Faculty Works, Department of Sustainable Biomaterials

Promoting enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass by inexpensive soy protein

Luo, Xiaolin; Liu, Jing; Zheng, Peitao; Li, Meng; Zhou, Yang; Huang, Liulian; Chen, Lihui; Shuai, Li (2019-03-13)

Abstract Background Liquid hot water (LHW) pretreatment has been considered as one of the most industrially viable and environment-friendly methods for facilitating the ...

CELL 256: Role of dispersion and polar interactions in the adsorption of cellulases onto lignin

Roman, Maren; Jiang, Feng; Chen, Qian; Esker, Alan R.

Residual lignin in pretreated biomass hinders its enzymatic hydrolysis. Nonionic surfactants are known to have beneficial effects on the enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass but their mechanisms of action at the ...

Valorization of hemicellulose hydrolyzates into eco-friendly surfactants

Liu, Wei; Roman, Maren (AMER CHEMICAL SOC, 2018-03-18)

An “ideal lignin” facilitates full biomass utilization

Li, Yanding; Shuai, Li; Kim, Hoon; Motagamwala, Ali Hussain; Mobley, Justin K.; Yue, Fengxia; Tobimatsu, Yuki; Havkin-Frenkel, Daphna; Chen, Fang; Dixon, Richard A.; Luterbacher, Jeremy S.; Dumesic, James A.; Ralph, John (AAAS, 2018-09-28)

Lignin, a major component of lignocellulosic biomass, is crucial to plant growth and development but is a major impediment to efficient biomass utilization in various processes. Valorizing lignin is increasingly realized ...

Nano@lignocellulose intercalated montmorillonite as adsorbent for effective Mn(II) removal from aqueous solution

An, Yuhong; Zhang, Xiaotao; Wang, Ximing; Chen, Zhangjing; Wu, Xiangwen (Springer Nature, 2018-07-18)

This paper describes the preparation of nano@lignocellulose (nano@LC) and a nano@lignocellulose/montmorillonite (nano@LC/MT) nanocomposite, as well as the capacity of the nano@LC/MT for adsorbing manganese ions from aqueous ...

Preliminary study of Cell Wall Structure and its Mechanical Properties of C3H and HCT RNAi Transgenic Poplar Sapling

Zhou, Xianwu; Ren, Suhong; Lu, Mengzhu; Zhao, Shutang; Chen, Zhangjing; Zhao, Rongjun; Lv, Jianxiong (Springer Nature, 2018-07-12)

This research focused on the cell wall structure and its mechanical properties of down-regulated Coumaroyl shikimate 3-hydroxylase (C3H) transgenic poplar and down-regulated hydroxycinnamoyl CoA: shikimate hydroxycinnamoyl ...

Folic Acid-Conjugated Cellulose Nanocrystals Show High Folate-Receptor Binding Affinity and Uptake by KB and Breast Cancer Cells

Bittleman, Katelyn Rose; Dong, Shuping; Roman, Maren; Lee, Yong Woo (American Chemical Society, 2018-10-24)

The study evaluates cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) as nanocarriers for targeted, intracellular delivery of molecular agents. CNCs were labeled with fluorescein-5′-isothiocyanate as an imaging agent and conjugated to folic ...

Comparison of the Economic Feasibility between Conventional and Vacuum Drying for 4/4 Red Oak

Brenes-Angulo, O; Bond, B; Kline, E; Quesada-Pineda, H (FOREST PRODUCTS SOC, 2017-01-01)

Changes in the Chemical Composition and Decay Resistance of Thermally-Modified Hevea brasiliensis Wood

Durgante Severo, Elias Taylor; Calonego, Fred Willians; Sansigolo, Claudio Angeli; Bond, Brian (PLOS, 2016-03-17)

In this study the effect of thermal treatment on the equilibrium moisture content, chemical composition and biological resistance to decay fungi of juvenile and mature Hevea brasiliensis wood (rubber wood) was evaluated. ...

Utilization of Lignin in Biopolymeric Packaging Films

Zadeh, Elham Mohammad; O’Keefe, Sean F.; Kim, Young-Teck (ACS Publications, 2018-07-06)

Lignin is a byproduct of agricultural industries and only has limited applications. In this study, lignin was investigated for use in sustainable biopolymeric packaging film. Alkali lignin (AL) and lignosulfonate (LSS) ...

Skateboards as a Sustainable Recyclable Material

Willard, Dylan T.; Loferski, Joseph R. (MDPI, 2018-05-15)

The exact number of skateboards manufactured every year is unknown, but it is estimated to be in the millions. Most skateboard decks are made from a high grade of maple (Acer spp.) veneer plywood and typically last only a ...

Rheology of transgenic switchgrass reveals practical aspects of biomass processing

Wan, Guigui; Frazier, Taylor; Jorgensen, Julianne; Zhao, Bingyu; Frazier, Charles E (2018-03-01)

Abstract Background Mechanical properties of transgenic switchgrass have practical implications for biorefinery technologies. Presented are fundamentals for simple (thermo)mechanical ...

The Influence of a Thermal Treatment on the Decay Resistance of Wood via FTIR Analysis

Hao, Yinan; Pan, Yanfei; Du, Rui; Wang, Yamei; Chen, Zhangjing; Zhang, Xiaotao; Wang, Ximing (Hindawi, 2018-01-28)

The decay resistance of wood can be improved via a vacuum heat treatment. The amount of nutrients from cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin and amount of sugars needed by the fungi during their growth were investigated. ...

Intra-Ring Compression Strength of Low Density Hardwoods

Zink-Sharp, Audrey; Price, Carlile (Universidad del Bío-Bío, 2006)

Engineered wood composites are being crafted with increasingly smaller and smaller components, yet a search of the literature indicates a lack of intra-ring mechanical property data for almost all commercial wood types, ...

A Novel Nanocomposite as an Efficient Adsorbent for the Rapid Adsorption of Ni(II) from Aqueous Solution

Zhang, Xiaotao; Wang, Ximing; Chen, Zhangjing (MDPI, 2017-09-22)

A sulfhydryl-lignocellulose/montmorillonite (SLT) nanocomposite was prepared using a chemical intercalation reaction. The SLT nanocomposite was characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-Ray Diffraction ...

Rapid Removal of Zinc(II) from Aqueous Solutions Using a Mesoporous Activated Carbon Prepared from Agricultural Waste

Zhang, Xiaotao; Hao, Yinan; Wang, Ximing; Chen, Zhangjing (MDPI, 2017-08-28)

A low-cost activated carbon (XSBLAC) prepared from Xanthoceras Sorbifolia Bunge hull via chemical activation was investigated to determine its adsorption and desorption properties for zinc(II) ...

Competitive Adsorption of Cadmium(II) and Mercury(II) Ions from Aqueous Solutions by Activated Carbon from Xanthoceras sorbifolia Bunge Hull

Zhang, Xiaotao; Hao, Yinan; Wang, Ximing; Chen, Zhangjing; Li, Chun (Hindawi, 2016-12-19)

This paper presents low-cost and recyclable activated carbon (XLAC) derived from Xanthoceras sorbifolia Bunge hull for high-efficiency adsorption of Cd(II) and Hg(II) ions in industrial wastewater. XLAC was prepared through ...