Can Grassland Chemical Quality Be Quantified Using Transform Near-Infrared Spectroscopy?

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and closed spectroscopy methods have been applied to analyse the quality of forage and animal feed. However, grasslands are linked to variability factors (e.g., site, year, occurring species, etc.) which restrict the prediction capacity of the NIRS. The aim of this study is to test the Fourier transform NIRS application in order to determine the chemical characteristics of fresh, undried and unground samples of grassland located in north-central Apennine. The results indicated the success of FT-NIRS models for dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), acid detergent fibre (ADF), neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and acid detergent lignin (ADL) on fresh grassland samples (R2 > 0.90, in validation). The model can be used to quantitatively determine CP and ADF (residual prediction deviation-RPD > 3 and range error ratio- RER > 10), followed by DM and NDF that maintain a RER > 10, and are sufficient for screening for the lignin fraction (RPD = 2.4 and RER = 8.8). On the contrary, models for both lipid and ash seem not to be usable at a practical level. The success of FT-NIRS quantification for the main chemical parameters is promising from the practical point of view considering both the absence of samples preparation and the importance of these parameters for diet formulation.

Isolation and Fractionation of the Tobacco Stalk Lignin for Customized Value-Added Utilization

The value-added utilization of tobacco stalk lignin is the key to the development of tobacco stalk resources. However, the serious heterogeneity is the bottleneck for making full use of tobacco stalk lignin. Based on this, lignin was separated from tobacco stalk through hydrothermal assisted dilute alkali pretreatment. Subsequently, the tobacco stalk alkaline lignin was fractionated into five uniform lignin components by sequential solvent fractionation. Advanced spectral technologies (FT-IR, NMR, and GPC) were used to reveal the effects of hydrothermal assisted dilute alkali pretreatment and solvent fractionation on the structural features of tobacco stalk lignin. The lignin fractions extracted with n-butanol and ethanol had low molecular weight and high phenolic hydroxyl content, thus exhibiting superior chemical reactivity and antioxidant capacity. By contrast, the lignin fraction extracted with dioxane had high molecular weight and low reactivity, nevertheless, the high residual carbon rate made it suitable as a precursor for preparing carbon materials. In general, hydrothermal assisted dilute alkali pretreatment was proved to be an efficient method to separate lignin from tobacco stalk, and the application of sequential solvent fractionation to prepare lignin fractions with homogeneous structural features has specific application prospect.

Isolating High Antimicrobial Ability Lignin From Bamboo Kraft Lignin by Organosolv Fractionation

Lignin from different biomasses possess biological antioxidation and antimicrobial activities, which depend on the number of functional groups and the molecular weight of lignin. In this work, organosolv fractionation was carried out to prepare the lignin fraction with a suitable structure to tailor excellent biological activities. Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) analysis showed that decreased molecular weight lignin fractions were obtained by sequentially organosolv fractionation with anhydrous acetone, 50% acetone and 37.5% hexanes. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) results indicated that the lignin fractions with lower molecular weight had fewer substructures and a higher phenolic hydroxyl content, which was positively correlated with their antioxidation ability. Both of the original lignin and fractionated lignins possessed the ability to inhibit the growth of Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Salmonella) and Gram-positive bacteria (Streptococcus and Staphylococcus aureus) by destroying the cell wall of bacteria in vitro, in which the lignin fraction with the lowest molecular weight and highest phenolic hydroxyl content (L3) showed the best performance. Besides, the L3 lignin showed the ability to ameliorate Escherichia coli-induced diarrhea damages of mice to improve the formation of intestinal contents in vivo. These results imply that a lignin fraction with a tailored structure from bamboo lignin can be used as a novel antimicrobial agent in the biomedical field.

Optimization of Lignin Extraction Variables by Response Surface Methodology from Pine Saw Dust, and Quantification of Major Structural Units in Isolated Lignin Fraction

A synergistic combination of dioxane, acetic acid, and HCl was investigated for lignin extraction from pine wood biomass. After initial screening of reagent combination, response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize the lignin yield with respect to the variables of time 24–72 h, solids loading 5–15%, and catalyst dose 5–15 mL. A quadratic model predicted 8.33% of the lignin yield, and it was further confirmed experimentally and through the analysis of variance (ANOVA). Lignin at optimum combination exhibited features in terms of derivatization followed by reductive cleavage (DFRC) with a value of (305 µmol/gm), average molecular weights of 4358 and polydispersity of 1.65, and 2D heteronuclear single quantum coherence nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum (2D-HSQC NMR) analysis showing relative β-O-4 linkages (37.80%). From here it can be suggested that this fractionation can be one option for high quality lignin extraction from lignocellulosic biomass.

Application of Polyvinyl Acetate/Lignin Copolymer as Bio-Based Coating Material and Its Effects on Paper Properties

In this work, lignin-vinyl acetate copolymers containing different fractions of lignin were synthesized by the copolymerization technique. The synthesized copolymer was successfully applied to coat the paper for enhancing its properties and performance. The effects of the lignin-vinyl acetate copolymer on the physicochemical, air permeability and mechanical properties of paper were investigated. The mechanical strength, hydrophilic, and air permeability properties of coated paper were improved with the increasing content of the lignin. Lignin-vinyl acetate copolymer containing 15% lignin coated paper exhibited a 1.86 times increase in the tensile index, 45 times increase in the water contact angle, and a 41.1% reduction in the air permeability compared with uncoated paper. Scanning electron microscopy was applied to study the morphology of the coated and uncoated paper. The results showed that paper surface porosity structure was decreased, while the surface smoothness was enhanced considerably with increasing lignin fraction in the copolymer. Therefore, the successful fabrication of such an enchanting coated paper may afford new potential and great applications in the packaging paper.

Reductive Catalytic Fractionation of Flax Shive over Ru/C Catalysts

Flax shive is the main waste (up to 70 wt %) in the production of flax fiber. It represents the lignified parts of the flax stem mainly in the form of small straws. Complex processing of such wastes is a significant problem due to the heterogeneity of the chemical structure of lignin. This article presents the results of reductive catalytic fractionation (RCF) of flax shive in ethanol and isopropanol at elevated temperatures (225–250 °C) in the presence of a bifunctional catalyst (Ru/C) and molecular hydrogen. This provides solvolytic depolymerization of lignin and hemicelluloses presented in flax shive. Catalytic hydrogenation effectively stabilizes the formed lignin intermediates and prevents repolymerization reactions producing the lignin fraction with a high degree of depolymerization. RCF of flax shive produces solid products with a high cellulose content and liquid products consisting mainly of monophenolic compounds. Furthermore, the effect of different characteristics (the ruthenium content, particle size, and support acidity) of the bifunctional catalysts containing ruthenium nanoparticles supported on mesoporous, graphite-like carbon material Sibunit®-4 on the yield and composition of the products of hydrogenation of flax shive in sub- and super-critical ethanol has been studied. Bifunctional catalysts Ru/C used in the RCF of flax shive increase its conversion from 44 to 56 wt % and the yield of monophenols from 1.1 to 10.2 wt % (based on the weight of lignin in the sample). Using the best Ru/C catalyst containing 3% of Ru on oxidized at 400 °C carbon support, the high degree of delignification (up to 79.0%), cellulose yield (up to 67.2 wt %), and monophenols yield (up to 9.5 wt %) have been obtained.

Physico-chemical properties of lignin fractions from acid pretreated corn stover and their effects on enzymatic hydrolysis of microcrystalline cellulose

Lignin has been shown to be a recalcitrance factor in many biomass conversion studies. To better understand the effects of lignin on cellulose conversion, different lignin fractions were extracted from the same dilute acid pretreated corn stover by three sequential isolation methods, namely ethanol extraction, dioxane extraction, and enzyme purification. The physicochemical properties of each lignin fraction including molecular weight distribution, surface area, surface charge, and other structural features varied, depending on the isolation methods. All three lignin fractions had negative surface charges, and ethanol-extracted lignin carried the highest surface charges, followed by dioxane-extracted lignin and cellulase-purified residual lignin. These physicochemical properties of lignin fractions also resulted in different extent of inhibitory effects on enzymatic hydrolysis of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). Dioxane-extracted lignin exhibited the highest inhibitory effect on glucose release from MCC, followed by the cellulase-purified residual lignin fraction and ethanol-extracted lignin. Furthermore, lignin fractions with higher contents of syringyl (S) substructure and β-O-4 aryl ether interunit linkages showed a stronger negative effect on cellulase hydrolysis of MCC.

СИСТЕМА КОРМЛЕНИЯ, ПОВЫШАЮЩАЯ БИОРЕСУРСНЫЙ ПОТЕНЦИАЛ ДОЙНЫХ КОРОВ НА ЖИВОТНОВОДЧЕСКИХ КОМПЛЕКСАХ ООО «ЭКОНИВААГРО» В УСЛОВИЯХ ВОРОНЕЖСКОЙ ОБЛАСТИ

В работе рассмотрено формирование групп коров на кормление по фазам лактации. Рассмотрены основные причины замены пропиленгликоля глицерином. Для обоснования исключения из рационов дойных коров сена приведен расчет потерь питательных веществ при разных способах консервирования люцерны, отмечено, что при заготовке сена потери протеина составляют 34,71, неструктурных углеводов 36,36 относительно зелёной массы, в результате энергетическая питательность снижается на 22,48. При заготовке сенажа процент потерь значительно меньше по сравнению с сеном. Анализ структуры корма посредством пенсильванской сортирующей системы показал соответствие содержания частичек корма при просеве на сите с разным диаметром ячеек нормативным требованиям. Применение адсорбента микотоксинов SaproSORB показало, что выход молока на один килограмм сухого вещества рациона увеличился на 6,74, себестоимость 1 кг молока с применением Сапросорба снижается на 0,16 рубля. При учёте потребления сухого вещества на одну голову в сутки в условиях жары отмечено увеличение поедаемости корма при сокращении внесения воды (более сухие рационы СВ 55 против СВ 50), увеличение молочной продуктивности. Сравнение химического состава сенажа без использования и с использованием консерванта Веst-Sil показало снижение доли лигнина на 17,2, увеличение легкоусвояемых углеводов на 21,6, чистой энергиии лактации на 7,2. Контроль работы корн-крекера комбайна и крупность резки кукурузы на силос производится посредством специального набора сит по отработанной методике. Экономический расчёт эффективности использования соевого, подсолнечного шротов и рекомендуемого использования зерна экструдированной сои собственного производства даёт экономию затрат корма на 1 кг молока 0,94 рубля, за счет снижения стоимости рационов. Контроль полноценности кормления коров и корректировка кормления производится как с учётом зоотехнических, так и биохимических показателей.The paper considers the formation of groups of cows for feeding by lactation phases. The main reasons for the replacement of propylene glycol with glycerin are considered. To justify the absence of hay dairy cows in the diets, the calculation of nutrient losses is given for different methods of preserving alfalfa, it is noted that protein loss is 34.71, non-structural carbohydrates 36.36 relative to the green mass when hay is harvested, as a result, energy nutrition is reduced by 22, 48 When harvesting haylage, the percentage of losses is much less relative to hay. An assessment of the analysis of the feed structure using the means of the Pencil sorting system showed that the content of feed particles during screening on a sieve with different cell diameters is in compliance with regulatory requirements. The use of SaproSORB mycotoxin adsorbent showed that the yield of milk per 1 kilogram of dry matter of the diet increased by 6.74, the cost of 1 kg of milk using Saprosorb reduced by 0.16 rubles. When taking into account the consumption of dry matter per 1 head per day in hot conditions, an increase in feed intake was noted with a decrease in water intake (more dry diets of SV 55 versus SV 50), an increase in milk productivity. Comparison of the chemical composition of silage without using and using the West-Sil preservative showed a decrease in the lignin fraction by 17.2, an increase in easily digestible carbohydrates by 21.6, and net energy and lactation by 7.2. The control of the work of the combine cracker and the size of the corn cutting into silage is carried out by means of a special set of sieves according to the well-established methodology. An economic calculation of the effi ciency of using soybean and sunfl ower meal and the recommended use of extruded soybean grain of our own production saves feed costs per 1 kg of milk 0.94 rubles, due to a decrease in the cost of rations. Monitoring the usefulness of feeding cows and adjusting feeding is carried out taking into account zootechnical and biochemical parameters