Effect of temperature on the soda and kraft cooking of corn stalks

This study included soda and kraft process of corn stalks at constant active alkali, the kraft liquor having 25% sulfidity. Five cookings were made at different temperatures, 80, 120, 140, 160, and 180°C, each for 1 h. Under the condition of the study the following temperature effects were noted: (1) Delignification could be approximated by a first-order reaction. (2) The kraft process exhibited twice the rate of lignin removal as the soda of the same digestion temperature. (3) The rate of removal of carbohydrates in the kraft process is faster than soda process due to presence of sulfide ion. (4) The carbon content of thiolignin increased hydrogen and oxygen content decreased while in soda lignin the opposite occurs. (5) The amount of phenolic OH increased with increasing the cooking temperature and was more noticeable in thiolignins than in soda lignins. (6) Demethoxylation occurs in kraft cooking at elevated temperature rather than soda cooking.     

Genetic algorithm-based initial contour optimization for skin lesion border detection

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Automated segmentation has an essential role in detecting several diseases, such as skin lesions. In segmentation, the active contour (AC) is an efficient method...     

Utilization of Black Liquor for Production of Antimicrobial Substance by Streptomyces Species

Utilization of black liquor hydrolyzates, obtained from different sources, for the growth of different Streptomyces species and production of antimicrobial substance was studied. Streptomyces violaceoniger, which exhibited good growth and production of the antimicrobial substance, was chosen for further studies. Removal of aldehydes, lactones, and furfural from the liquor resulted in a considerable increase in biomass and yield.     

Mechanical properties and water absorption of low‐density polyethylene/sawdust composites

The mechanical properties and water absorption of low‐density polyethylene/sawdust composites were investigated. The relationship between the filler content and the composite properties was also studied. Different degrees of esterification of the sawdust with maleic anhydride were obtained with different reaction times. The experimental results demonstrated that the treatment of sawdust by maleic anhydride enhanced the tensile and flexural strengths. The water absorption for maleic anhydride treated sawdust indicated that it was more hydrophobic than untreated sawdust. The effects of the addition of benzoyl peroxide during the preparation of composite samples on the water absorption and mechanical properties were also evaluated. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Effects of Different Microorganisms on Pulp and Paper Properties

Pretreatment of wood chips with some microorganisms including white-rot fungi and streptomyces improves the strength properties of mechanical pulps. We studied the effect of these white-rot fungi and streptomyces on the mechanical properties of handsheets. Strength and optical properties were compared in handsheets prepared from mechanical pulp of treated and untreated wood chips. The fungal pretreatments resulted in handsheet strength properties better than the control and also better than streptomyces when compared at an equivalent freeness. Fungal pretreatments decreased brightness and light-scattering coefficients but did not adversely affect opacity. Lignin content of the chips was reduced by fungal pretreatments.     

Delignification of Bagasse with Acetic Acid and Ozone. Part 1. Acetic Acid Pulping

Two-stage delignification of sugarcane bagasse with acetic acid and ozone was investigated. The better pulp was obtained pulping bagasse in aqueous solution of acetic acid (80% volume) at 145°C during 60 min. The liquor/bagasse ratio (L/B) was 10:1 and the kappa number was 44; it fell to 10 in the ozone stage due to selectivity of acetic acid medium. Pulp reaches a brightness of almost 70% Elrepho and the strength properties are similar to those of soda pulps without refining and better than acetosolv pulps.     

Grafting of cellulose–thiocarbamate with vinyl monomers: Antimicrobial activity

Grafting of vinyl monomers onto cellulose-thiocarbamate was carried out using ceric ammonium sulfate (CAS) as an initiator. The graft yield was found to depend on the amount of thiocarbamate groups, initiator, and monomer concentrations as well as temperature. The graft yield increased with increasing (CAS) concentration. The reactivity of vinyl monomers studied followed the order ethyl acrylate>acrylonitrile. A comparison between the graft yields obtained with the modified cullulose indicated that cellulose thiocarbamates having less than 1.1% nitrogen showed lower graft yields than the unmodified cellulose. Above this, cellulose thiocarbamate was much more amenable to grafting than the unmodified cellulose. The grafted cellulose thiocarbamates exhibited high antifungal activity and had no effect on gram-negative, gram-positive bacteria and yeast. The maximum zone of inhibition was obtained after grafting with 2 h which resulted in 43 and 50% add-on polymer in the cases of acrylonitrile and ethyl acrylate, respectively. Grafted cellulose thiocarbamates with acrylonitrile had higher potency for antifungal activity than that grafted with ethyl acrylate.     

Effect of pretreatment of cellulosic wastes on the production of cellulase enzymes by Trichoderma reesei

The cellulosic wastes, bagasse and sawdust, were treated with different acidified solvents: chloroform, dioxan, ethanol, ethylacetate, dimethyl sulfoxide and dimethyl formamide; for increasing periods up to 36 h. The treated materials were delignified, dried and introduced in the fermentation media as inducing carbon source for Trichoderma reesei. The untreated materials and pure cellulose powder were used individually in control and reference media, respectively. The fermentation media containing bagasse treated for 8 h in chloroform or dioxan gave a promising cellulase activity, nearly the same as that from the reference medium. The untreated bagasse gave a markedly low cellulase activity. The media with treated sawdust gave a relatively higher enzyme activity but far below the reference medium. The sawdust treatment with the solvents mentioned resulted in a very mild effect because of its high content of admixtures, lighin and hemicellulose bonding cellulose.     

Graft polymerization of some vinyl monomers onto alkali-treated cellulose

Treatment of cellulose by different concentrations of alkali, namely, 5–30% NaOH, changed its fine structure and transferred cellulose I into cellulose II. The decreased crystallinity due to alkali treatment and the transformation of cellulose I into cellulose II lowered the reactivity of cellulose toward the grafting polymerization reactions. Compactness of the structure as a result of the treatment of cellulose with 5% sodium hydroxide concentration decreased the rate of the grafting reaction and the grafting yield. On the other hand, such treatment of cellulose with different concentrations of alkali increased the rate of ceric consumption, i.e., increased the rate of oxidation of cellulose. Thus, the termination reaction of the grafting polymerization process may occur as a result of such oxidation and because of the increase of the active sites onto cellulose, leading to a decrease of the grafting yields and rate of grafting polymerization reaction by using the free-radical grafting process. The use of the ionic-xanthate method of grafting polyvinyl- and polyallyl-on alkali-treated cellulose shows an increase of grafting efficiency and grafting yields. Maximum grafting efficiency and yields were achieved when cellulose was treated with sodium hydroxide concentration below 15%, and maximum crystallinity indices were obtained. Using 15–25% sodium hydroxide lowered the indices of crystallinity, and lower grafting yields and grafting efficiency were achieved. Thus, transformation of cellulose I into cellulose II decreased the reactivity of these treated celluloses toward graft polymerization reactions by the use of the ionic-xanthate method. In our opinion, termination reactions may also occur and affect the results.     

Delignification of Bagasse with Acetic Acid and Ozone. II. Ozone Stage

Ozone gas was applied as second stage in delignification of bagasse pulp obtained with acetic acid. The kappa number was reduced from 44 to 10 with 3% ozone (based on dry pulp). Because bagasse was pulped with an aqueous solution of acetic acid (80% volume), selectivity of the ozone stage was favored and does not necessary acidulate pulp, which had pH = 1.7. Consistency of pulp for ozonation was 40% and this stage was carried out at room temperature. Physical properties of pulp were improved with ozone treatment.