Characterizing Cellulosic Fibers from Ulex europaeus

Abstract

Information on the morphological and physical properties of biofibers is necessary to support the mechanical understanding of the biological design of plants, as well as for the development of new technology that adds value to non-traditional bioresources, such as those based on Ulex europaeus fibers. Ulex europaeus fibers were extracted through a chemical pulping process at 170 °C and with 40 g/L NaOH. The dimensions of the fibers produced were 0.97 ± 0.1 mm in length and 13 ± 2 μm in diameter. Pressed fiber paper sheets were made to evaluate their mechanical properties. Burst and tear indices of 1.2 mN/kg and 8.6 Nm 2 /kg, respectively, were recorded. The values obtained did not compare well to fiber paper sheets from Pinus radiata, presumably due to the significant amount of non-structural elements of wood present in the samples and the lower length of Ulex europaeus fibers, which resulted in lower tensile strength. Additionally, nanoindentation tests were conducted to assess the hardness and elastic modulus of the fibers, obtaining average values of 0.84 GPa and 9.23 GPa for the stem, respectively. These values were significantly lower than those of industrial biofiber, perhaps due to the lower morphogenic maturity of Ulex europaeus fibers compared to other traditional sources of fiber.

Exploring Ulex europaeus to Produce Nontoxic Binderless Fibreboard

“…The cellulose, lignin, hemicellulose, extractives, and ash contents were within the range of previous literature values (Jobson and Thomas 1964;Kaloustian et al 2000;Ligero et al 2011;Celis et al 2014). In particular, the cellulose content in Chilean Eucalyptus globulus (43.3 wt.%) and Pinus radiata (45.6 wt.%) (Mansilla et al 1991) was lower than in Ulex europaeus.…”

“…A3). This thermo-chemical treatment, similar to that already successfully employed by some of the present authors (Celis et al 2014), consisted of mixing the chips wood in a Mini-mill digester (MK System Inc., Peabody, MA, USA) with an aqueous solution (40 g/L) of NaOH. The quantity was chosen assuming a 10% rate of fibre release, i.e., a Kappa number lower than 67.…”

“…In this study, the bio-organic components in the stem of Ulex europaeus were examined (Ligero et al 2011;Ares-Peón et al 2013;Celis et al 2014) and a suitable thermo-mechanical treatment was developed, leading to the self-adhesion of cellulose fibres. A green and sustainable route was created for the production of fibreboard, involving only the chemicals that are already exploited in pulping processes by the papermaking industry.…”

A mini-review on the impact of common gorse in its introduced ranges

“…For instance, common gorse biochar has been proven as an effective sorbent for chromium in Bogotá-Colombia River Water (Gomez et al 2021 ). Moreover, Celis et al ( 2014 ) and Pesenti et al ( 2017 ) have assessed the capability of production of bio-fiber/biopolymer using U. europaeus in Chile while Bonilla and Bonilla ( 2021 ) have synthesized novel lignin-based biopolymer in Colombia. These studies proved that the biopolymer of common gorse is thermally stable and has a high degree of crystallinity.…”

Production and characterization of a novel lignin-based biopolymer from Ulex europaeus

“…For instance, Núñez-Moreno et al [19] reported in a recent study that gorse can possibly become an energetic crop guided towards the generation of both domestic and even industrial heat, which would not only contain and avoid the random spread of Ulex Europeans but also create an opportunity to turn an environmental problematic into a 100% ecofriendly energy source. Moreover, some efforts have been made to produce polymeric materials from the biomass of this invasive plant and the current literature only have feasibility or theoretical studies in this regard [20,21]. In particular, the elaboration of new materials, mainly polymers, is a field that is highly active nowadays due to the need to appease the environmental impacts generated by human activities.…”