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Pappa CP, Cailotto S, Gigli M, Crestini C, Triantafyllidis KS. Kraft (Nano)Lignin as Reactive Additive in Epoxy Polymer Bio-Composites. Polymers (Basel) 2024; 16:553. [PMID: 38399931 PMCID: PMC10893208 DOI: 10.3390/polym16040553] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2023] [Revised: 01/27/2024] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
The demand for high-performance bio-based materials towards achieving more sustainable manufacturing and circular economy models is growing significantly. Kraft lignin (KL) is an abundant and highly functional aromatic/phenolic biopolymer, being the main side product of the pulp and paper industry, as well as of the more recent 2nd generation biorefineries. In this study, KL was incorporated into a glassy epoxy system based on the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) and an amine curing agent (Jeffamine D-230), being utilized as partial replacement of the curing agent and the DGEBA prepolymer or as a reactive additive. A D-230 replacement by pristine (unmodified) KL of up to 14 wt.% was achieved while KL-epoxy composites with up to 30 wt.% KL exhibited similar thermo-mechanical properties and substantially enhanced antioxidant properties compared to the neat epoxy polymer. Additionally, the effect of the KL particle size was investigated. Ball-milled kraft lignin (BMKL, 10 μm) and nano-lignin (NLH, 220 nm) were, respectively, obtained after ball milling and ultrasonication and were studied as additives in the same epoxy system. Significantly improved dispersion and thermo-mechanical properties were obtained, mainly with nano-lignin, which exhibited fully transparent lignin-epoxy composites with higher tensile strength, storage modulus and glass transition temperature, even at 30 wt.% loadings. Lastly, KL lignin was glycidylized (GKL) and utilized as a bio-based epoxy prepolymer, achieving up to 38 wt.% replacement of fossil-based DGEBA. The GKL composites exhibited improved thermo-mechanical properties and transparency. All lignins were extensively characterized using NMR, TGA, GPC, and DLS techniques to correlate and justify the epoxy polymer characterization results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina P. Pappa
- Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece;
| | - Simone Cailotto
- Department of Molecular Sciences and Nanosystems, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, 30170 Venice Mestre, Italy (C.C.)
| | - Matteo Gigli
- Department of Molecular Sciences and Nanosystems, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, 30170 Venice Mestre, Italy (C.C.)
| | - Claudia Crestini
- Department of Molecular Sciences and Nanosystems, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, 30170 Venice Mestre, Italy (C.C.)
| | - Konstantinos S. Triantafyllidis
- Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece;
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation (CIRI-AUTH), 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece
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Allegretti C, Bellinetto E, D’Arrigo P, Ferro M, Griffini G, Rossato LAM, Ruffini E, Schiavi L, Serra S, Strini A, Turri S. Fractionation of Raw and Parboiled Rice Husks with Deep Eutectic Solvents and Characterization of the Extracted Lignins towards a Circular Economy Perspective. MOLECULES (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 27:molecules27248879. [PMID: 36558011 PMCID: PMC9785053 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27248879] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2022] [Revised: 12/01/2022] [Accepted: 12/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
In the present work, rice husks (RHs), which, worldwide, represent one of the most abundant agricultural wastes in terms of their quantity, have been treated and fractionated in order to allow for their complete valorization. RHs coming from the raw and parboiled rice production have been submitted at first to a hydrothermal pretreatment followed by a deep eutectic solvent fractionation, allowing for the separation of the different components by means of an environmentally friendly process. The lignins obtained from raw and parboiled RHs have been thoroughly characterized and showed similar physico-chemical characteristics, indicating that the parboiling process does not introduce obvious lignin alterations. In addition, a preliminary evaluation of the potentiality of such lignin fractions as precursors of cement water reducers has provided encouraging results. A fermentation-based optional preprocess has also been investigated. However, both raw and parboiled RHs demonstrated a poor performance as a microbiological growth substrate, even in submerged fermentation using cellulose-degrading fungi. The described methodology appears to be a promising strategy for the valorization of these important waste biomasses coming from the rice industry towards a circular economy perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Allegretti
- Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta”, Politecnico di Milano, p.zza L. da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Emanuela Bellinetto
- Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta”, Politecnico di Milano, p.zza L. da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Paola D’Arrigo
- Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta”, Politecnico di Milano, p.zza L. da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy
- Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche “Giulio Natta”, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (SCITEC-CNR), Via Luigi Mancinelli 7, 20131 Milano, Italy
- Correspondence: (P.D.); (S.S.); Tel.: +39-2-23993075 (P.D.); +39-2-23993076 (S.S.)
| | - Monica Ferro
- Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta”, Politecnico di Milano, p.zza L. da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Gianmarco Griffini
- Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta”, Politecnico di Milano, p.zza L. da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Letizia Anna Maria Rossato
- Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta”, Politecnico di Milano, p.zza L. da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Eleonora Ruffini
- Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta”, Politecnico di Milano, p.zza L. da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Luca Schiavi
- Istituto per le Tecnologie della Costruzione, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (ITC-CNR), Via Lombardia 49, 20098 San Giuliano Milanese, Italy
| | - Stefano Serra
- Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche “Giulio Natta”, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (SCITEC-CNR), Via Luigi Mancinelli 7, 20131 Milano, Italy
- Correspondence: (P.D.); (S.S.); Tel.: +39-2-23993075 (P.D.); +39-2-23993076 (S.S.)
| | - Alberto Strini
- Istituto per le Tecnologie della Costruzione, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (ITC-CNR), Via Lombardia 49, 20098 San Giuliano Milanese, Italy
| | - Stefano Turri
- Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta”, Politecnico di Milano, p.zza L. da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy
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Zhen L, Lange H, Zongo L, Crestini C. Chemical Derivatization of Commercially Available Condensed and Hydrolyzable Tannins. ACS SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY & ENGINEERING 2021; 9:10154-10166. [PMID: 34484990 PMCID: PMC8411582 DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.1c02114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2021] [Revised: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Novel valorization routes for tannins were opened by the development of a simple, straightforward, robust, and flexible approach to the selective functionalization of condensed and hydrolyzable tannins. Irrespective of the different degrees of polymerization, different commercial tannins were efficiently functionalized by the generation of an ether linkage bound to a short linker carrying the desired functional group. Functionalizations could be realized at varying degrees of technical loadings, i.e., amounts of introduced tannin-alien functionalities per number of phenolic hydroxyl groups. The same strategy was found suitable for the synthesis of polyethylene glycol-functionalized tannin copolymers. Condensed tannins functionalized with carboxylic acid moieties could be converted into a tannin-oligopeptide hybrid.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lili Zhen
- University
of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Department of Chemical Science
and Technologies, Via
della Ricerca Scientifica, 00133 Rome, Italy
- CSGI—Center
for Colloid and Surface Science, Via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Heiko Lange
- CSGI—Center
for Colloid and Surface Science, Via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
- Department
of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University
of Milan-Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 1, 20126 Milano, Italy
| | - Luc Zongo
- University
of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Department of Chemical Science
and Technologies, Via
della Ricerca Scientifica, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Claudia Crestini
- CSGI—Center
for Colloid and Surface Science, Via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
- University
of Venice “Ca” Foscari’, Department of Molecular
Science and Nanosystems, Via Torino 155, 30170 Venice Mestre, Italy
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Banwell MG, Pollard B, Liu X, Connal LA. Exploiting Nature's Most Abundant Polymers: Developing New Pathways for the Conversion of Cellulose, Hemicellulose, Lignin and Chitin into Platform Molecules (and Beyond). Chem Asian J 2021; 16:604-620. [PMID: 33463003 DOI: 10.1002/asia.202001451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2020] [Revised: 01/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
The four most prominent forms of biomass are cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and chitin. In efforts to develop sustainable sources of platform molecules there has been an increasing focus on examining how these biopolymers could be exploited as feedstocks that support the chemical supply chain, including in the production of fine chemicals. Many different approaches are possible and some of the ones being developed in the authors' laboratories are emphasised.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin G Banwell
- Institute for Advanced and Applied Chemical Synthesis, Jinan University, Guangzhou/Zhuhai, 510632/519070, P. R. China.,Research School of Chemistry, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Brett Pollard
- Research School of Chemistry, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Xin Liu
- Research School of Chemistry, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Luke A Connal
- Research School of Chemistry, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
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