Addition of corn fiber xylan to eucalyptus and pinus pulp and its effect on pulp bleachability and strength

Corn fibers are a significant residue of agriculture due to the huge amounts, which has fueled interest in a more rational use of its components, particularly regarding hemicelluloses. The impact of hemicellulose redeposition on printer and writing (P&W) paper grade pulp properties are discussed in this paper. Xylans extracted from corn fibers (16.9 % xylans) by cold caustic extraction (CCE) were added to commercial brown pulps (eucalypt and pine) in the oxygen delignification (O-stage) and further bleached to 90 % ISO brightness. Hemicelluloses deposition occurred at variable degree (up to 7 % on pulp weight). Pulp bleachability was not impaired by xylan deposition for eucalypt and pine pulps. Xylan deposition onto fibers was more efficient in eucalypt pulp than pine. Pulp beatability and strength properties were improved by xylan deposition for P&W paper grades.

Determination of Mechanical Properties of Biodegradable Composites Made by Pine Resin Corn Fibers and Henequen Fibers

Flexion tests were performed (ASTM D790) for two biodegradable composites, the first one made of pine resin as matrix and henequen fibers as reinforcement, varying the percentage reinforcement. The second composite made of a matrix of cellulose obtained from a mixture of recycled paper and water and reinforced with maize bract fibers (the leaves that cover the corn cob) and infiltrated with pine resin. Five samples were evaluated for each compound in an Instron universal machine (load cell: 5 kN). For the henequen fibers and pine resin composite specimens were prepared according to standard by the method of hot casting resin, henequen fibers both short and long (127mm, 10mm) were included prior to discharge the matrix. The drying was at room temperature for 1 minute. Tests were conducted with different compositions of matrix / reinforcement by varying the amount of fiber in 26%, 20% and 14% of the specimen. The long fibers longitudinally traverse the specimen (127mm) and short fibers (10 mm) are dispersed in the mixture. The second composite is produced from corn fiber preforms and cellulose by the method of compression molding, dried in oven at 100 ° C for 2 hours. The preforms were infiltrated with pine resin by compressed air (25 psi). We analyzed the effect of corn fiber content in weight percentages of 10%, 30% and 50% with respect to cellulose and two lengths of corn fiber (22.25μm and 487 μm). Under study conditions, corn fiber generates a negative effect on the flexural strength of the compound. By increasing the fiber content of corn and its size, the bending strength decreased in almost all cases, is attributed to a lack of uniformity in the distribution of corn fibers. However, flexural strength values obtained were similar to materials such as wood, found in the literature. This projects the potential of the compound to replace, in certain applications, non-sustainable material

Optimization of L-Arabinose Hydrolization from Corn Fibers Using Response Surface Methodology

The main objective of this study was to optimize the hydrolyzing conditions of L-Arabinose from corn fibers. The response surface methodology was used for the optimization. Independent variables were the concentration of the oxalic acid (2-4%), the hydrolysis time (3.5-4.5h) ,the dosage of the oxalic acid(6-10ml/g,v/w)and the reaction temperature (80-100°C). Significant regression model describing the changes of L-Arabinose yield with respect to hydrolysis parameters were established with the coefficient of determination, R2= 0.9501.Data were analyzed by Design Expert 7.0 and regression analysis. The L-Arabinose yield ranged from 7.53% to 11.46%. The models had significant effects on L-Arabinose yield at P<0.05. Optimum the hydrolysis time, the concentration of the oxalic acid, the dosage of the oxalic acid and the reaction temperature were 3.86h, 3.97%, 6mL/g (v/w) and 100°C, respectively. This combination gave 11.46% L-Arabinose yield.

Study on Performance and Blending Techniques of Corn Fibers

Corn fiber is a polymeric fiber made from corn as the raw material. Wide applications have been found for corn fibers in recent years and many progresses on the study of corn fibers have been made as well. The performance of corn fiber is determined by the molecular weight of polylactic acid. Corn fibers have some professional properties, such as high transparency, well-heat-resistant stability, well-coloring, and full biodegradability, as well as the feature in ecological recycle. These means the corn fibers are new-typical and green, full-environmental fibers. The corn fibers can be blended with other fibrin fibers with good hygroscopic to get products of high-performance and low in price. The blending techniques of corn fibers with color cotton fibers and corn fibers with Richcel and lambsdown are studied and developed in this paper and good social and economical benefits have been achieved.