Non-cellulosic heteropolysaccharides from sugarcane bagasse – Sequential extraction with pressurized hot water and alkaline peroxide at different temperatures

• Xylans were extracted from sugarcane bagasse with hot-water and alkaline peroxide.
• Xylose units in the main chain of xylans are substituted by arabinose at C2 and C3.
• The arabinoxylans extracted with water at high temperature contained less arabinose.
• The water-soluble arabinoxylans are more branched, acetylated and low-molar-mass.
• Water-extracted hemicelluloses contain more lignin than alkaline peroxide extracted.

The xylan-rich hemicellulose components of sugarcane bagasse were sequentially extracted with pressurized hot-water extraction (PHWE) and alkaline peroxide. The hemicelluloses were found to contain mainly arabinoxylans with varying substitutions confirmed by different chemical and spectroscopic methods. The arabinoxylans obtained from PHWE were found to be more branched compared to those obtained after alkaline extraction. Sequential extraction could be useful for the isolation of hemicelluloses with different degree of branching, molar mass, and functional groups from sugarcane bagasse, which can be of high potential use for various industrial applications.