Materials lignocellulosic

Lignocellulosic materials have a common basic structure, but vary greatly in chemical composition and physical structure.4 Typically, these materials contain 30 percent to 60 percent cellulose, 10 percent to 30 percent hemicellulose (polyoses), and 10 percent to 20 percent ligmn. Cellulose provides strength and flexibility, while lignin supports and protects the cellulose from biological and chemical attack. Hemicellulose bonds lignin to cellulose. 

Hemicellulose (or polyose) is primarily composed of xylan, a branched polymer composed of five-carbon sugar, xylose. Typical polymerization degree of hemicellulose is 50 - 200, which is shorter than the cellulose molecules. The acid hydrolysis of hemicellulose, (C6H10O5)n, produces mainly xylose (C6H10O5), which can be converted to furfural, a chemical feedstock, or can be fermented to ethanol. 

Lignocellulosic materials waste Cellulose (Wt%) Hemicellulose (Wt%) Lignin (Wt%) 

The amounts of carbohydrate polymers and lignin vary from one plant species to another. In addition, the ratios between various constituents in a single plant may also vary with age, stage of growth, and other conditions. However, cellulose is usually the dominant structural polysaccharide of plant cell walls (35-50%), followed by hemicellulose (20-35%) and lignin (10-25%). Average values of the main components in some lignocellulose wastes are shown in Table 8.1 [8]. 

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Lignocellulosic material + Acid —Hydrolysis > Sugar + Solid residues... 

The heat release data presented with their diffences between various cellulosic and lignocellulosic material in a general way thus are in no disagreement with data in the literature. They can hopefully contribute to a better understanding of the oxidative pyrolysis. 

Second-generation biofuel technologies make use of a much wider range of biomass feedstock (e.g., forest residues, biomass waste, wood, woodchips, grasses and short rotation crops, etc.) for the production of ethanol biofuels based on the fermentation of lignocellulosic material, while other routes include thermo-chemical processes such as biomass gasification followed by a transformation from gas to liquid (e.g., synthesis) to obtain synthetic fuels similar to diesel. The conversion processes for these routes have been available for decades, but none of them have yet reached a high scale commercial level. 

Various chemistries and processes can be applied to convert lignocellulosic materials into valuable fuels and chemicals [3, 19]. For instance, thermal reactions are exploited in the pyrolysis of biomass to charcoal, oil and/or gases and its gasifica-... 

Various solvents are being investigated to dissolve lignocellulosic materials. Some approaches focus on the selective depolymerization and extraction of lignin and hemicellulose as pre-treatment to produce clean cellulose fibers for subsequent fermentation or for pulping. Other approaches attempt to dissolve the whole lignocellulose with or without depolymerization. The liquefaction processes that are carried out at high temperature (>300 °C), and produce a complex oil mixture, are discussed above with the pyrolysis processes. 

Detailed discussion of the classical wood pulping processes - e.g., the Sulfite and Kraft processes - is available in the literature [14]. Pre-treatments that aim to facilitate the fermentation of lignocellulosic materials are also discussed elsewhere [49, 62-64]. 

We can illustrate fermentation processes using the process developed by Iogen to convert lignocellulosic materials such as wheat straw into ethanol (Fig. 2.10) [66]. The straw is chopped and milled prior to a steam-explosion pre-treatment to... 

This chapter surveys different process options to convert terpenes, plant oils, carbohydrates and lignocellulosic materials into valuable chemicals and polymers. Three different strategies of conversion processes integrated in a biorefinery scheme are proposed from biomass to bioproducts via degraded molecules , from platform molecules to bioproducts , and from biomass to bioproducts via new synthesis routes . Selected examples representative of the three options are given. Attention is focused on conversions based on one-pot reactions involving one or several catalytic steps that could be used to replace conventional synthetic routes developed for hydrocarbons. 

Rowell and Rowell (1989) acetylated Scandinavian spruce Picea abies) wood chips, then subsequently reduced these to fibres in a laboratory disc refiner, fibre production did not result in loss of acetyl content, but it was found that new water sorption sites were produced as a consequence of the refining process. In addition, these workers modified a variety of lignocellulosic materials and found that all of the materials studied exhibited the same reduction in EMC at comparable WPGs. 

The generally poorer mechanical properties exhibited by acetylated lignocellulosic material in composites bonded using aqueous resin systems was considered by Korai etal. (2001). Fibres of yellow cedar (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis) were acetylated to a WPG of 24.8 % and then ozonated to different extents to increase the hydrophilicity of the fibre surface. Boards were fabricated from the fibres using an aqueous MF resin. Ozonation improved IBS of boards fabricated from acetylated fibres, proportional to level of ozone charge, and resulted in IBS values comparable to those of nonacetylated controls at higher levels of ozonation. However, although ozonation also improved MOR, the values obtained for acetylated fibres were always less than those obtained with unmodified fibres. 

Larsson, P. and Tillman, A.-M. (1989). Acetylation of lignocellulosic materials. International Research Group on Wood Preservation, Doc. No. IRGAVP 3516. 

Nakano, T. (1996). Characterization of chemically modified wood. In Chemical Modification of Lignocellulosic Materials, Hon, D.N.S. (Ed.). Marcel Dekker, New York, USA, pp. 247-275. 

Levulinic acid and formic acid are end products of the acidic and thermal decomposition of lignocellulosic material, their multistep formation from the hexoses contained therein proceeding through hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) as the key intermediate, while the hemicellulosic part, mostly xylans, produces furfural.A commercially viable fractionation technology for the specific... 

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