Volume 6 Issue 3

Aspergillus sojae has been previously shown to produce exo-polygalacturonase (exo-PG) in synthetic media, where the potential of the organism to utilize agricultural substrates was not considered so far. In this study, the utilization of agro-based products was taken into account in the enhanced production of exo-PG using an A. sojae mutant by applying statistical design methods. Complex sources (orange peel, wheat bran, and corn meal), simple sugar sources (glucose, maltrin, and sugar beet syrup), and two phosphate salts were screened using D-optimal design method. Orange peel yielded the highest exo-PG activity with all simple sugars and phosphate sources. According to the results of response surface methodology (RSM), the optimum concentrations of orange peel, sugar beet syrup, and (NH4)2SO4 were found to be 10, 60, and 8 g L-1, respectively. The exo-PG activity under these conditions was 145.4 U m L-1 in shake flask cultures. In bioreactor studies enzyme production was induced at low pH values; thus highest production was obtained under uncontrolled pH conditions, in which the pH dropped to 2.0 in 72 h. As a result high exo-PG could be produced by an A. sojae mutant using a cost-effective medium containing agro-industrial substrates. Another important advantageous outcome was the low optimal pH, which is especially desired in industrial fermentations prone to contamination problems. In fact this highlights the easy adaptation of this fermentation to industrial scales.

chips prior to mechanical pulping, which would offer new feedstocks for the production of chemicals and fuels. The aim of this study was to evaluate pre-extraction to maximize pre-extraction yield, while minimizing negative impacts on wood chips. The effects of three independent process variables (NaOH charge, pre-extraction temperature, and time) on three dependent variables (pre-extraction yield, xylan extraction yield, and cellulose content based on original wood) were studied using a Box-Behnken experimental design. The mathematical models were obtained and validated well. It was found that NaOH charge, time, interaction between NaOH charge and time, and interaction between temperature and time have significant effects on xylan extraction yield. The xylan extraction yield was 22.55%; i.e., about 37.3 kg of xylan could be extracted from one ton of oven-dried aspen chips under the conditions of 5.68% NaOH charge, 100 °C, and 35 min.

This study investigated the effects of different treatments of coir fibers (Cocos nucifera L.), and cement:coir ratio on physical and mechanical properties of cement-bonded composites. Three treatments: adding 4% of CaCl2, immersion in hot water at 80°C for 90 minutes, and immersion in NaOH aqueous solution at 5% for 72 hours and two cement:fiber ratios (3:1 and 4:1) were chosen for manufacturing 24 panels. After 28 days of setting, characterization was made through static bending (MOE, MOR), parallel compression (COMP), internal bonding (IB), thickness swelling (TS), and water absorption (WA) (2 and 24 hours of water immersion) tests. Treating coir fibers with hot water provided an improvement in the panel’s properties. This treatment had better results in MOE and COMP. Panels produced with CaCl2 addition were resistant as well; however coir fibers treated with NaOH produced cement/coir composites with unsatisfactory physical and mechanical properties.

Copper coating was deposited on Fraxinus mandshurica veneers for preparing EMI shielding composite by electroless plating using glyoxylic acid as reducing agent in the solution. XPS and SEM were used to analyze the activation process. It was found that a continuous chitosan membrane was loaded on the wood surface. XPS results showed that Pd(II) ions were ed on a chitosan membrane on the wood surface through an N-Pd σ coordination bond. After reduction, part of Pd(II) absorbed formed very little Pd(0) particles on the chitosan-treated wood surface. The activated wood veneers were immersed into a plating bath in which copper film was successfully initiated. The coatings were characterized by SEM-EDS, XPS, and XRD. The metal deposition, surface , and electromagnetic shielding effectiveness were measured. The morphology of the coating was uniform, compact, and continuous. The wood grains were preserved on the plated wood veneer, which had a copper-like color and sheen. EDS, XPS, and XRD results indicated that the coating consisted of Cu0 with crystalline structure. The surface resistivity and copper deposition reached 175.14 mΩ·cm-2 and 21.66 g/m2 when the veneer was pretreated with 0.8 % chitosan for 8 min and plated for 30 min at 55 oC. The plated veneers exhibited good electromagnetic shielding effectiveness of over 60 dB in frequency ranging from10 MHz to 1.5 GHz.

Both the energy shortage and pollution tend to slow down economic development and affect our daily lives. Some microorganisms not only can digest pollutants, but also can convert pollutant metabolites to triacylglycerol (TAG) that can be used to produce biodiesel. Here, we present results showing that the bacterium strain LDS5, a mutant of Rhodococcus sp. RHA1 (RHA1) generated in our lab, could grow well in chemithermomechanical pulping (CTMP) effluent, a type of paper mill wastewater, reduce chemical oxygen demand (CODCr) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) significantly, and produce TAG. Our data suggest that this strain has the potential to be used in paper mill wastewater treatment as well as in the development of biodiesel using biomass from paper mills.

Lignin is readily available as a by-product from the pulp and paper industry. It is considered to be a promising substitute for phenol in phenol-formaldehyde (PF) resin synthesis, given the increasing concerns of the shortage of fossil resources and the environmental impact from petroleum-based products. One hurdle that prevents the commercial utilization of lignin is its low reactivity due to its chemical structure. Many efforts have been made to improve its reactivity by modification and/or depolymerization of lignin molecules. Methylolation and phenolation are the two most studied modification approaches aimed at introducing reactive functional groups to lignin molecules. Modified lignin from these two methods could partially replace phenol in PF resin synthesis. Demethylation of lignin could effectively increase the reactivity of lignin by forming catechol moieties in the lignin macromolecule. Other methods, including reduction, oxidation, and hydrolysis, have also been studied to improve the reactivity of lignin as well as to produce phenolic compounds from lignin. Most current methods of lignin modification are not economically attractive. One can expect that efforts will be continued, aimed at improving the utilization of lignin for value-added products.

A review of the literature reveals potential advantages that papermakers can achieve by placing minerals in the lumens or cell walls of fibers before the pulp is formed into paper. Loading of filler into the fiber lumen by mechanical deposition or within the cell wall by in-situ precipitation has been reported to generally result in a moderate reduction in light scattering coefficient and increased strength properties of laboratory handsheets, as well as in paper manufactured with pilot plant equipment, when compared to conventional addition of filler. However, there are some exceptions to this general observation, where the fiber loading is reported to decrease the tensile strength of paper. Some related effects can be achieved by either precipitating mineral onto fiber surfaces or co-flocculating mineral particles with cellulosic fines. Challenges remain with respect to the implementation of fiber-loading concepts at a commercial scale. Also, there is a need for further research aimed at establishing high-end applications in which it may be an advantage to load cellulosic fiber cell walls or lumens with minerals or other substances.

The primary aim of modern biorefineries is the efficient conversion of lignocellulosic materials into valuable products. Sugars and oils can be converted into valuable chemicals, but processing of lignin is still a challenge. A vast amount of lignin is incinerated to produce process steam and energy, and only a very small part is used for the production of value-added products. Technical lignins are isolated as by-streams in lignocellulosic refineries, e.g., as kraft, soda, organosolv, and hydrolysis lignins, as well as lignosulphonates. They have a modified structure and contain impurities that are dependent on the processing method. The structure and the composition of technical lignins restrict their subsequent applications. This paper reviews limiting factors in utilization of technical lignins. Four major classes of problems are identified, and approaches to overcoming these problems are suggested.

For the thermomechanical pulping (TMP) process both wood chip quality and the refining process have important effects on the resulting pulp and paper quality. Properties of wood raw material give a framework for final pulp properties. During TMP refining the specific energy consumption and refining intensity strongly impact fibre and pulp qualities. Increasing specific energy consumption benefits the development of fibres and improves their properties. However, high intensity refining tends to shorten the fibres and produces more fines content when compared with low intensity refining. This review focuses on the influence of key variables of chip qualities and the refining process on TMP pulp and paper qualities.

Wood and cellulose derivatives, in both fibrous and water-soluble macromolecular form, are emerging as outstanding candidates for organic electronics applications due to their large-scale availability, low cost, and easy processability. Paper and wood fibre-based derivatives are considered to be materials of choice as supports for communication world-wide. The interest in producing inexpensive and universally available conducting polymer/cellulose fibres substrates resides in the possibility of creating new materials that can be used for a broad range of advanced applications. For instance, PPy/cellulose fibres composites can be used for the preparation of energy storage devices thanks to the conjugation of the high specific area of cellulose fibres and the electrochemical properties of PPy. Other possible applications of such composites are in the area of the antistatic materials, sensors, electromagnetic interference shielding materials, smart packaging, and tissues. Concerning the woody polymers, some of them (i.e. cellulose derivatives) also exhibit biocompatibility, as well as film-forming properties and transparency. In combination with the electrical properties of PPy, these features make PPy/macromolecular cellulose composites suitable for applications as displays, lighting, and photovoltaics. Due to their chemical structure, macromolecular wood derivatives have been proposed with success as enhancing conductivity additives in Py polymerisation. The aim of the present review is to provide an overview of PPy chemistry and of the most relevant advances attained in the production of PPy/wood derived materials conducting composites.