Dragon Fruit Foliage: An Agricultural Cellulosic Source to Extract Cellulose Nanomaterials

In this report, we focus our effort to extract cellulose nanomaterials (CNs) from an agricultural cellulosic waste, Dragon Fruit foliage (DFF). DFF was first pretreated by several mechanical treatments and then bleached by chemical treatment to obtain bleached DFF. CNs were then produced from the hydrolysis of the bleached DFF catalyzed by sulfuric acid. We obtained CNs with a small diameter (50 to 130 nm) and length (100 to 500 nm) and a height of 3 to 10 nm. The CNs have a high crystallinity (crystallinity index 84.8%), high −COOH content (0.74 mmol. g−1), good thermal stability and a good Cu (II) adsorption capacity with an adsorption maximum of ~103 mg. g−1. These findings demonstrated the great potential of converting many agricultural cellulosic wastes into valuable cellulose nanomaterials.

Chemical and Mechanical Characterization of Licorice Root and Palm Leaf Waste Incorporated into Poly(urethane-acrylate) (PUA)

A poly(urethane-acrylate) polymer (PUA) was synthesized, and a sufficiently high molecular weight starting from urethane-acrylate oligomer (UAO) was obtained. PUA was then loaded with two types of powdered ligno-cellulosic waste, namely from licorice root and palm leaf, in amounts of 1, 5 and 10%, and the obtained composites were chemically and mechanically characterized. FTIR analysis of final PUA synthesized used for the composite production confirmed the new bonds formed during the polymerization process. The degradation temperatures of the two types of waste used were in line with what observed in most common natural fibers with an onset at 270 °C for licorice waste, and at 290 °C for palm leaf one. The former was more abundant in cellulose (44% vs. 12% lignin), whilst the latter was richer in lignin (30% vs. 26% cellulose). In the composites, only a limited reduction of degradation temperature was observed for palm leaf waste addition and some dispersion issues are observed for licorice root, leading to fluctuating results. Tensile performance of the composites indicates some reduction with respect to the pure polymer in terms of tensile strength, though stabilizing between data with 5 and 10% filler. In contrast, Shore A hardness of both composites slightly increases with higher filler content, while in stiffness-driven applications licorice-based composites showed potential due to an increase up to 50% compared to neat PUA. In general terms, the fracture surfaces tend to become rougher with filler introduction, which indicates the need for optimizing interfacial adhesion.

Elemental analysis of residual ash generated during plasma incineration of cellulosic, rubber and plastic waste

Management of plastic, rubber and cellulosic waste from various industries is a challenging task. An engineering scale plasma pyrolysis based incinerator has been commissioned for incineration of combustible waste, including plastic, rubber and cellulose. Operational trials of wastes with simulated composition show a weight reduction factor of more than 18 and volume reduction factor of more than 30. The volume reduction factor is tenfold higher than the compaction process currently practised for rubber and plastic wastes. Representative residual ash samples derived from these runs are subjected to their elemental analysis using EDXRF technique and results are comparable with the published literature. Relative variation of individual elements is attributed to the type of waste and feed composition. Analysis is aided with the calculation of index of geoaccumulation, enrichment factor (EF), contamination factor (CF) and pollution load index (PLI). From this study, it is evident that S, Cr, Zn, As, Se, Hg and Pb are of concern for environment in residual ash from plasma incineration of combustible waste. The efficacy of the incineration process is evaluated; C, H and O reduction achieved is more than 98% and overall enrichment ratio (ER) for the inorganic elements is more than 4.5. This study highlights the importance of elemental composition for the performance analysis of the plasma based incineration as well as hazards evaluation of constituents in residual ash for its further management.

Harnessing the Microbiome for Protein Production

The microbiome of a ruminant animal rapidly converts cellulose into protein that is the true feed for the animal. Managed Ecosystem Fermentation (MEF) has harnessed this productive capacity into an industrial process. The MEF process rapidly converts cellulose, hemicellulose, carbohydrates, and starch into multiple products that have a wide range of applications in agriculture and industry. The protein produced has a complete amino acid profile and can be used as animal feed or for human consumption. Additionally, the protein contains lipids that contain Omega 3, 6 and 9, and other food additives and flavorings. The MEF process can convert approximately one metric ton of cellulosic waste per cubic meter of fermentation vessel per day into protein. This paper describes the process, results from the pilot plant, and compares the protein produced to fishmeal and other protein sources. MEF offers a technology to convert a significant amount of biomass into proteins, lipids, and enzymes in a way that is both economically and environmentally sustainable.

Glucose and Xylose Productions From Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch by Hydrolysis With Enzyme and Acid Using Response Surface Methodology.

Oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) is a major cellulosic waste from a palm oil mill. The use of EFB for bioconversion to fuel and valuable products is possible because this biomass is a cheap, renewable and abundantly available. This study was aimed to produce sugars from the alkaline peroxide pretreated EFB (APEFB) by hydrolysis with a commercial enzyme (iKnowzyme acid 2XL cellulase) in comparison with hydrochloric acid. Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to improve the hydrolysis process. For an enzymatic hydrolysis, the optimum enzyme dose of 40 U/g APEFB and the liquid to solid ratio of 10 ml/g APEFB were investigated at 150 rpm and 50°C for 120 h. After saccharification, glucose and xylose obtained were 65.71 g/l (0.66 g/g APEFB) and 2.14 g/l (0.02 g/g APEFB), respectively. Many acids (acetic, formic, hydrochloric (HCl), nitric, orthophosphoric and sulfuric acids) were used to hydrolyze APEFB. The result showed that HCl was the best acid to produce glucose and xylose from APEFB with low furfural and hydroxymethylfurfural productions. The optimum HCl concentration and temperature for APEFB saccharification were 5.85% (w/v) acid at 114°C for 90 min. The glucose, xylose, furfural, and hydroxymethylfurfural obtained under these conditions were 10.70 g/l (0.11 g/g APEFB), 15.30 g/l (0.15 g/g APEFB), 2.34 g/l (0.02 g/g APEFB) and 0.67 g/l (0.007 g/g APEFB), respectively.

Physical Properties of Cement-Sand Brick Made by Kenaf Core: Discovering the Optimal Formulation

In this study, the effect of replacing the river sand with industrial waste and cellulosic waste was investigated. The cellulosic waste use in this study only focuses on kenaf core, while the industrial waste use in this study is quarry dust. The fine aggregate formulation is adjusted with a different percentage of kenaf core. While the quarry dust is fixed at 50% replacement level. The water-cement ratio set for the formulation is 0.75, and the cement-sand ratio fixes at 1:8. The physical properties are measured through compressive strength and density at 28 days. The result shows that 10% is the maximum replacement of sand with kenaf core to produced brick that using 50% of quarry dust. The compressive strength value of the 10% of kenaf core at 28 days is 8.16 N/mm2 while for density is 1830 kg/m3 at 28 days. All the result shows that kenaf core has the potential to be used as a lightweight fine aggregate. But kenaf core needs to combine with other materials that contribute to the strength.

Bioethanol production from urban cellulosic waste employing Alcaligenes faecalis HI-1 isolated from gut of termite Heterotermes indicola

This study assessed the potential of termite gut inhabiting bacteria towards bioconversion of cellulosic waste into biofuel. Total seven bacterial isolates from the gut of Heterotermes indicola were isolated. Among all the isolates, HI-1 produced the largest zone upon primary screening. Untreated paper had more cellulose content (73.03%) than acid (0.5%) treated paper that was used as a lignocellulosic substrate for saccharification. Among all the isolates tested, glucose yield (1.08mg/mL) was high for HI-1 isolate. Several factors were considered for optimizing augmented glucose yield (8.57mg/mL) and growth (8.07×108cfu/mL), such as temperature 37°C, pH 4.5, 5% (w/v) substrate concentration, 6 % bacterial inoculum size, agitation 150 rpm with PEG 0.25 % and Ca2+ ions 0.002 g/L. Overall 8-fold increase in glucose yield was achieved. Enzyme activity of HI-1 showed higher endoglucanase 0.29 ± 0.01 (U/mL/min) and exoglucanase 0.15±0.01 (U/mL/min) activity under optimum conditions, mentioned above. temperature 37°C, pH 4.5, substrate concentration 5%, inoculum size 6%, surfactants PEG 0.01%, ions Ca2+(0.002g/L) and agitation (120 rpm). Simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of hydrolyzed office paper yielded 5.43mg/mL bioethanol. According to 16S rRNA sequence homology, the bacterial isolate H1 was identified as Alcaligenes faecalis. Bioethanol production from office paper untreated waste proved an effective strategy. Bacteria having natural tendency towards cellulosic waste consumption are promising for bioconversion of cellulosic waste to valuable products.