Optimizing hemicelluloses pre-extraction in eucalyptus kraft pulping:A pathway towards enhancing pulp mill biorefineries

A critical pathway towards enhancing pulp mill biorefineries is to integrate the extraction and utilization of hemicelluloses into the pulping processes.Hence,an industrial pre-extraction strategy for hemicelluloses targeting eucalyptus kraft pulping process was developed.Alkaline solution or pulping white liquor was used to pre-extract hemicelluloses before the actual pulping process.The response surface methodology(RSM)technique was applied to investigate the most suitable conditions to maximize the yield of these hemicelluloses while simultaneously minimizing the damage to pulp yields and properties.Temperature(105 to 155℃),alkali concentration(3%to 8%),sulfidity(20%to 30%)and retention time(19 to 221 min)were combined to evaluate their effects on hemicellulose yields and chemical structures.The optimal pre-extraction conditions identified in this work(5.75%NaOH concentration,25%sulfidity at 135℃for 60 min)successfully allowed recovering 4.8%of hemicelluloses(based on the wood dry mass)and limited damages to pulp yields and properties.The cellulose content in pulp can even be increased by about 10%.Hemicellulose emulsification properties were also evaluated,which were comparable to synthetic emulsifiers.This study provides an industrial pathway to effectively separate and utilize wood hemicelluloses from the pulping process,which has the potential to improve the economy and material utilization of pulp and paper mills.

Dynamic Changes in Distribution of Lignin and Hemicelluloses in Cell Walls During Differentiation of Secondary Xylem in Eucommia ulmoides

The dynamic changes in the distribution of lignin and hemicelluloses (xylans and xyloglucans) in cell walls during the differentiation of secondary xylem in Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. were studied by means of ultraviolet light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy combined with immunogold labelling. In the cambial zone and cell expansion zone, xyloglucans were localized both in the tangential and radial walls, but no xylans or lignin were found in these regions. With the formation of secondary wall S-1 layer, lignin occurred in the cell corners and middle lamella, while xylans appeared in S-1 layer, and xyloglucans were localized in the primary walls and middle lamella. In pace with the formation of secondary wall S-2 and S-3 layer, lignification extended to S-1, S-2 and S-3 layer in sequence, showing a patchy style of lignin deposition. Concurrently, xylans distributed in the whole secondary walls and xyloglucans, on the other hand, still localized in the primary walls and middle lamella. The results indicated that along with the formation and lignification of the secondary wall, great changes had taken place in the cell walls. Different parts of cell walls, such as cell corners, middle lamella, primary walls and various layers of secondary walls, had different kinds of hemicelluloses, which formed various cell wall architecture combined with lignin and other cell wall components.

Characterization of Hemicelluloses Extracted from Populus tomentosa Carr. by the Hydrothermal Method with Ethanol

The aim of this study was to investigate the hemicelluloses extracted from Populus tomentosa Carr.by the hydrothermal method with ethanol.The influence of ethanol concentration on the hemicellulosic fractions was systematically studied.The chemical compositions and structural features of the hemicellulosic fractions were investigated by a combination of sugar analysis,gel-permeation chromatography,Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy,and one-dimensional proton and carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance,and two-dimensional heteronuclear single quantum coherence spectroscopy.Neutral sugar analysis of the hemicellulosic fractions revealed that a higher ethanol concentration(45%~80%) favored the isolation of hemicelluloses with more side chains and lower glucose contents.The molecular weights of these polysaccharides ranged between 2842 g/mol and 5101 g/mol.The results of this study indicate that the hydrothermal ethanol process provides a new pretreatment strategy for the isolation and extraction of biomass.

Comparative Study of Water-soluble and Alkali-soluble Hemicelluloses Extracted by Hydrothermal Pretreatment

The purpose of this study was to explore the differences of the hemicelluloses extracted by hydrothermal pretreatment using water and alkaline solutions(Na OH or KOH). The physicochemical properties and structural characteristics of two water-soluble and four alkali-soluble hemicelluloses extracted from the triploid of Populus tomentosa Carr. through the hydrothermal pretreatment were comparatively studied. It was observed that the alkalis(Na OH and KOH) were more effective than distilled water as extractants. Sugar analysis showed that xylose(66.83%~86.49%) was the major constituent, followed by glucose(6.83%~18.49%). Mannose(1.40%~8.42%), galactose(2.17%~4.05%), and arabinose(0.21%~2.26%) were also detected in the hemicellulosic fractions. The results of gelpermeation chromatography(GPC) indicated that the hemicelluloses extracted using the alkaline solutions had relatively higher molecular weights than those solubilized in distilled water. Further, based on spectroscopic ~1Hnuclear magnetic resonance(~1H-NMR) and two-dimensional heteronuclear singular quantum correlation(2D-HSQC) analyses, it was confirmed that the hemicellulosic fractions had a major structure of(1→4)-b-D-xylan and a minor structure of(1→4)-a-D-glucan with small amounts of substituted sugars and glucuronic acid attached.

Xylo-oligosaccharides preparation through acid hydrolysis of hemicelluloses isolated from press-lye

The preparation of xylo-oligosaccharides(XOSs)through hydrolysis of hemicelluloses was studied.The hemicelluloses were isolated from the press lye discharged in the production of viscose,which contained about 30%xylan.Then,a factorial experimental design was applied to compare the influences of several factors including the concentrations of sulphuric acid and hemicelluloses,the duration and temperature of the hydrolysis,on the conversion of xylan,and the selectivity for the product–XOSs.The results showed that the hydrolysis duration affects the yield of XOSs to the greatest extent.It is difficult to obtain a high yield of XOSs with sulphuric acid as the hydrolysis catalyst.

Xylo-Oligosaccharide Preparation through Enzyme Hydrolysis of Hemicelluloses Isolated from Press Lye

The emerging food additive, xylo-oligosaccharide(XOSs), was prepared through enzymatic hydrolysis of hemicelluloses isolated from press lye. Two of the three experimental enzyme preparations presented favourable effects, while the other one consisting of the nominal enzyme preparations with high enzyme activity was found to have poor catalytic effects. The conversion of xylan exceeded 40% and the selectivity for XOSs reached 90% when the temperature, hemicellulose concentration, dosage of enzymes, and hydrolysis time were 40?C, 100 g/L, 1 ku/g, and 4 h, respectively. Xylo-oligosaccharide preparation through enzymatic hydrolysis of hemicelluloses isolated from press lye was proved to be a feasible process to utilize the by-product of the lye regeneration, which will substantially improve the economy of the lye regeneration and recycling.

Isolation, chemical characterization, and immunomodulatory activity of naturally acetylated hemicelluloses from bamboo shavings

Bamboo shavings, the outer or intermediate layer of bamboo stems, are the bulk of by-products produced in bamboo processing. In this study we investigated the isolation, chemical characterization, and immunostimulatory activity in vitro of the hemicelluloses from bamboo shavings. Shavings were first pretreated by steam explosion. The optimal pretreatment was found to be steam explosion at 2.2 MPa for 1 min. Following this pretreatment, the yield of hemicelluloses reached（2.05±0.22）%（based on the dry dewaxed raw materials）, which was 5.7-fold higher than that of untreated samples. Bamboo-shavings hemicellulose（BSH） was then prepared by hot water extraction and ethanol precipitation from the steam-exploded shavings. Purification of BSH by anion-exchange chromatography of diethylaminoethanol（DEAE）-sepharose Fast Flow resulted in a neutral fraction（BSH-1, purity of 95.3%, yield of 1.06%） and an acidic fraction（BSH-2, purity of 92.5%, yield of 0.79%）. The weight-average molecular weights（Mw） of BSH-1 and BSH-2 were 12 800 and 11 300 g/mol, respectively. Chemical and structural analyses by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy（FT-IR）, 1D（^1H and ^13C） and 2D（heteronuclear single quantum correlation（HSQC）） nuclear magnetic resonance（NMR） spectra revealed that BSH-1 was O-acetylated-arabinoxylan and BSH-2 was O-acetylated-（4-Omethylglucurono）-arabinoxylan. BSH-1 had a higher content of acetyl groups than BSH-2. For the immunomodulatory activity in vitro, BSH and BSH-2 significantly stimulated mouse splenocyte proliferation while BSH-1 had no effect; BSH, BSH-1, and BSH-2 markedly enhanced the phagocytosis activity and nitric oxide production of the murine macrophage RAW264.7 in a dose-dependent manner. Our results suggest that the water-extractable hemicelluloses from steam-exploded bamboo shavings are naturally acetylated and have immunostimulatory activity.

Wood By-Products as UV Protection:A Consequence Review

In recent decades,the ozone layer has suffered considerable damage,increasing the entry of ultraviolet(UV)light into the atmosphere and reaching the earth’s surface,negatively affecting life.Accordingly,researchers aimed to solve this problem by synthesizing advanced UV-shielding materials.On the other hand,developing an easy and green strategy to prepare functional materials with outstanding properties based on naturally abundant and environmentally friendly raw materials is highly desirable for sustainable development.Because biomass-derived materials are sustainable and biodegradable,they present a promising substitute for petroleum-based polymers.The three main structural constituents of the plant biomass-based materials that are naturally available are cellulose,hemicellulose,and lignin.This review details current developments using wood-based products such as cellulose,hemicellulose,and lignin in UV-shielding applications.It will start with assembling the structure and chemistry of cellulose,hemicellulose,and lignin,followed by their contributions to preparing UV-shielding materials.Finally,it will briefly discuss the different processing methods for the design of UV-shielding materials.The wood by-products offer additional opportunities to use the whole tree harvest.

Use of Lignin and Hemicelluloses for Facial Synthesis of Gold,Platinum,and Palladium Nanoparticles

For the first time,we report an environmentally benign process for the preparation of Pt,Au and Pd NPs at ambient atmospheric pressure in aqueous systems,using water-insoluble alkali lignin(AL)and hemicelluloses as reducing/protective agents.Both AL and hemicelluloses showed good performances.The solid AL acted as support for metal NPs.The metal particles reduced by hemicelluloses aggregated to larger particles,and the degree of aggregation increased over time.

The biosynthesis and wall-binding of hemicelluloses in cellulose-deficient maize cells:An example of metabolic plasticity

Cell-suspension cultures（Zea mays L.,Black Mexican sweet corn） habituated to 2,6-dichlorobenzonitrile（DCB） survive with reduced cellulose owing to hemicellulose network modification. We aimed to de fine the hemicellulose metabolism modifications in DCB-habituated maize cells showing a mild reduction in cellulose at different stages in the culture cycle. Using pulse-chase radiolabeling, we fed habituated and non-habituated cultures with [3H]arabinose,and traced the distribution of 3H-pentose residues between xylans, xyloglucans and other polymers in several cellular compartments for 5 h. Habituated cells were slower taking up exogenous [3H]arabinose. Tritium was incorporated into polysaccharide-bound arabinose and xylose residues, but habituated cells diverted a higher proportion of their new [3H]xylose residues into（hetero） xylans at the expense of xyloglucan synthesis. During logarithmic growth, habituated cells showed slower vesicular traf ficking of polymers,especially xylans. Moreover, habituated cells showed a decrease in the strong wall-binding of all pentose-containing polysaccharides studied; correspondingly, especially in log phase cultures, habituation increased the proportion of 3H-hemicelluloses（[3H]xylans and [3H]xyloglucan） sloughed into the medium. These findings could be related to the cel walls’ cellulose-deficiency, and consequent reduction in binding sites for hemicelluloses; the data could also re fl ect the habituated cells’ reduced capacity to integrate arabinox ylans by extra-protoplasmic phenolic cross-linking, as well as xyloglucans, during wall assembly.

Analysis of Ethylene Glycol Degumming Process and Characterization of Hemp Fibers

To overcome the shortcomings of traditional degumming process,an efficient and environmentally friendly ethylene glycol(EG) degumming process was adopted to degum hemp fibers.The surface morphology,chemical composition,chemical structures,and mechanical properties of the fiber samples were analyzed to explore the mechanism of the degumming process.It was found that the EG degumming process could be divided into the main degumming stage(heating) and the supplementary degumming stage(insulation).The removal rates of hemicellulose and lignin in the main degumming stage were 70.56% and 60.17%,respectively.In the supplementary degumming stage,9.95% hemicellulose and 25.39% lignin were removed.It is confirmed that EG can separate hemp fibers effectively with less damage,which holds great potential for the biomass fiber separation technology.

Chemical Characterisation of the Industrial Residues of the Pineapple (Ananas comosus)

In Mexico pineapple processing produces industrial residues with a high concentration of dietary fibre. The aim of this study was to quantify the constituents of the fibrous residues from the industrial processing of pineapples which exhibited low concentrations of lignin.

A Review: On Smart Materials Based on Some Polysaccharides;within the Contextual Bigger Data, Insiders, “Improvisation” and Said Artificial Intelligence Trends

Smart Materials are along with Innovation attributes and Artificial Intelligence among the most used “buzz” words in all media. Central to their practical occurrence, many talents are to be gathered within new contextual data influxes. Has this, in the last 20 years, changed some of the essential fundamental dimensions and the required skills of the actors such as providers, users, insiders, etc.? This is a preliminary focus and prelude of this review. As an example, polysaccharide materials are the most abundant macromolecules present as an integral part of the natural system of our planet. They are renewable, biodegradable, carbon neutral with low environmental, health and safety risks and serve as structural materials in the cell walls of plants. Most of them are used, for many years, as engineering materials in many important industrial processes, such as pulp and papermaking and manufacture of synthetic textile fibres. They are also used in other domains such as conversion into biofuels and, more recently, in the design of processes using polysaccharide nanoparticles. The main properties of polysaccharides (e.g. low density, thermal stability, chemical resistance, high mechanical strength…), together with their biocompatibility, biodegradability, functionality, durability and uniformity, allow their use for manufacturing smart materials such as blends and composites, electroactive polymers and hydrogels which can be obtained 1) through direct utilization and/or 2) after chemical or physical modifications of the polysaccharides. This paper reviews recent works developed on polysaccharides, mainly on cellulose, hemicelluloses, chitin, chitosans, alginates, and their by-products (blends and composites), with the objectives of manufacturing smart materials. It is worth noting that, today, the fundamental understanding of the molecular level interactions that confer smartness to polysaccharides remains poor and one can predict that new experimental and theoretical tools will emerge to develop the necessary understanding of the structure-property-function relationships that will enable polysaccharide-smartness to be better understood and controlled, giving rise to the development of new and innovative applications such as nanotechnology, foods, cosmetics and medicine (e.g. controlled drug release and regenerative medicine) and so, opening up major commercial markets in the context of green chemistry.

Comparative Study of Isolated Polysaccharides from Triploid Poplar Using Different Solvents and Chemicals

The conversion of lignocellulose to value-added products is normally focused on fuel production;however,large-scale biorefineries require a cost-effective pretreatment process that can effectively fractionate the three main constituents of lignocellulose for the production of chemicals,fuels,and materials.In this study,a hemicellulosic biopolymer from poplar was fractionated by a mild organosolv process and the effects of various chemicals(sodium hydroxide,triethylamine,and formic acid)and alcohols on the fractionation efficiency and structural variation of hemicellulose were examined.Comparative studies indicated that an acidic catalyst decreased the purity of hemicelluloses by partial degradation of cellulose,and the core of the hemicellulosic biomacromolecule could be released and dissolved under alkaline conditions with 5.8%~19.0%yields.In addition,the use of alcohol with longer alkyl chains facilitated the release of the hemicellulosic biomacromolecule by partially cleaving the ether bonds in the lignincarbohydrate complex(LCC);this is probably due to steric hindrance.The thermal degradation behavior showed that complete pyrolysis was easily achieved for the hemicellulosic polymer with minimal branches irrespective of its molecular weight.

Acid-Functionalized Nanoparticles for Pretreatment of Wheat Straw

Perfluoroalkylsufonic (PFS) and alkylsufonic (AS) acid-functionalized magnetic nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized, then evaluated for their ability to hydrolyze hemicelluloses. The magnetic core was made of cobalt spinel ferrite and was coated with silica to protect it from oxidation. The silanol groups allowed surface chemical modification of the nanoparticles with the PFS and AS acid functionalities. Thermogravimetric analysis gave a total organic load of 12.6% and 32.5% (w/w) for AS and PFS nanoparticles, respectively. The surface sulfur content was calculated from XPS analysis as 1.37% and 1.93% for PFS and AS nanoparticles, respectively. Wheat straw samples were treated with the acid-functionalized nanoparticles at two different conditions: 80℃ for 24 h and 160℃ for 2 h. These experiments aimed to hydrolyze wheat straw hemicelluloses to soluble oligosaccharides. PFS nanoparticles solubilized significantly higher amounts of hemicelluloses (24.0% ± 1.1%) than their alkyl-sulfonic counterparts (9.1% ± 1.7%) at 80℃, whereas the hydrothermolysis control solubilized 7.7% ± 0.8% of the original hemicelluloses in the sample. At 160℃, PFS and AS nanoparticles gave significantly higher amounts of oligosaccharides (46.3% ± 0.4% and 45 ± 1.2%, respectively) than the control (35.0% ± 1.8%). The hemicelluloses conversion at 160?C reached 66.3% ± 0.9% using PFS nanoparticles and 61.0% ± 1.2% using AS nanoparticles compared with the control experiment, which solubilized 50.9% ± 1.7% of hemicelluloses in the biomass.

Optimization of Microwave Assisted Alkaline Extraction of Xylan from Birch Wood Using Response Surface Methodology

The main purpose of this study was to optimize microwave assisted alkaline extraction of the hemicellulose, xylan, from birch wood. The simultaneous effects of process variables such as time (10 - 30 minutes), concentration of sodium hydroxide solution (4 - 8 wt%), solid to liquid ratio (1:8 to 1:20, g:mL), and sample size (5 - 10 g) on the temperature of the wood slurry, wood dissolution, and yield of extraction were evaluated. A central composite design (CCD) and response surface methodology (RSM) were used for the optimization of the extraction process. Based on the CCD, quadratic models were developed to correlate the extraction process variables with the responses such as temperature of wood slurry, wood dissolution, and yield of xylan and the models were analyzed using appropriate statistical methods (ANOVA). Statistical analysis showed that all the models developed were found to be adequate for the prediction of the respective responses. Optimization of the process was performed using a numerical optimization available in the software to maximize the yield of xylan and the optimum process variables for the maximum yield of xylan was found to be: 10 g of wood fibres, 8 wt% of NaOH solution, 1:10 solid to liquid ratio (g:mL) and 25 minutes of irradiation time. About 72.5% of the xylan present in the birch wood was extracted using the optimized extraction parameters.

Reaction Characteristics of Polysaccharide-Iodine Complexes: A Mini-review

The potential reactions between natural polysaccharides and iodine and their products have been explored for a long time. Due to the complex factors that can in？uence these reactions, a clear-cut mechanism has not yet been developed. Starch-iodine complexes, especially the amylose-iodine complex, are the most investigated of the polysaccharide-iodine reactions, and the study of this reaction can be used as a basis for the investigation of other polysaccharide-iodine reactions. In this paper, significant aspects of the reaction were introduced, including the influence of the polysaccharide structure on the properties of the resulting complexes, the relationship between the concentration of CaCl2 and formation of the final products, as well as the form of the polyiodides in these complexes. The interior structure and the surface morphology of the complexes were discussed, along with the progress in research related to this reaction.

Growth and wood properties of a 38-year-old Populus simonii 3 P.nigra plantation established with different densities in semi-arid areas of northeastern China

To characterize the effects of plantation densities on the growth characteristics(diameter at breast level,tree height and volume)and the common wood properties,38-year-old Populus simonii 9 P.nigra clones planted with four levels of spacing(2 m 92 m,3 m 93 m,4 m 94 m,and 5 m 95 m)in a semi-arid area in northeastern China were examined.The results of ANOVA showed significant differences(P\0.01)for all the investigated growth traits and wood properties under different plantation densities,except for the chemical composition of wood.The repeatability and phenotypic variations of all the traits varied from 0.34 to 0.99 and from 13.45 to 59.65%,respectively.Except for wood density,which was significantly negatively correlated with the growth traits,a positive correlation was observed between the growth traits and all the other wood mechanical properties.However,most of the correlations between the growth traits and the chemical composition of the wood were not significant.The path analysis for the wood mechanical characteristics and the growth in the prediction of volume were significant and ranged from 0.18 to 0.72 for wood density and diameter at breast height,respectively,while those for the chemical composition of wood ranged from 0.001 to 0.336,which showed a low impact on the volume.The highest stand volume(610 m3)per hectare was observed with the 2 m 92 m spacing,which consequently provided a high total price and income,while a high individual volume growth per tree was observed with the 5 m 95 m spacing.The results suggested that for the poplar trees younger than 40 years in a semi-arid area in China,2 m 92 m spacing is suitable for obtaining a high volume per hectare,while 5 m 95 m spacing is best for obtaining a high individual volume per tree.

Efficient hydrolysis of hemicellulose to furfural by novel superacid SO_4H-functionalized ionic liquids

Novel superacid SO_4H-functionalized ionic liquids(SFILs) were designed and prepared in this work. The catalytic activities of SFILs were evaluated in xylan hydrolysis and xylose dehydration to produce furfural. Combined with the results of acid strength of SFILs characterized by solid-state ^(31)P MAS NMR, it was found that the catalytic performance of SFILs was positively correlated to their acid strength. The superacid SFIL [Ch-SO_4H][CF_3SO_3] displayed the best catalytic performance with more than 80% yield of furfural, and it was also obviously superior to usual SO_3H-functionalized acidic ILs, mineral liquid acids, and acidic resin Amberlyst-15 catalysts in catalytic activity under optimized conditions. In addition, the superacid SFIL [Ch-SO_4H][CF_3SO_3] could be easily separated from reaction system and reused at least five times without obvious decrease.

Isolation of Hemicellulose from Wood Chips via Extraction with Kraft Green Liquor

The present paper covers the extraction of hemicelluloses from woods, i.e., Eucalyptus Globulus, white fir and Douglas fir via green liquor pretreatment and alkali post-treatment with sodium hydroxide. The effects of such extraction conditions as extraction time, temperature on the yields of hemicellulose and the degree of deliginification were investigated. Sugar analyses using Dionex indicate that xylose, glucose and mannose are the main sugar types present in the hemicellulose from Eucalyptus. Other sugar components such as arabinose and galactose were also found in Dogulas fir hemicellulose. The highest yield of hemicellulose was 8.4% for Eucalyptus extracted with green liquor at 130 ℃ for 3.5 h. Further sodium hydroxide extraction for 5 h gave a hemicellulose yield of about 20%. The use of green liquor for the extraction of wood hemicellulose is believed to be the first attempt.