| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4514749 | Industrial Crops and Products | 2010 | 9 Pages |
Bamboo (Neosinocalamus affinis) was subjected to successive pretreatments to isolate cellulose rich fractions for further utilization. In this study, the ball-milled bamboo underwent ultrasound treatment in ethanol solution at 20 °C for 0, 5, 15, 35, and 50 min, respectively. Then the samples were dissolved with 7% NaOH/12% urea solutions at −12 °C, followed by successive extractions with dioxane, ethanol, and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). The yields of the obtained cellulose rich fractions ranged from 75.1 to 77.7%. In addition, the structural features of the cellulose rich fractions and the original ball-milled sample were comparatively characterized with a set of spectroscopy and wet chemistry methods including FT-IR, CP/MAS 13C NMR, XRD, SEM, sugar analysis, etc. The results showed that the successive pretreatments resulted in partial removal of carbohydrates and lignin. The lignin released during the pretreatments could facilitate the removal of lignin, which was mainly composed of G and S types. The removal of acetyl groups suggested a decrease of the satirical barrier of enzyme absorption to cellulose. The cellulose rich fractions appeared looser and exhibited more internal surfaces compared to the ball-milled sample. The changes of chemical structures and morphology of the treated sample suggested that the cold sodium hydroxide/urea based pretreatments effectively disrupted the recalcitrance of bamboo, generating highly reactive cellulosic materials for enzymatic hydrolysis to produce bioethanol.
Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideResearch highlights▶ The present research highlights a novel way to pretreat lignocellulose for bioethanol production under a mild condition. The cold sodium hydroxide/urea solution was utilized to break the compact structure of lignocellulose aiming at facilitating subsequent treatments. The comparative characterization of the obtained cellulose rich fractions and the original feedstock suggested that the present alkaline based pretreatments could effectively disrupt the recalcitrance of bamboo, generating highly reactive cellulosic materials for enzymatic hydrolysis to produce bioethanol.
