Hemicelluloses commercial value

The steam explosion process is a recent development in wood processing (1,2). Much attention has been paid to this process from the viewpoint of total wood utilization. Cellulose and hemicellulose from this process can be converted into sugars of commercial value by enzymatic methods (3). However, the conversion of lignin from this process (steam explosion lignin) into useful materials continues to present difficulties. Preparation of adhesives from it is considered to be a feasible way to solve this problem. 

To really appreciate the rationale behind current studies of microbial xylanases, it is necessary to consider a broad view that takes into account not just their intrinsic interest, but also their undoubted commercial potential. The structural polysaccharides cellulose and hemicellulose together account for greater than 50% of plant biomass and are consequently the most abundant terrestrial organic molecules. The value of plant biomass as a renewable resource is thus immediately apparent (23). 

DMSO/TBAF is highly efficient as a reaction medium for the homogeneous esterification of cellulose by transesterification and after the in situ activation (see below) of complex carboxylic acids. The acylation using acid chlorides and anhydrides is limited because the solution contains a certain amount of water caused by the use of the commercially available TBAF trihydrate and the residual moisture in the air-dried polysaccharides. Nevertheless, this system has shown a remarkable capacity for the esterification of lignocellulosic mataials, for example, sisal fibres, which contain about 14 per cent hemicellulose [28]. The DS values of cellulose acetate prepared from these fibres with acetic anhydride in mixtures of DMSO/TBAF were found to decrease with increasing TBAF concentration from 6 to 11 per cent (Table 16.4), due to the increased rate of hydrolysis both of the anhydride and the ester moieties. 

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