Volume 5 Issue 3

The current state of biorefinery development is focused almost entirely on the production of fuel ethanol. However, an ethanol-centric approach misses the crucial example set by the petrochemical industry. The ability to fractionate a raw material, rather than simply pretreating it, enables the parallel production of low value, high volume fuels and high value, low volume chemicals. By developing analogous fractionation processes for biomass, giving separate process streams of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, the biorefining industry will be able to recognize the synergistic advantages of producing both energy and profits.

The papermaking industry can benefit a lot from nanotechnology. This versatile technology can also be used in the area of fillers for papermaking wet end applications. In such applications the main technological examples currently available include wet end addition of commercially available nanofillers, formation of nanofiller/fiber or nanofiller/fibril hybrids, development of novel categories of nanofillers such as high aspect ratio nanofillers, and combination of microfillers with nanostructures by specially controlled routes to obtain composite nanofillers. It is worth noting that there are certain challenges associated with nanofillers, such as high cost, difficulty in structure and performance control, poor dispersability and retention, possible severe negative effects on paper strength, possible detrimental interactions between nanofillers with some wet end additives, and the industry-related limitations. However, in the long run, the research and development in the area of nanofillers will surely create many fruitful results.

Kerala in south India grows several cash crops such as banana and pineapple, the crop residues of which are sources of natural fibres that can be used in hand papermaking. Kerala, however, does not have a tradition in hand papermaking. The following is an account of an attempt to popularize the art and craft of hand papermaking among self-help groups as a means of self-employment and waste utilization, using fibres extracted from agriwaste and local plants.

The aim of this research is to examine the market potential for wood plastic composite (WPC) products in the highway construction sector in place of non-renewable materials (e.g. virgin plastic and steel) and preservative-based products (treated wood). State-level transportation officials indicate that the majority of highway construction purchases are conducted by highway construction contractors. Results from a mail survey of highway contractors in eight western U.S. states indicate that a substantial volume of highway construction material may be suitable for substitution with WPCs. Overall, respondents were not familiar with WPC as a material, but compared it favorably with other materials commonly used in the sector. When making purchase decisions, respondents were most concerned with products meeting regulatory specifications, cost, availability, and trust in quality. Attributes related to sustainability, location of manufacture, and content of recycled material were viewed as less important.

Effects of ultrasonic pretreatment on the bleaching of chemimechanical pulp (CMP) fiber of triploid Chinese white Poplar were investigated. Before single-stage hydrogen peroxide bleaching, CMP was sonicated at 1.5% pulp consistency and 50oC for 20min with 90% amplitude and 20s pulse; these conditions showed the most favorable effect of a 3.5% ISO increase of brightness, reaching a final value of 80.2% ISO. The benefit may be because the ultrasound can accelerate heterogeneous reactions, which arise from the impingement of microjets and shockwaves on the solid surface, which are then capable of inducing striking changes in surface morphology, composition, and reactivity. To prove the theory, the surface structure and surface morphology were investigated by SEM and AFM, and the crystalline structure and characteristics of the cellulose in terms of XRD and FT-IR were also evaluated.

A new simple and safe method for quantifying lignin content in lignocellulosic biomass is described. The approach consists of measuring the absorbance of a solution of whole biomass dissolved in the ionic liquid 1-n-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium chloride, [Bmim][Cl], at 440 nm via ultraviolet- (UV-) visible spectrophotometry. An extinction coefficient for a lignin standard, highly pure lignin isolated from biomass through an organosolv process, is used in conjunction with the Beer-Lambert Law to calculate the lignin concentration. Principal component analysis (PCA) of Fourier Transform-Infrared (FTIR) spectra collected for several different lignin standards was performed to understand the differences in their chemical structure and composition (e.g., the relative amounts of syringyl and guaiacyl units). A rapid FTIR analysis of the whole biomass sample with unknown lignin content is required to assist in the proper selection of the lignin standard for the subsequent spectrophotometric analysis. The proposed method was tested and validated on two biomass types: Yellow poplar and Southern pine. The spectrophotometric approach yielded lignin contents for Yellow poplar and Southern pine of 25.7 ± 1.1% and 26.7 ± 0.7%, respectively, which are comparable to the values obtained by a standard wet chemical protocol, 25.1% ± 0.7 and 26.6 ± 0.4%, respectively.

Potash alkali and metal contents of ashes obtained from peels of six varieties of Nigeria Musa species were investigated. The varieties of Musa species – Musa paradisiaca (plantain), Musa ‘Gross Michel’ (Igbo banana), M.sapientum L. (paranta), Musa ‘Wild Banana’ (omini), Musa ‘Red’ (sweet banana), and Musa ‘Fugamo’ (somupeke), were investigated. The moisture, dry matter, ash and alkali contents; concentration of metals in the ashes and in the contents extracted with water from the ashes; and the ratio of potassium to other metals in the ashes and in the corresponding extracts were determined. Moisture contents ranged from 80.9 to 86.7%; dry matter content, 13.3 to 19.1%; ash content, 6.3 to 12.0%; alkali content, 69.0 to 81.9% of ash and 4.7 to 9.6% of dry sample. Samples ranged between 2.60 and 720mg/kg and in the corresponding extracts, BDL to 500.49mg/kg; ratio of concentration of potassium to other metals in the samples, 0.6 to 395; and in the extracts, 0.5 to 313. Gross michel showed the highest concentration of K (750mg/kg) while omini banana gave the lowest average value (112.70mg/kg).

The paracrystallinity of cellulose samples was studied with a complex of investigation methods including X-ray, NMR, sorption, calorimetry, and some others. It was found that the paracrystalline fraction of cellulose is located on the surface of crystallites as thin monomolecular layers having an average thickness of 0.4 nm. The paracrystalline surface layers have distorted and loose packing that is characterized by a high distortion parameter δp = 0.18, increased specific volume Vp=0.664 cm3/g, and decreased specific gravity ρp= 1.51 g/cm3. The paracrystalline fraction of the crystallite can be quantified by the parameter ( α ), which has an expressed influence on some properties of cellulose. Increasing of the α-value causes expansion of inter-plane distances in the C1 unit cell, as well as promotes mercerization and dissolution of cellulose.

Three lignins: Indulin AT, LignoboostTM, and Acetocell lignin, were characterized and pyrolyzed in a continuous-fed fast pyrolysis process. The physical and chemical properties of the lignins included chemical composition, heat content, ash, and water content. The distributed activation energy model (DAEM) was used to describe the pyrolysis of each lignin. Activation energy distributions of each lignin were quite different and generally covered a broad range of energies, typically found in lignins. Process yields for initial continuous-fed fast pyrolysis experiments are reported. Bio-oil yield was low, ranging from 16 to 22%. Under the fast pyrolysis conditions used, the Indulin AT and LignoboostTM lignin yielded slightly more liquid product than the Acetocell lignin. Lignin kinetic parameters and chemical composition vary considerably and fast pyrolysis processes must be specified for each type of lignin.

Corporate environmental sustainability calls for sustainable product manufacturing with less creation of waste material or increased reuse of waste materials. One example is the use of keratin fiber from the poultry industry and cotton linter from the textile industry for paper and tissue manufacturing. In this paper, the feasibility of using these waste fibers to make paper was demonstrated in handsheets. The properties of these handsheets were compared to the properties of handsheets made with standard bleached eucalyptus tropical hardwood fibers. A blend of cotton linter and keratin fibers at 80/20 and 60/40 ratios showed a 59% and 73% improvement in sheet bulk, respectively, compared to eucalyptus handsheets. Similarly, air permeability of the cotton / keratin fiber handsheets improved 414% and 336%, respectively, versus the eucalyptus. However, the tensile index of the cotton and keratin fiber blends was lower than the eucalyptus sheets. There was no remarkable difference in water absorbency up to 20% keratin fiber. Above 20% of keratin fibers the water absorbency started to decrease, which is likely attributable to the hydrophobic nature of the protein-based keratin fiber.