Volume 5 Issue 2

The chemical degradations of highly-purified cellotriose, cellotetraose, and cellopentaose in H2O2 and NaOH media were studied, respectively. The degradation products were analyzed by HPLC, FTIR, and GC-MS techniques. The results show that for the three oligosaccharides the main oxidative degradation products are 2, 3-dihydroxy-butanedioic acid, 2-keto-gluconic acid, glucopyranose, D-glucose, D-gluconic acid, and cellooligosaccharides with lower DP. A small amount of arabinose is formed during the oxidation of cellotriose. The main alkaline degradation products for the three oligomers include 3-deoxy-isosaccharinic acid-1,4-lactone and 3-deoxy-hexonic acid-1,4-lactone. Arabinose coumpounds are found to be an accidental degradation product of cellotriose. Finally, the possible formation mechanisms are proposed, including 2,3-dihydroxy-butanedioic acid, 2-keto-gluconic acid, D-gluconic acid, arabinose, 3-deoxy-isosaccharinic acid-1,4-lactone, and 3-deoxy-hexonic acid-1,4-lactone. The radical attack from H2O2 is probably at the glycosidic linkage, resulting in the formation of a series of degradation products. Degradations of cellooligosaccharides in alkaline solution are elucidated to follow an enediol anion reaction mechanism.

The flexural properties of commercial bagasse-filled polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) composites were determined as a function of strain rate at room temperature. The applied strain rates were 1.5 ×10-4, 3.75×10-4, 7.5×10-4, and 1.5×10-3 s-1. The flexural modulus tended to increase linearly for the two types of composites with the logarithm of strain rate. The bending strength of polypropylene composite also behaved in a similar manner, but the polyethylene composite exhibited different behavior in which the MOR values of polyethylene composite didn’t alter appreciably as a function of strain rate. The flexural response of a polypropylene-based composite was found to exhibit higher dependency on strain rate than a polyethylene-based composite. Water absorption of both composites followed the kinetics of a Fickian diffusion process. Water absorption and dimensional instability of PE-based composites were lower than those of PP-based composites. The highest swelling took place in the thickness of the samples, followed by the width and length, respectively.

The production of cellulases, hemicellulases, and starch-degrading enzymes by the thermophilic aerobic fungus Talaromyces emersonii under liquid state culture on various food wastes was investigated. A comprehensive enzyme screening was conducted, which resulted in the identification of spent tea leaves as a potential substrate for hydrolytic enzyme production. The potent, polysaccharide-degrading enzyme-rich cocktail produced when tea leaves were utilised as sole carbon source was analysed at a protein and mRNA level and shown to exhibit high level production of key cellulose and hemicellulose degrading enzymes. As presented in this paper, the crude enzyme preparation produced after 120 h growth of Talaromyces emersonii on used tea leaves is capable of hydrolysing other lignocellulosic materials into their component monosaccharides, generating high value sugar syrups with a host of industrial applications including conversion to fuels and chemicals.

Cellulose fibres from sugarcane bagasse were bleached and modified by zirconium oxychloride in order to improve the mechanical properties of composites with high density polyethylene (HDPE). The mechanical properties of the composites prepared from chemically modified cellulose fibres were found to increase compared to those of bleached fibres. Tensile strengths of the composites showed a decreasing trend with increasing filler content. However, the values for the chemically modified cellulose fibres/HDPE composites at all mixing ratios were found to be higher than that of neat HDPE. Results of water immersion tests showed that the water absorption affected the mechanical properties. The fracture surfaces of the composites were recorded using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The SEM micrographs revealed that interfacial bonding between the modified filler and the matrix was significantly improved by the fibre modification.

Short date palm tree lignocellulosic fibers were used as a reinforcing phase in a polyepoxy thermoset commodity resin. Unmodified fibers as well as counterparts chemically oxidized using TEMPO catalyst mediation were used as fillers for composite materials prepared in a Resin Transfer Molding process. The preparation was facilitated in the case of the composites based on oxidized fibers. During the process, the front displacement of injected resin was more regular, more homogeneous, and faster in the case of oxidized fibers. The morphology, thermal and mechanical properties of the resultant composites were characterized by SEM, DSC, DMA, as well as three-point bending and Charpy impact tests. An elevated reinforcing capability of the oxidized fibers as compared to their unmodified counterparts was demonstrated, particularly by a high strain test in the glassy state. This confirmed the enhanced filler/matrix interface observed in such materials during the process and in the final composite as analyzed by SEM. No significant difference in reinforcing capability of the two kinds of filler was observed in the DMA analysis.

This study was performed to determine the effect of boric acid treatment upon the decay resistance and mechanical properties of poplar wood. Test specimens were prepared from poplar wood (Populus nigra L.) to meet ASTM D 143-94 and BS 838:1961 requirements. Samples were impregnated with boric acid solution (0.5, 1, and 2% w/w in distilled water) and by a long-term (21 days) dipping technique to reach complete saturation. Impregnated specimens were exposed to rainbow white-rot fungus (Trametes versicolor) for 14 weeks according to BS 838:1961 as applied by the kolle-flask method. The weight loss, compression strength parallel to the grain, and Brinell hardness were determined after impregnation and exposure to white-rot fungus. The highest weight loss (28.60%) was observed for untreated control samples and the lowest (0.63%) occurred in samples treated with 2% boric acid solution. The highest compression strength parallel to the grain was noted in samples treated with 0.5% boric acid and decayed (22.59 MPa) and the lowest compression strength parallel to the grain was recorded in untreated decayed samples (10.42 MPa). The highest Brinell hardness on tangential surface was observed in samples treated with 1% boric acid and decayed (1.32 KN) and the lowest was noted in untreated decayed samples (0.39 KN). The highest Brinell hardness on radial surface was observed in samples treated with 1% boric acid and decayed (1.07 KN) and the lowest was found in untreated decayed samples (0.35 KN).

This paper presents the production of xylooligosaccharides from auto-hydrolysis liquors of wheat straw and sunflower stalk, as wells as the antioxidant activity of these autohydrolysis liquors. The autohydrolysis liquors (raw or refined by ultrafiltration) of both wastes were subjected to the action of two different endoxylanase to produce xylooligosaccharides with low degree of polymerization that are potentially useful as food additives. Trichoderma reseei xylanase led to the highest proportion of oligomers with degree of polymerization values in the range 1–3, while Aspergillus niger xylanase gave mainly oligomers with polymerization degree in the range 2-3. T reseei xylanase gave a higher increase in equivalent xylose concentration and produced more monosaccharide than A.niger xylanase. Membranes with a nominal MWCO 1 kDa did not reject antioxidant-related and other low molar mass compounds, and most of these compounds were recovered with monosaccharides in the permeate of the membrane.

Polyaniline (PAn)-coated conductive paper was prepared by in-situ polymerization of aniline and a two-step process. XPS results confirmed that the bond between PAn and cellulose existed in the form of hydrogen bonding. The mild treatment did not result in the oxidation and degradation of cellulose. Decreased bonding strength of conductive paper was attributed to the coverage of hydroxyl groups on pulp fibers by PAn. For the PAn-coated paper about one in every three nitrogen atoms was doped with p-toluenesulfonic acid (PTSA). The quinoid imine nitrogens of the PAn molecular chain were preferentially doped. Pulp fibers seemed to be favorable for the doping of PAn with PTSA. The surface resistivity sharply decreased at least two orders of magnitude with a very small increase in the amount of PAn coated (from 3.6% to 4.2%). A continuous conductive network was formed and the surface resistivity was lowest when the amount of PAn coated reached 30.1%. The upper and lower threshold values were around 4% and 30%, respectively. SEM study showed that the shape of the PAn coated on pulp fibers was spherical with a diameter from 100 to 200 nm.

In this work the annual plant called Luffa cylindrica (LC) has been characterized and used to prepare macroscopic lignocellulosic fibers and cellulosic nanoparticles, viz. microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) and whiskers, each of which can be used as a reinforcing phase in bionanocomposites. The morphological, chemical, and physical properties of LC fibers were first characterized. The contents of lignin, hemicellulose, and other constituents were determined, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations were performed to investigate the surface morphology of the LC fibers. Sugars contents were determined by ionic chromatography, and it was shown that glucose was the main sugar present in the residue. MFC and whiskers were prepared after chemical treatments (NaOH and NaClO2), purifying cellulose by eliminating lignin and hemicellulose. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and SEM made it possible to determine the dimensions of LC whiskers and MFC. Tensile tests were carried out to investigate the mechanical properties of LF nanoparticles.

An integrated approach was studied for in-house cellulase production, pretreatment, and enzymatic conversion of sugarcane bagasse into glucose followed by the production of second generation bioethanol. Solid state cultures of Aspergillus sp. S4B2F produced significant levels of cellulase complex on wheat bran, supplemented with 1% (w/w) soyabean meal, moistened with 1.5 parts of distilled water after 96 h of incubation at 30oC. The highest productivities of endoglucanase, exoglucanase, and β-glucosidase were 66, 60, and 26 IU/g of fermented dry bran, respectively. The enzyme components had a temperature and pH optima at 50oC and 4.0, respectively and revealed high thermostability at 50oC, retaining 66, 54, and 84% residual activities after 72 h. Pretreatment with 2% alkali in combination with steam was the most efficient pre-hydrolysis method for enzymatic bioconversion and fermentation of cellulosic residue of sugarcane bagasse, which produced the highest cellulose conversion (67%), with glucose and alcohol yields of 323 mg and 175 ml respectively per dry gram of bagasse.