A comparative study of the thermal decomposition of apple pulp in the absence and presence of phosphoric acid

Phosphorylated cellulose nanocrystals: Optimizing production by decoupling hydrolysis and surface modification

Urea and phosphoric acid are essential for the isolation of phosphorylated cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs). Besides limiting dissolution of nanocrystals, urea facilitates the swelling of fibres thus increasing access for the phosphorylating agent. The aim of this study was to determine optimal conditions for isolation of highly charged phosphorylated CNCs. Using a design of experiments approach, seventeen experiments in which reaction time, urea, and acid concentrations were varied, were conducted. A two-step process was used, in which CNCs were first isolated by treatment in phosphoric acid, and then treated with metaphosphoric acid, and urea. It is shown that a design of experiments approach to the phosphorylation of CNCs allows a much lower ratio of urea to acid than has previously been reported. CNCs with high surface charge (~1800 mmol kg-1) are possible using this method. This information is instructive to phosphorylation of cellulose nanomaterials which have a variety of applications e.g., water purification and medical biomaterials.

Treatment of distiller grain with wet-process phosphoric acid leads to biochar for the sustained release of nutrients and adsorption of Cr(VI)

Soil amendment products, such as biochar, with both sustained nutrient release and heavy metal retention properties are of great need in agricultural and environmental industries. Herein, we successfully prepared a new biochar material with multinutrient sustained-release characteristics and chromium removal potential derived from distiller grain by wet-process phosphoric acid (WPPA) modification without washing. SEM, TEM TG-IR, in situ DRIFTS and XRD characterization indicated that biochar and polyphosphate formed simultaneously and were tightly intertwined by one-step pyrolysis. The optimal product (PKBC-400) had the most stable carbon structure and an adequate P-O-P structure with less P loss. Batch experiments illustrated that 92.83% P (ortho-P), 85.94% K, 41.49% Fe, 78.42% Al and 65.60% Mg were continuously released in water from PKBC-400 within 63 days, and the maximum Cr removal rate reached 83.57% (50 mg/L K₂Cr₂O₇, pH=3.0) with an increased BET surface area (304.0557 m²/g) after nutrient release. SEM, IC and ³¹P NMR analyses revealed that the dissolution and hydrolysis of polyphosphates not only realized the sustained release of multiple nutrients but also significantly improved the sustained release performance. The proposed resource utilization strategy provided new ideas for Cr hazard control, biomass waste utilization and fertilizer development.

Irreversible deformation of hyper-crosslinked polymers after hydrogen adsorption

Hyper-crosslinked polymers (HCPs) have been produced by the Friedel-Crafts reaction using anthracene, benzene, carbazole or dibenzothiophene as precursors and dimethoxymethane as crosslinker, and the effect of graphene oxide (GO) addition has been studied. The resulting HCPs were highly microporous with BET areas (A_BET) between 590 and 1120 m²g^-1. The benzene-derived HCP (B1FeM2) and the corresponding composite with GO (B1FM2-GO) exhibited the highest A_BET and were selected to study their hydrogen adsorption capacities in the pressure range of 0.1 - 14 MPa at 77 K. The maximum H₂ excess uptake was 2.1 and 2.0 wt% for B1FeM2 and B1FeM2-GO, respectively, at 4 MPa and 77 K. The addition of GO reduced the specific surface area but increased the density of the resultant HCP-GO composites, which is beneficial for practical applications and proves that materials giving higher gravimetric storage capacities are not necessarily those that offer higher volumetric capacities. H₂ adsorption-desorption cycles up to 14 MPa showed irreversible deformation of both HCP and HCP-GO materials, which calls into question their application for hydrogen adsorption at pressures above 4 MPa.

Resource recovery and biorefinery potential of apple orchard waste in the circular bioeconomy

In this review investigate the apple orchard waste (AOW) is potential organic resources to produce multi-product and there sustainable interventions with biorefineries approaches to assesses the apple farm industrial bioeconomy. The thermochemical and biological processes like anaerobic digestion, composting and , etc., that generate distinctive products like bio-chemicals, biofuels, biofertilizers, animal feed and biomaterial, etc can be employed for AOW valorization. Integrating these processes can enhanced the yield and resource recovery sustainably. Thus, employing biorefinery approaches with allied different methods can link to the progression of circular bioeconomy. This review article mainly focused on the different biological processes and thermochemical that can be occupied for the production of waste to-energy and multi-bio-product in a series of reaction based on sustainability. Therefore, the biorefinery for AOW move towards identification of the serious of the reaction with each individual thermochemical and biological processes for the conversion of one-dimensional providences to circular bioeconomy.

Evaluation of an adsorbent based on agricultural waste (corn cobs) for removal of tyrosine and phenylalanine from aqueous solutions

Adsorption of phenolic amino acids, such as phenylalanine and tyrosine, is quite relevant for the production of protein hydrolysates used as dietary formulations for patients suffering from congenital disorders of amino acid metabolism, such as phenylketonuria. In this study, an adsorbent prepared from corn cobs was evaluated for the removal of tyrosine (Tyr) from both a single component solution and a binary aqueous solution with phenylalanine (Phe). The adsorption behavior of tyrosine was similar to that of phenylalanine in single component solutions, however, with a much lower adsorption capacity (14 mg g⁻¹ for Tyr compared to 109 mg g⁻¹ for Phe). Tyr adsorption kinetics was satisfactorily described by a pseudosecond-order model as it was for Phe. In adsorption equilibrium studies for binary mixtures, the presence of Tyr in Phe solutions favored Phe faster adsorption whereas the opposite behavior was observed for the presence of Phe in Tyr solutions. Such results indicate that, in binary systems, Phe will be adsorbed preferably to Tyr, and this is a welcome feature when employing the prepared adsorbent for the removal of Phe from protein hydrolysates to be used in dietary formulations for phenylketonuria treatment.

Biocomposites Based on Bacterial Cellulose and Apple and Radish Pulp

Bacterial cellulose (BC) pellicles obtained from an Acetobacter xylinum culture were disintegrated using mechanical methods to be used as reinforcement to produce biocomposite sheets with Apple and Radish Pulp. The nanosize disintegrated BC pellicles were blended with microsize apple and radish pulp in the wet state and then hot pressed to produce paper-like sheets.

Thermal analysis was carried out by Thermogravimetry Analysis (TGA). Mechanical properties were assessed by Quasistatic Tensile Tests and Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA). High tensile moduli were obtained (up to 8 GPa) and a nearly linear dependence of Young's modulus on the BC volume fraction was observed. Morphological characterisation of biocomposite sheets and fracture surfaces performed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) revealed the structure of the disintegrated cellulose network and the failure mechanisms of the biocomposites.

Characterization of Arabidopsis thaliana lines with altered seed storage protein profiles using synchrotron-powered FT-IR spectromicroscopy

Arabidopsis thaliana lines expressing only one cruciferin subunit type (double-knockout; CRUAbc, CRUaBc, or CRUabC) or devoid of cruciferin (triple-knockout; CRU-) or napin (napin-RNAi) were generated using combined T-DNA insertions or RNA interference approaches. Seeds of double-knockout lines accumulated homohexameric cruciferin and contained similar protein levels as the wild type (WT). Chemical imaging of WT and double-knockout seeds using synchrotron FT-IR spectromicroscopy (amide I band, 1650 cm(-1), νC═O) showed that proteins were concentrated in the cell center and protein storage vacuoles. Protein secondary structure features of the homohexameric cruciferin lines showed predominant β-sheet content. The napin-RNAi line had lower α-helix content than the WT. Lines entirely devoid of cruciferin had high α-helix and low β-sheet levels, indicating that structurally different proteins compensate for the loss of cruciferin. Lines producing homohexameric CRUC showed minimal changes in protein secondary structure after pepsin treatment, indicating low enzyme accessibility. The Synchrotron FT-IR technique provides information on protein secondary structure and changes to the structure within the cell.

Use of Forestry Wastes for Biosorption of Dyes and Cr (VI)

The pine cone and oak cups pulp were used as low-cost adsorbents for the removal of basic (Basic Red 18) and acidic (Acid Red 111) dyes and Cr (VI) from aqueous solutions. The adsorbents were modified by HNO3to improve their biosorption capacity. The adsorbents were characterized using scanning electron microscopy and FTIR spectroscopy. The zeta potential was determined as a function of the pH, in order to explain the effect of pH on electrostatic adsorption ability of biosorbent. Modification of adsorbents with nitric acid led to an increase in accessibility of some functional groups on the surface or a decrease in negativity of surface charge. The modification of pine cone increased its adsorption capacity for the basic dye, whereas the modification of oak cups pulp decreased the adsorption ability for basic dye to some extent. The adsorption isotherms fitted the Langmuir model. The adsorption capacities were found to be 142.85, 158.73, and 156.20 mg g-1 for modified and raw pine cone and oak cups pulp, respectively. The acidic dye and Cr (VI) adsorptions were much lower compared to basic dye on all tested adsorbents. The results indicated that the forest wastes (pine cone and oak cups pulp) were an attractive candidate for basic dyes from aqueous solution.

Synthesis and characterization of camphorsulfonyl acetate of cellulose

Novel cellulose derivatives were prepared from reacting (1R)-(+)-camphor-10-sulfonic chloride (CSC) with cellulose acetate (CA) in acetone and triethylamine. The reaction conditions, including reaction time and reactant molar ratios, were optimized. The structure of the products was confirmed by means of 1H NMR, 13C NMR, FT-IR and elementary analysis. The techniques were also used to determine the degree of the substitution of camphorsulfonyl groups (DSCS). The data calculated from 1H NMR, 13C NMR, percent grafting (G %) and elementary analysis coincided with those from chemical analysis. Compared to cellulose acetate, the cellulose derivatives exhibited decreased thermal stability, improved solubility in organic solvents and enhanced enantioselectivity towards tyrosine isomers. The solubility and enantioselectivity increased with increasing degrees of camphorsulfonyl substitution.