potentially provide many benefits to the papermaking industry. For filler engineering, the relevant research topics broadly can include fibrous filler engineering, hollow/porous filler engineering, acid-stabilization of calcium carbonate fillers, surface encapsulation of naturally occurring polymers or their derivatives, preflocculation, precoagulation, cationic modification, filler/size hybrid formation, organic filler engineering, using combinations of different types of available fillers, multilayer deposition modification, modification with polymer latexes or dispersants, physical modification, mechanical modification, surface functionalization, fines-filler composite/hybrids or fiber-filler composite/ hybrid formation, in-situ polymerization modification, surface grafting, physical treatment in the presence of polymeric additives, filler precipitation, and core-shell composite filler engineering.

In this study a rapid at-line ATP (adenosine triphosphate) analysis is applied in papermaking. This ATP analysis takes less than a minute, and the information can be utilized instantly to adapt the biocide program. The study shows the effect of different biocide strategies at paper mills. Comparison is made between oxidative and reductive biocides on the one hand, and on the other hand between continuous vs. batch additions of biocide. Continuous biocide addition keeps the microbial activity at a constant level. However, a long production period without a boil-out might result in accumulation of resistant bacteria, which cannot be eliminated without changing the biocide strategy. Batch addition of biocide creates a high temporary concentration of biocide in the process. This causes lower temporary microbial activity in the process, but between the doses the microbial activity may rise to an intolerable level. Batch addition causes chemical variation to the wet end of a paper machine more easily than continuous addition. This can affect the performance of papermaking chemicals and cause problems with retention, fixing, etc. Both biocide addition strategies can be used if they are monitored and optimized properly. Rapid ATP analysis is a suitable tool for both purposes.

The “near neutral hemicellulose extraction process” involves extraction of hemicellulose using green liquor prior to kraft pulping. Ancillary unit operations include hydrolysis of the extracted carbohydrates using sulfuric acid, removal of extracted lignin, liquid-liquid extraction of acetic acid, liming followed by separation of gypsum, fermentation of C5 and C6 sugars, and upgrading the acetic acid and ethanol products by distillation. The process described here is a variant of the “near neutral hemicellulose extraction process” that uses the minimal amount of green liquor to maximize sugar production while still maintaining the strength quality of the final kraft pulp. Production rates vary between 2.4 to 6.6 million gallons per year of acetic acid and 1.0 and 5.6 million gallons per year of ethanol, depending upon the pulp production rate. The discounted cash flow rate of return for the process is a strong function of plant size, and the capital investment depends on the complexity of the process. For a 1,000 ton per day pulp mill, the production cost for ethanol was estimated to vary between $1.63 and $2.07/gallon, and for acetic acid between $1.98 and $2.75 per gallon depending upon the capital equipment requirements for the new process. To make the process economically attractive, for smaller mill sizes the processing must be simplified to facilitate reductions in capital cost.

The objective of this research was to investigate the effects of some impregnation materials and varnishes on the thermal conductivity of oak wood. Ammonium sulfate, borax, boric acid, zinc chloride, diammonium phosphate, and sodium silicate as impregnation chemicals and polyurethane, cellulosic, synthetic, coloured varnishes and cellulosic, synthetic, industrial paints as finishes were used. The wood materials were impregnated by using the vacuum-pressure method. The thermal conductivity test was performed based on the ASTM C 1113-99 hot-wire method. Results showed that the impregnation chemicals increased the thermal conductivity. The highest values were obtained with boric acid and sodium silicate. In addition, the thermal conductivity of painted oak was higher than that of varnished oak. The lowest thermal conductivity of 0.1465 Kcal/mh°C was obtained with the oak control. The highest thermal conductivity of 0.1756 Kcal/mh°C was obtained when oak was painted with industrial paint and impregnated with boric acid.

Near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy method was introduced to measure the lignin content in Acacia species. Acid-soluble lignin, Klason lignin, and total lignin contents from 78 wood meal samples of Acacia spp. trees grown in Guangxi province with different ages, height, and families were measured by wet chemistry. NIR spectra were also collected using a Bruker MPA spectrometer within 4000-12500cm-1 of wavenumbers using a standard sample cup and split into calibration and prediction sets. Equations were developed using partial least squares (PLS) regression and cross validation for multivariate calibration in this study. High coefficients of determination (R2) and low root mean square errors of cross-validation (RMSECV) were obtained for Klason lignin (R2=0.94, RMSECV=0.398), acid-soluble lignin (R2=0.87, RMSECV=0.144), and total lignin (R2=0.91, RMSECV=0.448) from wood meal. High correlation coefficients were found between laboratory and predicted values for Klason lignin, acid-soluble lignin, and total lignin contents, with R2 and RMSEP values ranging from 0.67 to 0.94, and 0.19 to 0.526, respectively. The study showed that NIR analysis can be reliably used to predict lignin content in Acacia spp.

Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) biomass has been used for many years for the remediation of heavy metals. The present study successfully utilizes the dried powdered biomass of the aerial part (stem and leaves) of water hyacinth for biosorption of hexavalent chromium. The effect of various parameters (viz. pH, initial metal ion concentration and temperature) on the removal of Cr(VI) was studied by conducting only 15 sets of sorption runs using Box-Behnken Design (BBD). The pH had a negative and temperature and concentration had positive effects on uptake of chromium. The predicted results (obtained using an empirical linear polynomial model) were found to be in good agreement (R2 = 99.8%) with the experimental results. The predicted maximum removal of Cr(VI) (91.5181 mg/g) can be achieved at pH 2.0, initial metal ion concentration 300 mg/L, and temperature 40 °C. The sorption capacity of sorbent was also calculated using a Langmuir sorption isotherm model and was found to be 101 mg/g at 40 °C and pH 2.0.

An analysis of the chemical composition and anatomical structure of banana pseudo-stem was carried out using Light Microscopy (LM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM). The chemical analysis indicated there is a high holocellulose content and low lignin content in banana pseudo-stem compared with some other non-wood fiber resources. These results demonstrate that the banana pseudo-stem has potential value for pulping. In addition, we report for the first time from using LM and CLSM that banana stems possess a structure involving helicoidal fibers separated by barrier films.

Unprotected wood exposed outdoors suffers from photodegradation due to absorption of UV light by lignin and dimensional changes because of moisture absorption or desorption by free hydroxyl groups in wood constituents. Chemical modification of cell wall polymers is one of the effective methods of inducing dimensional stability and UV resistance in wood. In this work, etherification of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) was carried out with alkylene epoxides. Extracted blocks of Scots pine were modified with propylene oxide (PO) and butylene oxide (BO) between 30 and 75 oC for different durations and under varying alkaline conditions. Different weight percent gains (WPG) were obtained. WPG increased with temperature, reaction time, and NaOH concentration. The dimensional stability, mechanical properties, and UV resistance of chemically modified wood were evaluated. Etherified wood exhibited an improvement in dimensional stability, but the efficacy dropped with successive water-soaking, oven-drying cycles, indicating a loss of modifying chemical. After four soak-dry cycles, both modifications retained positive anti-swelling efficiency (ASE) values; however, at WPG values >30%, the PO modified material exhibited a reduction in ASE, indicating cell wall degradation. Both PO and BO modified wood exhibited a loss in static mechanical properties measured as modulus of elasticity and modulus of rupture, with the reduction being dependent upon the level of modification. Modification of wood with PO provided partial photo stability to wood polymers, whereas BO was more promising in improving dimensional stability.

This study was carried out to determine the changes of the surface color of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and Oriental beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) woods after exterior conditioning. First, the samples were bleached with 25% NaOH and 17.5% H2O2. Afterwards, they were varnished with polyurethane and synthetic varnishes, and then they were exposed to exterior conditions for 12 months. Tests for color differences and metric chroma were done according to the ASTM D-2244 standard. It was deduced that exposure to exterior conditions causes color differences in samples, while bleaching with the given solution reduces that effects, and reverts the surface color to that of the natural control specimens. However, bleached specimens exposed to 12 months exterior conditioning had more discoloration than those of natural control samples. In conclusion, if the wood materials will be exposed to outdoors after bleaching, finishing process should be applied to surfaces in order to prevent further color change.