Decolorization of polysaccharides solution from Cyclocarya paliurus (Batal.) Iljinskaja using ultrasound/H2O2 process

An advanced oxidation process, ultrasound/H2O2 oxidation was used for the decolorization of Cyclocarya paliurus (Batal.) Iljinskaja polysaccharides (CPP). The effects of main operating parameters including initial concentration of CPP solution, dosages of H2O2, temperature, pH and ultrasonic irradiation on the decolorization efficiency of CPP were investigated and the optimum operational conditions of the process were also evaluated. Furthermore, HPLC, Fourier transformed infrared (FT-IR) and NMR spectra methods were applied to analyze the components and structure changes of CPP. Results showed that ultrasound/H2O2 oxidation process represented good decolorizing ability on CPP. The optimum operational conditions were determined as follows: concentrations of the polysaccharide solution, 0.5 mg/ml; H2O2, 0.623 mM; temperature, 40 °C; pH, 9.0. Under these conditions, the decolorization efficiency was reached to 84.1%. The results of HPLC, FT-IR and NMR analysis indicated that ultrasound/H2O2 oxidation process did not result in any significant change in the structure of CPP.