Chemical and Physicochemical Characterization of Alkali Pretreated and in Natura Sisal Solid Waste

ABSTRACT

Solid waste from sisal fiber is a great candidate for biorefinery feedstock and material for composite production. However, sisal solid waste needs to be pre-treated before being used for such application. One of pretreatment method is chemical pretreatment process using alkaline solution. Alkaline pretreatment can improve the digestibility and physicochemical properties of this lignocellulosic material. The aim of this study was to characterize the in natura and alkali pretreated sisal solid waste in order to evaluate their potential as biorefinery feedstock and material for composite production. The chemical characterization showed that the pretreatment resulted in an increase in cellulose content, which is in agreement with the results of infrared spectra. The DRX pattern and thermal characterization showed a crystallinity degree increase and thermal stability improving, respectively, indicating a partial removal of the amorphous fraction of the lignocellulosic material. The SEM analysis showed that the pretreatment increased the sisal solid waste superficial area, due to extractives removing. These results contributed to elucidate the potential uses of the lignocellulosic material from sisal and how the dilute alkaline pretreatment affected its composition and physicochemical properties.

摘要

剑麻纤维产生的固体废物是生物炼制原料和复合材料的重要候选原料。然而，剑麻固体废物在使用前需要经过预处理. 预处理方法之一是用碱性溶液进行化学预处理。碱性预处理可以提高木质纤维素材料的消化率和理化性质. 本研究的目的是对天然碱和碱预处理剑麻固体废物进行表征，以评估其作为生物炼油原料和复合材料生产的潜力. 化学性质表明，预处理使纤维素含量增加，与红外光谱结果一致. DRX模式和热特性分别显示结晶度增加和热稳定性提高，表明部分去除了木质纤维材料的非晶态部分. 扫描电镜分析表明，预处理提高了剑麻固体废弃物的表面积，主要原因是去除了萃取物. 这些结果有助于阐明剑麻木质纤维素材料的潜在用途以及稀碱预处理对其组成和理化性质的影响.

KEYWORDS:

• Sisal solid waste
• alkaline pretreatment
• physicochemical characterization
• biorefinery

关键词:

• 剑麻固体废物
• 碱预处理
• 理化性质
• 生物炼制

Additional information

Funding

This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil (CAPES) – Finance Code 001;Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior;

Notes on contributors

Gabriel Nunes Guerra

Gabriel Nunes Guerra: He holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from the Federal University of Bahia and is currently a Master‘s student in the Post-Graduate Program in Chemical Engineering at the Federal University of Bahia. He has experience in the areas of Bioprocess, Nanotechnology and Catalysis.

Elaine Christine De Magalhaes Cabral Albuquerque

Elaine Christine De Magalhaes Cabral Albuquerque: She holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from the Federal University of Alagoas (1997), a master‘s degree (2000) and a doctorate (2005) in Chemical Engineering in the area of concentration of Biotechnological Processes by the State University of Campinas - UNICAMP. She is currently Associate Professor I at the Federal University of Bahia and permanent professor of the postgraduate program in Industrial Engineering (PEI-UFBA). She has experience in Chemical Engineering, with emphasis on Bionanotechnology, working mainly on the following topics: production of Liposomes, Micro/Polymer Nanospheres, Particle Coating, Solid Lipid Nanoparticles, Encapsulation of Biomolecules, Bioprocesses.

Leila Maria Aguilera Campos

Leila Maria Aguilera Campos: Graduated in Chemical Engineering from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (1981) and holds a bachelor‘s degree in Chemistry from the State University of Rio de Janeiro (1990). She is a specialist in Higher Education Didactics at Montenegro College. He holds a Masters and PhD in Chemical Engineering from the Federal University of Bahia (2010 and 2017). She is a professor of engineering at the University of Salvador and professor of the Postgraduate Program in Energy, UNIFACS. She has experience in the field of Chemical Engineering, with emphasis on biomass, environment and energy transformation, working with several biomasses, namely sugarcane bagasse, sugarcane, coconut mesocarp, banana leaf, treatment until production of 2G ethanol.

Luiz Antônio Magalhães Pontes

Luiz Antônio Magalhães Pontes: He holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from the School of Chemistry of UFRJ (1981), a Master‘s degree in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from UFRJ (1984) and a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the Faculty of Chemical Engineering (1997) of UNICAMP. He was a professor at the University of Salvador from 1998 to 2017, acting as pro-rector of post-graduation, research and extension for 11 years. He is currently an adjunct professor at the Federal University of Bahia, an ad hoc advisor to development agencies and a reviewer of several national and international journals. He advises in the Interinstitutional Postgraduate Program at UFBA/Unifacs (MSc and PhD) - PPEQ and teaches in the course degree in Chemical Engineering from UFBA. He has experience in the field of Chemical Engineering, with emphasis on petroleum and petrochemicals, biomass and environment transformation, acting mainly in the following subjects: reactions, catalysts, fuels, biofuels, energy and environment.