Comparative study of alkaline extraction process of hemicelluloses from pear pomace

• Pear pomace was used to produce hemicelluloses.
• Direct alkaline and two-step with delignification processes were compared.
• Direct extraction with NaOH produced mixtures of xylans and glucans with lignins.
• Direct extraction with H2O2 and two-step process gave pure xylan-rich hemicelluloses.

Hemicelluloses were produced from pear pomace using direct alkaline extraction (sodium hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide) and two-step extraction with delignification pre-treatment (acidified sodium chlorite/sodium hydroxide). The aim of the study was to compare the extraction yield, composition and physicochemical characteristics of isolated hemicelluloses by size exclusion chromatography, FTIR and thermogravimetric analyses. Solid residues were analysed in order to evaluate the effect of processes on co-products (lignins and cellulose). Delignification of material (up to 995.4 g kg−1 of original lignins) during the direct alkaline hydrogen peroxide and two-step acidified sodium chlorite/sodium hydroxide processes improved the hemicellulose extraction yield attaining up to 945.3 g kg−1. Hemicelluloses were mainly composed of xylans (xylose/glucose ratio of 4.6–16.2) and had low lignin content (53.5–61.0 g kg−1 dry matter). Those from direct sodium hydroxide extraction were composed of xylans and glucans (xylose/glucose ratio of 1.5) with high content of lignins (149.3 g kg−1 dry matter). All isolated fractions were a mixture of polymers and oligomers with a molecular mass ranging from 1710 g mol−1 to 8 870 000 g mol−1. The two-step process gave the most pure cellulose residue (799.2 g kg−1 dry matter). According to results, the direct alkaline extraction with hydrogen peroxide was a promising process for the production of pure xylose-rich hemicelluloses from pear pomace solubilizing 802.2 g kg−1 of the original hemicelluloses but induced fragmentation of hemicelluloses.