Arabinoxylan and nanocellulose from a kilogram-scale extraction of barley husk

Abstract

Processes of extracting hemicellulose from annual plants usually neglect the cellulose fraction. This study explored the possibility of obtaining both a hemicellulose and a cellulose fraction of sufficient quality for further use, with barley husks used as the raw material. An alkaline extraction was used to isolate the biopolymers by a process in which sodium dithionite replaced the traditional sodium borohydride as the reducing agent. The cellulose fraction was successfully transformed into nanocellulose by sulfuric acid hydrolysis, and the obtained hemicellulose (i.e., arabinoxylan) displayed carbohydrate composition characteristics similar to those previously reported in the literature for processes of extracting hemicellulose from barley husks. Using this methodology, both the cellulose and hemicellulose can be isolated in high quantities of dry material and used for transformation into new bio-based materials.

Structural, morphological, and thermal properties of cellulose nanofibers extracted from waste paper

“…The variables in the acid hydrolysis stage included different concentrations (0.5, 1, 2, 3, and 4 molars), times (30,60,90, and 120 minutes), and temperatures (50 and 100 °C), which were named M, t, and T, respectively.…”

“…[25]. Researchers such as Barbash and Yashchenko [26] by wheat straw, kenaf, and flax fibers, Rajinipriya et al [27] used carrots, Ma and Hsiao [28] by ginkgo leaves, Rajan et al [29] by pine and Börjesson et al [30] by barley husk produced cellulose nanocrystals and nanofibers by acid hydrolysis at different temperatures, concentrations and times.…”