Volume 12 Issue 2

The stiffness of a material greatly influences its possible use as an engineering material. Thus, despite the theoretical environmental advantages of natural fiber reinforced composites, or fully biodegradable composites, if certain mechanical properties are not achieved, a material can have fewer engineering uses. In this work, sugarcane bagasse fibers, a by-product of the sugarcane-juice extraction process, were used to obtain reinforcing fibers. Two polyolefins, a polypropylene and a high-density polyethylene, and a starch-based polymer were used as matrices. The composite materials were prepared and tested to obtain their tensile properties such as the Young’s moduli. Some micromechanical models were used to obtain the intrinsic Young’s moduli of the fibers and the efficiency factors. The dependence of such parameters on the matrix and fibers characteristics was studied. The fiber orientation efficiency factor was used to compute the orientation angle of the fibers inside the composite under three different distributions. Finally, the Tsai and Pagano models, and the Halpin and Tsai equations were used to compute the theoretical values of the Young’s moduli of the composites.

Flexible polyurethane foams were prepared from solid waste residue derived from the hydrothermal acid treatment of the Arundo donax L. herbaceous biomass, which produced a very high yield of levulinic acid. An innovative, sustainable, and green liquefaction route was adopted to produce lignin-based flexible polyurethane foams by partially replacing fossil-fuel source polyols with an abundant and renewable hydroxyl source, the Arundo donax L. “lignin-like” residue. Lignin liquefaction was performed in polyolic solvents using microwave irradiation, saving time and energy while ensuring a more sustainable and green approach. Foam production was performed with controlled expansion using the “one-shot” technique. Water was adopted as the only blowing agent, and the isocyanate index (NCO/OH) was kept to less than 100, which reduced the cross-linking degree of the desired foam and increased its flexibility. About 7 wt.% of the conventional petrochemical polyether polyol was replaced with the Arundo donax L. hydrolysis residue. The chemical and mechanical properties of the synthesized foams were compared with those obtained by using a pure technical soda lignin, ProtoBind 1000. The results were characterized by satisfactory mechanical properties, thus closing the biorefinery cycle of Arundo donax L. exploitation.

Holistic utilization of cotton linter black liquor is crucial from both economic and environmental standpoints. For this purpose, the hydrothermal conversion process was selected to produce hydrochar from organic materials dissolved in black liquor. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis showed that there were no significant functional changes in the hydrochar compared with black liquor solid (BLS) at different preserving temperatures. However, a C-O bond was ruptured by the hydrothermal carbonization. Thermogravimetric analysis also showed that the thermal stability of the hydrochar was increased. The higher heating value (HHV) of hydrochar at the different preserving temperature from 200 °C to 280 °C was higher than BLS, reaching a maximum at 200 °C. On the other hand, the alkali from the liquor production of hydrothermal carbonization was recovered by causticization; the highest causticizing efficiency (CE) was 45.2%. The recovered liquor alkali can be used in pulping or pretreatment strategies.

Hydrolysate pretreatment (HP) uses hot water pre-hydrolysis liquor (HWPL) as partial or full pretreatment medium for biomass. Pentosan dissolution during Eucalyptus HP was studied under holding times between 0 min and 160 min, holding temperatures between 150 °C and 190 °C, a hot water pre-hydrolysate ratio (HWPR) from 20% to 100%, and a fixed liquid to wood ratio of 1:6. Both the pentosan removals in the hydrolysate pretreated solid (HPS) and the hydrolysate pretreatment liquor (HPL) pento-saccharides contents were determined and compared with those of hot water pre-hydrolysis (HWP). When compared to HWP, the HP enhanced pentosan removal from the solid phase, and enriched the saccharides or promoted the in-situ conversion of saccharides into other chemicals in the liquid phase. Pentosan removal in the HPS increased when holding time and temperature were increased. Increasing holding time first increased the pento-saccharide content in the HPL, and then decreased it after reaching the maximum. Elevating the holding temperature increased the pento-saccharide content in the HPL, except for arabino-oligosaccharide. Different HWPR had varying influences on pentosan removal in the HPS and on the saccharides concentration in the HPL. When controlled, HP positively influenced hemicellulose removal from biomass, and increased utilization value of the liquid phase obtained post pretreatment.

Prehydrolysates and water-insoluble solids (WISs) were produced from reed straw and corn stover pretreated with hydrolysate-recycled liquid hot water (LHW) at different cycle times. The chemical components of the prehydrolysates and WISs were then investigated to assess the possible effects of hydrolysate recycling on bioethanol production. The WISs were subjected to fed-batch, semi-simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (S-SSF) to investigate the changes in bioethanol concentration and evaluate the efficiency of the pretreatment. The pretreatment conditions consisted of a temperature of 195 °C, time of 20 min, and liquid ratio of 1:20. The prehydrolysates were recycled using a circulation volume of 50% and were applied to 10 cycles. The results showed that recycling did not significantly decrease the pH of the hydrolysates. The content of glucose and xylan in the hydrolysates decreased and then increased with increasing cycle times. In the WISs, the contents of benzene alcohol extractives and ash increased remarkably. The content of acid-insoluble lignin and glucan increased slightly. The amounts of xylan and acid-soluble lignin in the WISs were low, and the changes in these contents were not significant. Thus, hydrolysate-recycled LHW pretreatment was beneficial for bioethanol production from reed straw, but not from corn stover.

Self-bonding technology is potentially an effective solution to overcome formaldehyde emissions, which pose health and environmental concerns. Laccases can activate the fiber surface during the binderless fiberboard manufacturing process. This paper adopted wheat straw fibers (WSF) as the main raw material. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of laccase pretreatment conditions on the mechanical properties of binderless fiberboards produced from WSF. For the improvement of mechanical properties, bamboo fibers (BF) were added as a reinforcing material. In addition, differences in the effects of two processes for adding laccase on the mechanical properties were monitored. As a result, binderless fiberboards were successfully manufactured from laccase-treated WSF. The results showed that the optimized pretreatment conditions were determined to be a laccase dosage of 40 U per gram absolute dry fiber (U/g), a treatment time of 120 min, a treatment temperature of 50 °C, and a proportion of BF of 20%. The mechanical properties of the binderless fiberboards prepared using a water bath were superior to spraying under the same conditions.