scholarly journals Antifungal Activities of Wood and Non-Wood Kraft Handsheets Treated with Melia azedarach Extract Using SEM and HPLC Analyses

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 2012
Author(s):  
Mohamed Z. M. Salem ◽  
Saqer S. Alotaibi ◽  
Wael A. A. Abo Elgat ◽  
Ayman S. Taha ◽  
Yahia G. D. Fares ◽  
...  

The main objective of this work was to evaluate pulp produced by kraft cooking for wood materials (WMT) (Bougainvillea spectabilis, Ficus altissima, and F. elastica) and non-wood materials (NWMT) (Sorghum bicolor and Zea mays stalks) and to study the fungal activity of handsheets treated with Melia azedarach heartwood extract (MAHE) solutions. Through the aforementioned analyses, the ideal cooking conditions were determined for each raw material based on the lignin percentage present. After cooking, pulp showed a decrease in the Kappa number produced from WMT, ranging from 16 to 17. This was in contrast with NWMT, which had Kappa numbers ranging from 31 to 35. A difference in the optical properties of the pulp produced from WMT was also observed (18 to 29%) compared with pulp produced from NWMT (32.66 to 35.35%). As for the evaluation of the mechanical properties, the tensile index of the pulp ranged from 30.5 to 40 N·m/g for WMT and from 44.33 to 47.43 N·m/g for NWMT; the tear index ranged from 1.66 to 2.55 mN·m2/g for WMT and from 4.75 to 5.87 mN·m2/g for NWMT; and the burst index ranged from 2.35 to 2.85 kPa·m2/g for WMT and from 3.92 to 4.76 kPa·m2/g for NWMT. Finally, the double fold number was 3 compared with that of pulp produced from pulp, which showed good values ranging from 36 to 55. In the SEM examination, sheets produced from treated handsheets with extract from MAHE showed no growth of Aspergillus fumigatus over paper discs manufactured from B. speclabilis pulp wood. Pulp paper produced from Z. mays and S. bicolor stalks was treated with 1% MAHE, while pulp paper from F. elastica was treated with 0.50% and 1% MAHE. With the addition of 0.5 or 1% MAHE, Fusarium culmorum showed no increase in growth over the paper manufactured from B. speclabilis, F. altissima, F. elastica and Zea mays pulps with visual inhibition zones found. There was almost no growth of S. solani in paper discs manufactured from pulps treated with 1% MAHE. This is probably due to the phytochemical compounds present in the extract. The HPLC analysis of MAHE identified p-hydroxybenzoic acid, caffeine, rutin, chlorogenic acid, benzoic acid, quinol, and quercetin as the main compounds, and these were present in concentrations of 3966.88, 1032.67, 834.13, 767.81, 660.64, 594.86, and 460.36 mg/Kg extract, respectively. Additionally, due to the importance of making paper from agricultural waste (stalks of S. bicolor and Z. mays), the development of sorghum and corn with high biomass is suggested.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Z. M. Salem ◽  
Hayssam M. Ali ◽  
Mohammad Akrami

AbstractIn the present study, and for the waste valorization, Moringa oleifera seeds-removed ripened pods (SRRP) were used for papersheet production and for the extraction of bioactive compounds. Fibers were characterized by SEM–EDX patterns, while the phytoconstituents in ethanol extract was analyzed by HPLC. The inhibition percentage of fungal mycelial growth (IFMG) of the treated Melia azedarach wood with M. oleifera SRRP extract at the concentrations of 10,000, 20,000, and 30,000 µg/mL against the growth of Rhizoctonia solani and Fusarium culmorum was calculated and compared with fluconazole (25 µg). The produced papersheet was treated with the ethanol extract (4000, 2000, and 1000 µg/mL) and assayed for its antibacterial activity against Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Erwinia amylovora, and Pectobacterium atrosepticum by measuring the inhibition zones and minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs). According to chemical analysis of M. oleifera SRRP, benzene:alcohol extractives, holocellulose, lignin, and ash contents were 7.56, 64.94, 25.66 and 1.53%, respectively, while for the produced unbleached pulp, the screen pulp yield and the Kappa number were 39% and 25, respectively. The produced papersheet showed tensile index, tear index, burst index, and double fold number values of 58.8 N m/g, 3.38 mN m2/g, 3.86 kPa m2/g, and 10.66, respectively. SEM examination showed that the average fiber diameter was 16.39 µm, and the mass average of for elemental composition of C and O by EDX were, 44.21%, and 55.79%, respectively. The main phytoconstituents in the extract (mg/100 g extract) by HPLC were vanillic acid (5053.49), benzoic acid (262.98), naringenin (133.02), chlorogenic acid (66.16), and myricetin (56.27). After 14 days of incubation, M. oleifera SRRP extract-wood treated showed good IFMG against R. solani (36.88%) and F. culmorum (51.66%) compared to fluconazole, where it observed 42.96% and 53.70%, respectively. Moderate to significant antibacterial activity was found, where the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values were 500, 650, and 250 µg/mL against the growth of A. tumefaciens, E. amylovora, and P. atrosepticum respectively, which were lower than the positive control used (Tobramycin 10 µg/disc). In conclusion, M. oleifera SRRP showed promising properties as a raw material for pulp and paper production as well as for the extraction of bioactive compounds.



Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Z. M. Salem ◽  
Wael A. A. Abo Elgat ◽  
Ayman S. Taha ◽  
Yahia G. D. Fares ◽  
Hayssam M. Ali

In the pulp and paper industry, several studies have been done to improve and enhance the properties of the mechanical, optical, and antimicrobial activities of pulp produced with different additives. In the present study, pulp of wood branches (WBs) from Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh. and Meryta sinclairii (Hook.f.) Seem. was treated with n-hexane oily extracts (HeOE) from Melia azedarach L. fruits, Magnolia grandiflora L. leaves, and Sinapis alba L. seeds as additives at concentrations of 1%, 3%, and 5% based on oven-dry pulp weight. Measured mechanical properties were higher in paper sheets made from E. camaldulensis than M. sinclairii WB pulp. The highest tensile index values were observed with E. camaldulensis WB pulp treated with 5% HeOEs of S. alba (33.90 N·m/g) and M. grandiflora (33.76 N·m/g) compared to control (32.10 N·m/g); the highest tear index with 5% HeOE of S. alba (4.11 mN·m2/g) compared to control (3.32 mN·m2/g); and the highest burst index with 5% HeOE of S. alba (4.11 kPa·m2/g) compared to control (3.08 kPa·m2/g). The highest double-fold number value (9) was observed with E. camaldulensis WB pulp treated with 5% HeOEs of S. alba, M. azedarach, and M. grandiflora but with no significant difference compared to control treatment (8.33) or other HeOE treatments with E. camaldulensis WB pulp. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) examination showed clear inhibition of the growth of Aspergillus terreus with WB pulp paper discs of E. camaldulensis and M. sinclairii treated with HeOEs of M. azedarach, S. alba, and M. grandiflora at 3% and 5% compared to control treatment, while HeOEs at 5% concentration showed no growth of A. niger and A. terreus. The present findings establish that the HeOEs from M. azedarach, S. alba, and M. grandiflora at 3% and 5% are novel natural products that can be used as alternatives to improve the properties and antifungal activity of WB pulp produced from E. camaldulensis and M. sinclairii.



PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e6186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ting-Ting Jiang ◽  
Yan Liang ◽  
Xiang Zhou ◽  
Zi-Wei Shi ◽  
Zhi-Jun Xin

Background Sweet sorghum bagasse (SSB), comprising both a dermal layer and pith, is a solid waste generated by agricultural activities. Open burning was previously used to treat agricultural solid waste but is harmful to the environment and human health. Recent reports showed that certain techniques can convert this agricultural waste into valuable products. While SSB has been considered an attractive raw material for sugar extraction and the production of value-added products, the pith root in the SSB can be difficult to process. Therefore, it is necessary to pretreat bagasse before conventional hydrolysis. Methods A thorough analysis and comparison of various pretreatment methods were conducted based on physicochemical and microscopic approaches. The responses of agricultural SSB stem pith with different particle sizes to pretreatment temperature, acid and alkali concentration and enzyme dosage were investigated to determine the optimal pretreatment. The integrated methods are beneficial to the utilization of carbohydrate-based and unknown compounds in agricultural solid waste. Results Acid (1.5−4.5%, v/v) and alkali (5−8%, w/v) reagents were used to collect cellulose from different meshes of pith at 25–100 °C. The results showed that the use of 100 mesh pith soaked in 8% (w/v) NaOH solution at 100 °C resulted in 32.47% ± 0.01% solid recovery. Follow-up fermentation with 3% (v/v) acid and 6.5% (w/v) alkali at 50 °C for enzymolysis was performed with the optimal enzyme ratio. An analysis of the surface topography and porosity before and after pretreatment showed that both the pore size of the pith and the amount of exposed cellulose increased as the mesh size increased. Interestingly, various compounds, including 42 compounds previously known to be present and 13 compounds not previously known to be present, were detected in the pretreatment liquid, while 10 types of monosaccharides, including D-glucose, D-xylose and D-arabinose, were found in the enzymatic solution. The total monosaccharide content of the pith was 149.48 ± 0.3 mg/g dry matter. Discussion An integrated technique for obtaining value-added products from sweet sorghum pith is presented in this work. Based on this technique, lignin and hemicellulose were effectively broken down, amorphous cellulose was obtained and all sugars in the sweet sorghum pith were hydrolysed into monosaccharides. A total of 42 compounds previously found in these materials, including alcohol, ester, acid, alkene, aldehyde ketone, alkene, phenolic and benzene ring compounds, were detected in the pretreatment pith. In addition, several compounds that had not been previously observed in these materials were found in the pretreatment solution. These findings will improve the transformation of lignocellulosic biomass into sugar to create a high-value-added coproduct during the integrated process and to maximize the potential utilization of agricultural waste in current biorefinery processing.



Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 2221
Author(s):  
Adila Fazliyana Aili Hamzah ◽  
Muhammad Hazwan Hamzah ◽  
Hasfalina Che Man ◽  
Nur Syakina Jamali ◽  
Shamsul Izhar Siajam ◽  
...  

Pineapple waste accounts for a significant part of waste accumulated in landfill which will further contribute to the release of greenhouse gases. With the rising pineapple demands worldwide, the abundance of pineapple waste and its disposal techniques are a major concern. Exploiting the pineapple waste into valuable products could be the most sustainable way of managing these residues due to their useful properties and compositions. In this review, we concentrated on producing useful products from on-farm pineapple waste and processing waste. Bioenergy is the most suitable option for green energy to encounter the increasing demand for renewable energy and promotes sustainable development for agricultural waste. The presence of protease enzyme in pineapple waste makes it a suitable raw material for bromelain production. The high cellulose content present in pineapple waste has a potential for the production of cellulose nanocrystals, biodegradable packaging and bio-adsorbent, and can potentially be applied in the polymer, food and textile industries. Other than that, it is also a suitable substrate for the production of wine, vinegar and organic acid due to its high sugar content, especially from the peel wastes. The potentials of bioenergy production through biofuels (bioethanol, biobutanol and biodiesel) and biogas (biomethane and biohydrogen) were also assessed. The commercial use of pineapples is also highlighted. Despite the opportunities, future perspectives and challenges concerning pineapple waste utilisation to value-added goods were also addressed. Pineapple waste conversions have shown to reduce waste generation, and the products derived from the conversion would support the waste-to-wealth concept.



Author(s):  
Irina A. Chetvertneva ◽  
Oleg Kh. Karimov ◽  
Galina A. Teptereva ◽  
Natalia S. Tivas ◽  
Eldar M. Movsumzade ◽  
...  

The paper considers the main components and products of wood processing, agricultural waste, pulp and paper industry waste and qualifies them as sources of pentose-containing resource-renewable domestic raw materials. The article describes in detail the structural components of wood as a natural polymer, which contains aromatic and carbohydrate parts. It is noted that these poly-mers are promising as raw materials for the production of useful chemical products. The role of lignin, cellolose and hemicellulose in the design of mechanical and structural properties of wood is considered. The article considers the features of the sulfonation reactions of the lignin monomer unit depending on the pH of the medium: acidic, neutral and alkaline. There are three main reac-tions that occur simultaneously with lignin in the process of wood delignification during sulfite cooking, such as the sulfonation reaction, the hydrolytic destruction reaction, and the condensation reaction. It is shown that the lignin-hemicellulose matrix contains three types of interconnected mesh structures: the lignin itself; a network of covalent bonds of lignin with hemicelluloses, and a network whose structure is obtained due to the hydrogen bond and the forces of the physical inter-action of lignin and hemicelluloses. The features of chemical transformations of the monomeric aromatic link of lignosulfonate – phenylpropane unit in the processes of wood delignification, the main chemical reactions of wood raw material delignification under the conditions of sulfite and neutral-sulfite brews are shown. The method of quantitative determination of monosaccharides in the composition of the carbohydrate part is proposed.



2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramratan Guru ◽  
Anupam Kumar ◽  
Rohit Kumar

This research work has mainly utilized agricultural waste material to make a good-quality composite sheet product of the profitable, pollution free, economical better for farmer and industries. In this study, from corn leaf fibre to reinforced epoxy composite product has been utilized with minimum 35 to maximum range 55% but according to earlier studies, pulp composite material was used in minimum 10 to maximum 27%. Natural fibre-based composites are under intensive study due to their light weight, eco-friendly nature and unique properties. Due to the continuous supply, easy of handling, safety and biodegradability, natural fibre is considered as better alternative in replacing many structural and non-structural components. Corn leaf fibre pulp can be new source of raw material to the industries and can be potential replacement for the expensive and non-renewable synthetic fibre. Corn leaf fibre as the filler material and epoxy as the matrix material were used by changing reinforcement weight fraction. Composites were prepared using hand lay-up techniques by maintaining constant fibre and matrix volume fraction. The sample of the composites thus fabricated was subjected to tensile, impact test for finding the effect of corn husk in different concentrations.



Author(s):  
Asep Bayu Dani Nandiyanto ◽  
Nissa Nur Azizah ◽  
Gabriela Chelvina Santiuly Girsang

Corncob is usually disposed of directly as waste, creating problems in the environment, while it can be converted into valuable materials. This research aimed to evaluate the literature review on briquette production from agricultural waste (using non-binder and cold press with a binder) and the current works on techno-economic analysis, to propose an optimal design for the production of briquette from corncob waste, and to perform a techno-economic analysis based on the selected optimal processing method. The engineering perspective based on stoichiometry and mass balance showed the potential corncob briquette manufacture in both home and large scales due to the possible use of inexpensive and commercially available equipment and raw materials. The economic perspective [based on several economic evaluation factors (i.e., gross profit margin, payback period, break-even point, cumulative net present value, return of investment, internal rate return, and profitability index) under ideal and non-ideal conditions by considering internal (i.e., sales, raw materials, utilities, and variable cost) and external aspects (i.e., tax)] confirmed the prospective development of the project in the large-scale production with a lifetime of more than 18 years. The main issue in the project is the raw material (i.e. tapioca flour), giving the most impact on the project’s feasibility. Even in severe conditions, the project is feasible. The great endurance was also confirmed in the case of a higher tax rate. This study demonstrates the importance of producing corncob-based briquettes for improving the economic value and giving alternatives for problem solvers in the utilization of agricultural waste.



Processes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mervat EL-Hefny ◽  
Mohamed Z. M. Salem ◽  
Said I. Behiry ◽  
Hayssam M. Ali

In the present study, Melia azedarach wood blocks treated with different acetone extract concentrations from Withania somnifera fruits are assessed for their antibacterial and anti-fungal activities. Wood blocks of M. azedarach treated with W. somnifera fruit extract at concentrations of 0, 1, 2, and 3% are evaluated for in vitro antimicrobial activity against five genbank accessioned bacterial strains—Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Dickeya solani, Erwinia amylovora, Pseudomonas cichorii, and Serratia pylumthica—and two fungi, namely, Fusarium culmorum and Rhizoctonia solani. Through HPLC analysis we find that the most abundant quantified phenolic and flavonoid compounds of acetone extract (mg/100 g) are salicylic acid (9.49), vanillic acid (4.78), rutin (4702.58), and myricetin (1386.62). Wood treated with the extract at 2% and 3% show no growth of A. tumefaciens, E. amylovora, and P. cichorii. Use of the extract at 3% causes inhibition of fungal mycelia of F. culmorum and R. solani by 84.07% and 67.03%, respectively. In conclusion, potent antifungal and antibacterial activity against plant pathogens is found when an acetone extract of W. somnifera fruits is applied to wood samples.



Cosmetics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 89
Author(s):  
Duangjai Tungmunnithum ◽  
Nobuyuki Tanaka ◽  
Ayumi Uehara ◽  
Tsukasa Iwashina

Alpinia galanga is a well-known medicinal plant in Southeast Asia and has been used for a long time as food and medicine. A large number of flavonoid phytochemical compounds have been identified in various parts of this medicinal herb. Flavonoids are commonly known as attractive compounds that can be applied to cosmetic or cosmeceutical product development because of their antioxidant, anti-aging and many other potential biological activities. This recent review aims to illustrate and update the taxonomic status as well as the species description that will be helpful for a rigorous identification and authenticate the raw material or living specimen from A. galanga. The flavonoid phytochemical compounds and the bioactivity of this medicinal plant are also provided. The future perspectives and research directions of A. galanga and its flavonoids are pointed out in this study as well.



2015 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 348-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mário Vanoli Scatolino ◽  
Thiago de Paula Protásio ◽  
Rafael Farinassi Mendes ◽  
Lourival Marin Mendes

Agricultural waste materials are generated in large quantities in Brazil. These can accumulate and cause serious environmental problems. One of the most commonly generated wastes in the brazilian agricultural culture is the maize cob. Being lignocellulosic in nature, the maize cob can find use as the raw material in the production of particleboards mainly concerned with furniture making. Therefore, studies regarding its thermal stability and fire resistance would be interesting. The aim of this study was to evaluate the combustibility and thermal stability of the particleboards produced from maize cob and Pinus oocarpa wood. The percentages in which maize cob was associated with Pinus oocarpa were 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%. The panels were produced using 8% urea-formaldehyde and 1% paraffin. The pressing cycle parameters included: temperature 150 °C, pressure of 3.92 MPa during 10 min. The combustibility curve analysis showed that the panels containing 25% content of maize cob had higher resistance to combustion. In general, the thermal stability decreased as the wood substitution by maize cob increased.



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