Comparative FT-IR Prospecting for Cellulose in Stems of Some Fiber Plants: Flax, Velvet Leaf, Hemp and Jute

Abstract

Plant fibers are sustainable sources of materials for many industries, and can be obtained from a variety of plants. Cellulose is the main constituent of plant-based fibers, and its properties give the characteristics of the fibers obtained. Detailed characterization of cellulosic fibers is often performed after lengthy extraction procedures, while fast screening might bring the benefit of quick qualitative assessment of unprocessed stems. The aim of this research was to define some marker spectral regions that could serve for fast, preliminary qualitative characterization of unprocessed stems from some textile plants through a practical and minimally invasive method without lengthy extraction procedures. This could serve as a screening method for sorting raw materials by providing an accurate overall fingerprint of chemical composition. For this purpose, we conducted comparative Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) prospecting for quality markers in stems of flax (Linum usitatissimum L.), velvet leaf (Abutilon theophrasti Medik.), hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) and jute (Corchorus olitorius L.). Analysis confirmed the presence of major components in the stems of the studied plants. Fingerprint regions for cellulose signals were attributed to bands at 1420–1428 cm−1 assigned to the crystalline region and 896–898 cm−1 assigned to the amorphous region of cellulose. The optimization of characterization methods for raw materials is important and can find immediate practical applications.

Hemp Stem Epidermis and Cuticle: From Waste to Starter in Bio-Based Material Development

“…Since samples were washed abundantly with water to remove the excess of the non-reacted acid reagent, these bands likely represent only the functionalized sample without the presence of significant interferences. The absorption bands detected in the fingerprint region at lower wavelengths (1300–800 cm −1 ) were related to the hemp cellulose matrix, as previously reported [ 41 ].…”

“…Since samples were washed abundantly with water to remove the excess of the nonreacted acid reagent, these bands likely represent only the functionalized sample without the presence of significant interferences. The absorption bands detected in the fingerprint region at lower wavelengths (1300-800 cm −1 ) were related to the hemp cellulose matrix, as previously reported [41]. In order to evaluate the relative crystallinity index of HC-CA, the intensity ratio between the signals showed at 1423 cm −1 (due to the CH2 scissoring of crystalline cellulose) In order to evaluate the relative crystallinity index of HC-CA, the intensity ratio between the signals showed at 1423 cm −1 (due to the CH 2 scissoring of crystalline cellulose) and 894 cm −1 (related to β-glucosidic linkage in amorphous cellulose) was calculated.…”

“…Since samples were washed abundantly with water to remove the excess of the non-reacted acid reagent, these bands likely represent only the functionalized sample without the presence of significant interferences. The absorption bands detected in the fingerprint region at lower wavelengths (1300-800 cm −1 ) were related to the hemp cellulose matrix, as previously reported [41]. The main disadvantage of the use of hemp cellulose as a reinforcing filler in PLA is its low compatibility, due to the poor hydrophilicity of the polymer matrix, compared to the cellulose material [37].…”

Separation of Lignocellulose and Preparation of Xylose from Miscanthus lutarioriparius with a Formic Acid Method

“…Compared with ML straw, the benzene-skeleton absorption peak intensity of crude cellulose was weakened at 1603 cm −1 , 1513 cm −1 , and 1425 cm −1 , indicating that formic acid could effectively separate cellulose and lignin and significantly improve the purity of crude cellulose [27]. The disappearance of the peak at 1251 cm −1 was attributed to the removal of lignin after formic acid treatment [28]. The C-H symmetrical bending of cellulose at 1325 cm −1 , and the C-O-C and C=O stretching vibrations of cellulose at 1163 cm −1 and 1060 cm −1 corresponded to the asymmetric C-O-C stretching vibration and C=O stretching vibration of cellulose, respectively, indicating that the basic results of cellulose remained intact after formic acid treatment [29].…”

Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch Waste Pretreatment with Benzotriazolium-Based Ionic Liquids for Cellulose Conversion to Glucose: Experiments with Computational Bibliometric Analysis

“…The peak characteristics of cellulose are also at a peak of around 1000-1200 cm −1 (Vârban et al, 2021). The absorption at about 1160 cm −1 represents the antisymmetric bridge strain of the C-O-C group in cellulose and hemicellulose, whereas the absorption near 1247 cm −1 may be due to the weak C-O strain in hemicellulose.…”