Influence on the Physical Properties of Wheat Straw via Hydrothermal and Chemical Treatments

Abstract

The physical properties of wheat straw treated with hydrothermal and chemical treatments were investigated using an electronic universal testing machine, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The thermal stability of the wheat straw was also investigated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The experimental results showed that the chemical treatment was a main factor governing the enzymatic saccharification of wheat straw. Different treatments of wheat straw had the same mass loss trend. The maximum mass loss occurred in the range between 250 and 400 °C for all straw samples. In this range, the wheat straw treated with NaOH showed an exothermic peak, while samples treated with the other treatments showed an endothermic peak. Chemical treatments disrupted the silicified waxy surface and destroyed the C-O bond. The internal structure of wheat straw treated with NaOH became porous and loose and exposed more accessible surface area of the cellulose to cellulase.

Roughage quality determines the production performance of post-weaned Hu sheep via altering ruminal fermentation, morphology, microbiota, and the global methylome landscape of the rumen wall

“…For example, wheat straw, the most abundant low-quality forage, has a complex plant cell wall structure, low CP content, and a superficial wax layer, all of which prevent the physical contact of nutrientdegrading enzymes with their substrates (Tufail et al, 2021). The manual breaking of the cell wall and wax layer via hydrothermal and chemical treatments (Jackson, 1977;Yang et al, 2016), or of increasing the CP content through ammonization (Schlegel et al, 2016) have been widely adopted to enhance forage quality and animal feeding performance. Except for higher contents of conventional nutrients (e.g., CP, vitamins, and minerals), certain high-quality forage types (e.g., alfalfa hay) possess abundant natural bioactive compounds with multiple beneficial effects on animal production.…”