Mathematical Tool from Corn Stover TGA to Determine Its Composition

Corn stover was treated by steam explosion process at four different temperatures. A fraction of the four exploded matters was extracted by water. The eight samples (four from steam explosion and four from water extraction of exploded matters) were analysed by wet chemical way to quantify the amount of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. Thermogravimetric analysis in air atmosphere was executed on the eight samples. A mathematical tool was developed, using TGA data, to determine the composition of corn stover in terms of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. It uses the biomass degradation temperature as multiple linear function of the cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin content of the biomass with interactive terms. The mathematical tool predicted cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin contents with average absolute errors of 1.69, 5.59 and 0.74?%, respectively, compared to the wet chemical method.     

Solvent effects,species and extraction method effects,and coinitiator effects in the grafting of lignin

A general method of grafting lignin has been developed which allows solvent extracted lignin, steam exploded lignin, and kraft lignin to be converted to complex polymers. The lignins grafted have been obtained from aspen, poplar, oak, grasses, and pine. The lignins are research samples, pilot plant products, and commerical products from paper production. Nonionic copolymers of virtually any composition and molecular weight can be made from lignin and 2-propenamide by free radical reaction of 2-propenamide in the presence of the lignin. The water soluble product is a thickening agent and has limiting viscosity number in water at 30°C that vary from 0.1 to 2.0 dL/g. The grafting reaction is rapid and yields of 80 wt % or more can be obtained in as little as 30 min from reactions run in 1,4-dioxacyclohexane or dimethylsulfoxide. The reaction is initiated by a hydroperoxide, chloride ion, and lignin.     

The influence of lignin on the self-assembly behaviour of xylan rich fractions from birch (Betula pendula)

A crude xylan isolate obtained by prehydrolysis and mild alkaline extraction from birch wood chips (Betula pendula), and a carefully delignified xylan fraction from the same source, were examined by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) with regard to their propensity to self-assemble in water into insoluble aggregates. The delignification involved the extraction with chloroform of a crude xylan solution in a pyridine/acetic acid/water mixture. It resulted in a purified xylan fraction in a yield of 23% in which 75 and 90% of the lignin had been removed as indicated by Klason and UV-determination, respectively. It was found that both xylan fractions formed agglomerates by self-assembly in water. However, DLS and cryo-TEM indicated that the aggregates were larger in size (90 vs. 40 nm) and greater in mass when more lignin was present. The addition of an alkaline solution of isolated lignin (obtained by steam explosion) to increasing concentrations of a delignified xylan revealed increasing turbidity. Our conclusion is that lignin induces agglomeration of xylan in aqueous solutions, but xylan concentration plays an active role in the aggregation phenomena. An agglomeration mechanism for lignin rich xylan fractions is proposed.     

Lignin derived oils from the fast pyrolysis of poplar wood

A pyrolysis oil obtained from the fast pyrolysis of poplar wood was subjected to mild hydrolysis and an aqueous and a non-aqueous fraction recovered. The non-aqueous fraction (pyrolytic lignin), a brown powder, was 23% of the oil, or 16% of the wood, corresponding to about 80% volatilization of the lignin content. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of this pyrolytic lignin were obtained, and its structure appears to be very similar to that of steam exploded poplar lignin. Methoxy content is relatively high and syringyl units appear to predominate over guaiacyl units. The pyrolytic lignin appears to be somewhat more degraded than steam exploded lignin and is probably lower in molecular weight.     

The nature of lignin from steam explosion/enzymatic hydrolysis of softwood

Effective utilization of the lignin by-product is a prerequisite to the commercial viability of ethanol production from softwood wastes using a steam explosion (SE)/enzymatic hydrolysis (EH)/fermentation process. Changes in the chemical composition of Douglas fir wood on SO₂-catalyzed SE followed by EH were assessed using conventional analytical methods and new halogen-probetechniques. A significant solubilization of hemicelluloses was observed in the SE stage, the severity of which affected subsequent fermentation of cellulose and sorption of enzymes. SE of softwood resulted in dramatic changes in the chemical structure of lignin in the residual material involving chemical reactions via the benzyl cation. This leads to a more condensed lignin with partly blocked α-reaction centres. Possible uses for this lignin are discussed.     

Isolation of soil lignins by combination of ball-milling and cellulolysis: Evaluation of purity and isolation efficiency with pyrolysis/GC/MS

CuO oxidation is traditionally used for soil lignin study, although, like other degradation methods it might give access only to a part of the lignin polymers. For structural characterization, lignins are conventionally isolated from plant material by combining ball-milling, cellulolysis and solvent extraction to recover a milled wall enzymatic lignin (MWEL) fraction. This method might isolate condensed lignins, which are not accounted for CuO oxidation. MWELs are still associated with polysaccharides. This study aimed to evaluate if the MWEL method can be used complementary to CuO oxidation for soil lignin studies. We assessed the purity of isolated lignins by pyrolytic characterization of MWEL as well as the efficiency of the isolation method by characterization of the MWEL-free residues. MWELs isolated from maize stems and leaves and soil were primarily composed of lignin units, with few associated polysaccharides. MWELs isolated from soils were more degraded and contained less polysaccharides than MWEL from maize tissues. Fewer lignin-derived pyrolysis products were detected in the soil residue compared to the residues obtained from plant tissues. The MWEL method appeared very efficient in isolating relatively pure lignins from soil, most probably because the lignin–polysaccharide complex is less intact than in plants.     

Pretreatment of softwood by acid-catalyzed steam explosion followed by alkali extraction

A process for converting lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol hydrolyzes the hemicellulosic fraction to soluble sugars (i.e., pretreatment), followed by acid- or enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis of the cellulosic fraction. Enzymatic hydrolysis may be improved by using an alkali to extract a fraction of the lignin from the pretreated material. The removal of the lignin may increase the accessibility of the cellulose to enzymatic attack, and thus improve overall economics of the process, if the alkali-treated material can still be effectively converted to ethanol. Pretreated Douglas fir produced by a sulfuric-acid-catalyzed steam explosion was treated with NaOH, NH₄OH, and lime to extract some of the lignin. The treated material, along with an untreated control sample, was tested by an enzymatic-digestion procedure, and converted to ethanol by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation using a glucose-fermenting yeast. NaOH was most effective at removing lignin (removed 29%), followed by NH4OH and lime. However, the susceptibility of the treated material to enzymatic digestion was lower than the control and decreased with increasing lignin removal. Ethanol production was similar for the control and NaOH-treated material, and lower for NH₄OH- and lime-treated material.     

Coupled acid and enzyme mediated production of microcrystalline cellulose from corn cob and cotton gin waste

Microcrystalline cellulose has applications in food, pharmaceuticals, and other industries. Most microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) is produced from dissolving pulp using concentrated acids. We investigated steam explosion treatment of corn cobs and cotton gin waste for the production of microcrystalline cellulose. The corn cob was converted into a coarse brown powder after steam explosion and the lignin and residual hemicellulose fractions were extracted respectively with sodium hydroxide solution and water. The residual cellulose was readily bleached with hydrogen peroxide and converted to microcrystalline cellulose using hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid and cellulase enzyme preparation. The resulting microcrystalline cellulose samples had properties that were similar to commercial microcrystalline cellulose. Similarly, cotton gin waste was steam exploded and converted into microcrystalline cellulose, but this material was more difficult to bleach using hydrogen peroxide. The degree of polymerization for the MCC samples ranged from 188.6 to 549.8 compared to 427.4 for Avicel PH101 MCC.     

Technoeconomic study on steam explosion application in biomass processing

This work is based on the data collected during trials of a continuous steam explosion (SE) plant, with a treatment capacity of about 350 kg/h, including the biomass fractionation section. The energy and water consumption, equipment cost, and manpower needed to run this plant have been used as the base case for a techno-economic evaluation of productive plants. Three processing plant configurations have been considered: (I) SE pretreatment only; (II) SE followed by the hemicellulose extraction; (III) SE followed by the sequential hemicellulose and lignin extractions. The biomass treatment cost has been evaluated as a function of the plant scale. For each configuration, variable and fixed cost breakdown has been detailed in the case of a 50,000 t/y plant.     

Preliminary investigation of Spartina alterniflora for phytoextraction of selected heavy metals in soils from Southwest Louisiana

Spartina alterniflora plants were collected at the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge near Lake Charles, Louisiana for phytoremediation (phytoextraction) studies. In order to determine whether the plant would thrive in different soils and undergo phytoremediation, three soils were used and analyzed: experimental controlled soil (minimum heavy metal contamination), spiked soil (spiked with 100 ppm of selected heavy metals of Cr, Cu, Pb, Fe and Zn) collected from a local store and contaminated soil collected from the known contaminated (with metals) Bayou d'Inde in Lake Charles, Louisiana. The plant grew evenly in each of the three soils. Based on the inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometric determination of the plant in each soil, it was shown that S. alterniflora exhibited potential for phytoremediation of metals in soils via phytoextraction into the roots.     

Strategies to enhance the enzymatic hydrolysis of pretreated softwood with high residual lignin content

Pretreatment of Douglas-fir by steam explosion produces a substrate containing approx 43% lignin. Two strategies were investigated for reducing the effect of this residual lignin on enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose: mild alkali extraction and protein addition. Extraction with cold 1% NaOH reduced the lignin content by only approx 7%, but cellulose to glucose conversion was enhanced by about 30%. Before alkali extraction, addition of exogenous protein resulted in a significant improvement in cellulose hydrolysis, but this protein effect was substantially diminished after alkali treatment. Lignin appears to reduce cellulose hydrolysis by two distinct mechanisms: by forming a physical barrier that prevents enzyme access and by non-productively binding cellulolytic enzymes. Cold alkali appears to selectively remove a fraction of lignin from steam-exploded Douglas-fir with high affinity for protein. Corresponding data for mixed softwood pretreated by organosolv extraction indicates that the relative importance of the two mechanisms by which residual lignin affects hydrolysis is different according to the pre- and post-treatment method used.     

汽爆技术促进中药资源高值化利用

汽爆技术在中药资源高值化利用中发挥的作用正在逐渐体现:汽爆处理打破中药植物细胞壁的屏障结构,有利于有效成分的分离提取;汽爆过程物料自体水解发生去糖苷化作用使天然植物中的苷元与糖基分离,提高苷类物质提取和分离效率;汽爆应用于中药炮制和中药脱毒有高效、快速和避免有效成分流失等优点;汽爆处理有利于中药非药用组分如纤维素、半纤维素等的有效分离和利用,联产乙醇、丁醇等能源和化工产品。本文对汽爆技术在中药资源高值化利用中的研究进展进行了综述。     

Updates on softwood-to-ethanol process development

Softwoods are generally considered to be one of the most difficult lignocellulosic feedstocks to hydrolyze to sugars for fermentation, primarily owing to the nature and amount of lignin. If the inhibitory effect of lignin can be significantly reduced, softwoods may become a more useful feedstock for the bioconversion processes. Moreover, strategies developed to reduce problems with softwood lignin may also provide a means to enhance the processing of other lignocellulosic substrates. The Forest Products Biotechnology Group at the University of British Columbia has been developing softwood-to-ethanol processes with SO₂-catalyzed steam explosion and ethanol organosolv pretreatments. Lignin from the steam explosion process has relatively low reactivity and, consequently, low product value, compared with the highvalue coproduct that can be obtained through organosolv. The technical and economic challenges of both processes are presented, together with suggestions for future process development.     

Influence of steaming pressure on steam explosion pretreatment of Lespedeza stalks (Lespedeza crytobotrya): Part 1. Characteristics of degraded cellulose

A two-step process based on steam explosion pretreatment followed by alkaline ethanol solution post-treatment was used to fractionate Lespedeza stalks (Lespedeza cyrtobotrya). Steam explosion pretreatment, under at 15 kg/m² to 25 kg/m² for 4 min, followed by post-treatment with 60% aqueous ethanol containing 1% NaOH yielded 49.6–65.5% (% dry matter) cellulose rich fractions, compared to 68.6% from non-pretreated material. It was found that the content of glucose was gradually increased from 73.7 to 86.9% as the result of elevating steaming pressure, but the solubilisation of lignin maintained the same level (about 10–11%) regardless of the severity. The average degree of polymerization increased first and then decreased, revealing that autohydrolysis reactions were dominant in different regions during the steam explosion. Scanning electron microscopy images of the cellulosic residues show that steam explosion mainly resulted in breakage of the fibres, and extraction post-treatment led to solution of lignin (and hemicelluloses) and significant defibrillation. The increase of onset degradation temperature, together with the higher pyrolysis residues suggest that the thermal stability of cellulose rich fractions was increased by steam explosion and elevated steaming pressure. All the rich-in-cellulose fractions were further characterized by FT-IR, XRD, and CP/MAS ¹³C NMR spectroscopy.     

Changes in the structure of cell wall polymers in thermomechanical treatment of highly lignified plant feedstock

The effect of mechanical treatment at various temperatures on structural changes in polymers contained in highly lignified plant feedstock was studied by the example of reed stems. The optimal conditions (about 10°C) of mechanical activation of plant feedstock were determined, under which its structure is disordered enough for subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis, but the lignin decomposition is prevented, and so is the formation of a layer of substances inhibiting enzymes on the surface of particles.     

Saccharification and alcohol fermentation in starch solution of steam-exploded potato

Steam explosion pretreatment of potato for the efficient production of alcohol was experimentally studied. The amount of water-soluble starch increased with the increase of steam pressure, but the amounts of methanol-soluble material and Klason lignin remained insignificant, regardless of steam pressure. The potatoes exploded at high pressure were hydrolyzed into a low molecular liquid starch, and then easily converted into ethanol by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation using mixed microorganisms: an amylolytic microorganism,Aspergillus awamori, and a fermentation microorganism,Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The maximal ethanol concentration was 4.2 g/L in a batch culture at 15 g/L starch concentration, and 3.6 g/L in a continuous culture fed the same starch concentration. In the fed-batch culture, the maximal ethanol concentration increased more than twofold, compared to the batch culture.     

Application of X-ray fluorescence analytical techniques in phytoremediation and plant biology studies

Phytoremediation is an emerging technology that employs the use of higher plants for the clean-up of contaminated environments. Progress in the field is however handicapped by limited knowledge of the biological processes involved in plant metal uptake, translocation, tolerance and plant–microbe–soil interactions; therefore a better understanding of the basic biological mechanisms involved in plant/microbe/soil/contaminant interactions would allow further optimization of phytoremediation technologies. In view of the needs of global environmental protection, it is important that in phytoremediation and plant biology studies the analytical procedures for elemental determination in plant tissues and soil should be fast and cheap, with simple sample preparation, and of adequate accuracy and reproducibility. The aim of this study was therefore to present the main characteristics, sample preparation protocols and applications of X-ray fluorescence-based analytical techniques (energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry—EDXRF, total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometry—TXRF and micro-proton induced X-ray emission—micro-PIXE). Element concentrations in plant leaves from metal polluted and non-polluted sites, as well as standard reference materials, were analyzed by the mentioned techniques, and additionally by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). The results were compared and critically evaluated in order to assess the performance and capability of X-ray fluorescence-based techniques in phytoremediation and plant biology studies. It is the EDXRF, which is recommended as suitable to be used in the analyses of a large number of samples, because it is multi-elemental, requires only simple preparation of sample material, and it is analytically comparable to the most frequently used instrumental chemical techniques. The TXRF is compatible to FAAS in sample preparation, but relative to AAS it is fast, sensitive and multi-elemental. The micro-PIXE technique requires rather expensive instrumentation, but offers multi-elemental analysis on the tissue and cellular level.     

The protective role of melatonin under heavy metal-induced stress in Melissa Officinalis L.

Heavy metals, due to their inability to degrade, pose a serious environmental and nutritional problem. The accumulation of essential and non-essential heavy metals in living organisms reduces normal growth and development, resulting in acute poisoning, disease and even death of organisms. Melatonin is a very important multifunctional molecule in protecting plants from oxidative stress due to its ability to directly neutralize reactive oxygen species (ROS). Also, melatonin has a chelating property, which may contribute in reducing metal-induced toxicity. In this paper, the protective role of melatonin in counteracting metal-induced free radical generation was highlighted. Using the HPLC-FLD technique melatonin was identified and quantified in the roots and leaves of lemon balm ( Melissa officinalis L.), grown under photoperiod conditions. Furthermore, the response of plants pre-treated with exogenous 0.1 mM melatonin to the increased zinc (Zn) and cadmium (Cd) concentrations was observed, with changes in mineral (Ca, Mg), physiological and antioxidant status of the plant during heavy metals stress. The obtained melatonin concentrations were the highest published for dry plants so far. Elevated Cd and Zn levels in soil caused alternation in biochemical and physiological parameters of lemon balm leaves and roots. However, melatonin pre-treatment increased plant tolerance to heavy metals stress. Increased Cd and Zn uptake and their translocation into the leaves were also improved, indicating the possible use of melatonin in phytoremediation.     

Effect of Double-Step Steam Explosion Pretreatment in Bioethanol Production from Softwood

The study investigated the production of bioethanol from softwood, in particular pine wood chip. The steam explosion pretreatment was largely investigated, evaluating also the potential use of a double-step process to increase ethanol production through the use of both solid and liquid fraction after the pretreatment. The pretreatment tests were carried out at different conditions, determining the composition of solid and liquid fraction and steam explosion efficiency. The enzymatic hydrolysis was carried out with Ctec2 enzyme while the fermentation was carried out using Saccharomyces Cerevisiae yeast “red ethanol”. It was found that the best experimental result was obtained for a single-step pretreated sample (10.6 g of ethanol/100 g of initial biomass dry basis) for a 4.53 severity. The best double-step overall performance was equal to 8.89 g ethanol/100 g of initial biomass dry basis for a 4.27 severity. The enzymatic hydrolysis strongly depended on the severity of the pretreatment while the fermentation efficiency was mainly influenced by the concentration of the inhibitors. The ethanol enhancing potential of a double-step steam explosion could slightly increase the ethanol production compared to single-step potential.     

土壤的植物修复与超积累植物研究

被污染土壤的植物修复将是未来更好与更廉价的修复技术,所以近年来对植物修复与超积累植物的研究兴趣日益增加。本文简要介绍了近期的发展趋势。目前研究的重点包括根际土壤微环境中的复杂反应与吸收过程,金属从土壤向植物根以及从植物根向叶的传输过程,金属在超积累植物中的定位与螯合作用等等。这是分析化学与环境科学及植物科学交叉研究的新领域,充满挑战。