The performance of biocompositesof polyhydroxybutyrate-co-valerate (PHBV) and sisal fibre subject... more The performance of biocompositesof polyhydroxybutyrate-co-valerate (PHBV) and sisal fibre subjected to hydrothermal tests at different temperatures above the glass transition of PHBV (TH= 26, 36 and 46 °C) was evaluated in this study. The influences of both the fibre content and presence of coupling agent were focused. The water absorption capability and water diffusion rate were considered for a statistical factorial analysis. Afterwards, the physico-chemical properties of water-saturated biocomposites were assessed by Fourier-Transform Infrared Analysis, Size-Exclusion Chromatography, Differential Scanning Calorimetry and Scanning Electron Microscopy. It was found that the water diffusion rate increased withboth temperature and percentage of fibre, whereas the amount of absorbed water was only influenced by fibre content. The use of coupling agent was only relevant at the initial stages of the hydrothermal test, giving an increase in the diffusion rate. Although the chemical struc...
ABSTRACT Eucalyptus wood is known worldwide for its use in the production of kraft pulps and diss... more ABSTRACT Eucalyptus wood is known worldwide for its use in the production of kraft pulps and dissolving pulps. In our previous study, the feasibility of using a eucalyptus kraft pulp as a dissolving pulp was investigated. It was demonstrated that a kraft pulp subjected to a sequence of treatments that included enzymatic treatments using a xylanase and a monocomponent endoglucanase and, an alkali extraction, accomplished the requirements of a commercial dissolving pulp in terms of cellulose reactivity and hemicellulose content. Nevertheless, the low degree of polymerization and the presence of cellulose II showed that the combination of treatments had to be optimized. As a result, the parameters involved in the sequence of treatments were examined as well as their influence in the production of dissolving pulps. Furthermore, new sequences were tested. It was noticed that by decreasing the concentration of alkali in the alkali extraction stage, no cellulose II formed at short reaction times (10 min.) and that the degree of polymerization was increased. On the other hand, the cellulose reactivity and the hemicellulose content were barely affected. Moreover, a high pulp consistency (10%) led to an inhomogeneous mixture and the stirring effect was slightly noticeable.
Earlier studies have shown that 3-layer-modified cellulose fibers with poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) a... more Earlier studies have shown that 3-layer-modified cellulose fibers with poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) as the middle layer between two cationic polyelectrolyte polyvinylamine (PVAm) layers have strong antibacterial efficacy in terms of both bacteria adsorption and bacterial growth inhibition. In the present work, the fossil-based PAA middle layer was replaced by sustainable wood-based cellulose nano-fibrils (CNF), i. e., the fibers were modified by a 3-layer PVAm/CNF/PVAm system. Interestingly, the antibacterial efficacy of this system was greater than that of the previous PVAm/PAA/PVAm system. A higher salt concentration and lower assembly pH in the multilayer build-up resulted in better bacterial reduction. As the surface of a cellulose fiber is heterogeneous, making it difficult to characterize and visualize at high resolution, more homogeneous cellulose model surfaces were prepared by spin coating the dissolved cellulose fiber onto a silica surface to model the fiber surface. With incr...
Sustainable thermal insulating materials produced from cellulosic fibers provide a viable alterna... more Sustainable thermal insulating materials produced from cellulosic fibers provide a viable alternative to plastic insulation foams. Industrially available, abundant, and inexpensive mechanical pulp fiber and recycled textile fiber provide potential raw materials to produce thermal insulating materials. To improve the fire retardancy of low-density thermal insulating materials produced from recycled cotton denim and mechanical pulp fibers, bio-based fire retardants, such as sulfonated kraft lignin, kraft lignin, and nanoclays, were coated onto sustainable insulating material surfaces to enhance their fire retardancy. Microfibrillated cellulose was used as a bio-based binder in the coating formula to disperse and bond the fire-retardant particles to the underlying thermal insulating materials. The flammability of the coated thermal insulating materials was tested using a single-flame source test and cone calorimetry. The results showed that sulfonated kraft lignin-coated cellulosic the...
Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology
Bacteria are removed from contaminated waters through adsorption onto the modified cellulose fibe... more Bacteria are removed from contaminated waters through adsorption onto the modified cellulose fiber surface in paper filters with pores larger than the bacteria.
Contact-active surfaces have been created by means of the layer-by-layer (LbL) modification techn... more Contact-active surfaces have been created by means of the layer-by-layer (LbL) modification technique, which is based on previous observations that cellulose fibers treated with polyelectrolyte multilayers with polyvinylamine (PVAm) are perfectly protected against bacteria. Several different cationic polyelectrolytes were applied, including PVAm, two different poly(diallyl dimethyl ammonium chloride) polymers and two different poly(allylamine hydrochloride) polymers. The polyelectrolytes were self-organized in one or three layers on cellulosic fibers in combination with polyacrylic acid by the LbL method, and their antibacterial activities were evaluated. The modified cellulose fibers showed remarkable bacterial removal activities and inhibited bacterial growth. It was shown that the interaction between bacteria and modified fibers is not merely a charge interaction because a certain degree of bacterial cell deformation was observed on the modified fiber surfaces. Charge properties ...
Portable purification systems are easy ways to obtain clean drinking water when there is no large... more Portable purification systems are easy ways to obtain clean drinking water when there is no large-scale water treatment available. In this study, the potential to purify water using bacteria adsorbing cellulosic fibers, functionalized with polyelectrolytes according to the layer-by-layer method, is investigated. The adsorbed polyelectrolytes create a positive charge on the fiber surface that physically attracts and bonds with bacteria. Three types of cellulosic materials have been modified and tested for the bacterial removal capacity in water. The time, material-water ratio and bacterial concentration dependence, as well as the bacterial removal capacity in water from natural sources, have been evaluated. Freely dispersed bacteria adsorbing cellulosic fibers can remove greater than 99.9% of Escherichia coli from nonturbid water, with the most notable reduction occurring within the first hour. A filtering approach using modified cellulosic fibers is desirable for purification of natural water. An initial filtration test showed that polyelectrolyte multilayer modified cellulosic fibers can remove greater than 99% of bacteria from natural water. The bacteria adsorbing cellulosic fibers do not leach any biocides, and it is an environmentally sustainable and cheap option for disposable water purification devices.
ABSTRACT In this study, the feasibility of using different kraft pulps as dissolving pulps for th... more ABSTRACT In this study, the feasibility of using different kraft pulps as dissolving pulps for the viscose process was investigated. Two different bleached hardwood kraft pulps from eucalypt (Eucalyptus globulus) and birch (Betula pendula) were subjected to several enzymatic and chemical pretreatments in order to improve the accessibility and reactivity of the pulps and to reduce the hemicellulose content. Enzymatic treatments were carried out using a commercial monocomponent endoglucanase and a commercial xylanase. Chemical treatment consisted of an alkali extraction. The effects of these pretreatments on reactivity and viscosity were assayed. In both pulps, the endoglucanase enhanced the cellulose reactivity and reduced the viscosity. The sequential combination of xylanase and endoglucanase enhanced the positive effect of endoglucanase treatment alone for eucalypt but showed no major effect for birch. The addition of an alkali extraction step after the xylanase followed by endoglucanase treatment as a final step significantly reduced the hemicellulose content to 2-4% while the reactivity reached the value of a commercial dissolving pulp (65-70%). The viscosity, on the other hand, showed a considerably decrease.
Cellulose nanofibril (CNF) materials have been widely studied in recent years and are suggested f... more Cellulose nanofibril (CNF) materials have been widely studied in recent years and are suggested for a wide range of applications, e.g., medical and hygiene products. One property not very well studied is the interaction between bacteria and these materials and how this can be controlled. The current work studies how bacteria adhere to different CNF materials modified with polyelectrolyte multilayers. The tested materials were TEMPO-oxidized to have different surface charges, periodate-oxidized to vary the water interaction and hot-pressed to alter the surface structure. Then, multilayers were constructed using polyvinylamine (PVAm) and polyacrylic acid. Both the material surface charge and water interaction affect the amount of polymer adsorbed to the surfaces. Increasing the surface charge decreases the adsorption after the first PVAm layer, possibly due to conformational changes. Periodate-oxidized and crosslinked films have low initial polymer adsorptions; the decreased swelling ...
The use of cellulose aerogels as antibacterial materials has been investigated by applying a cont... more The use of cellulose aerogels as antibacterial materials has been investigated by applying a contact-active layer-by-layer modification to the aerogel surface. Studying the adsorption of multilayers of polyvinylamine (PVAm) and polyacrylic acid to aerogels comprising crosslinked cellulose nanofibrils and monitoring the subsequent bacterial adhesion revealed that up to 26mgPVAmgaerogel(-1) was adsorbed without noticeably affecting the aerogel structure. The antibacterial effect was tested by measuring the reduction of viable bacteria in solution when the aerogels were present. The results show that >99.9% of the bacteria adhered to the surface of the aerogels. Microscopy further showed adherence of bacteria to the surfaces of the modified aerogels. These results indicate that it is possible to create materials with three-dimensional cellulose structures that adsorb bacteria with very high efficiency utilizing the high specific surface area of the aerogels in combination with their...
The performance of biocompositesof polyhydroxybutyrate-co-valerate (PHBV) and sisal fibre subject... more The performance of biocompositesof polyhydroxybutyrate-co-valerate (PHBV) and sisal fibre subjected to hydrothermal tests at different temperatures above the glass transition of PHBV (TH= 26, 36 and 46 °C) was evaluated in this study. The influences of both the fibre content and presence of coupling agent were focused. The water absorption capability and water diffusion rate were considered for a statistical factorial analysis. Afterwards, the physico-chemical properties of water-saturated biocomposites were assessed by Fourier-Transform Infrared Analysis, Size-Exclusion Chromatography, Differential Scanning Calorimetry and Scanning Electron Microscopy. It was found that the water diffusion rate increased withboth temperature and percentage of fibre, whereas the amount of absorbed water was only influenced by fibre content. The use of coupling agent was only relevant at the initial stages of the hydrothermal test, giving an increase in the diffusion rate. Although the chemical struc...
ABSTRACT Eucalyptus wood is known worldwide for its use in the production of kraft pulps and diss... more ABSTRACT Eucalyptus wood is known worldwide for its use in the production of kraft pulps and dissolving pulps. In our previous study, the feasibility of using a eucalyptus kraft pulp as a dissolving pulp was investigated. It was demonstrated that a kraft pulp subjected to a sequence of treatments that included enzymatic treatments using a xylanase and a monocomponent endoglucanase and, an alkali extraction, accomplished the requirements of a commercial dissolving pulp in terms of cellulose reactivity and hemicellulose content. Nevertheless, the low degree of polymerization and the presence of cellulose II showed that the combination of treatments had to be optimized. As a result, the parameters involved in the sequence of treatments were examined as well as their influence in the production of dissolving pulps. Furthermore, new sequences were tested. It was noticed that by decreasing the concentration of alkali in the alkali extraction stage, no cellulose II formed at short reaction times (10 min.) and that the degree of polymerization was increased. On the other hand, the cellulose reactivity and the hemicellulose content were barely affected. Moreover, a high pulp consistency (10%) led to an inhomogeneous mixture and the stirring effect was slightly noticeable.
Earlier studies have shown that 3-layer-modified cellulose fibers with poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) a... more Earlier studies have shown that 3-layer-modified cellulose fibers with poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) as the middle layer between two cationic polyelectrolyte polyvinylamine (PVAm) layers have strong antibacterial efficacy in terms of both bacteria adsorption and bacterial growth inhibition. In the present work, the fossil-based PAA middle layer was replaced by sustainable wood-based cellulose nano-fibrils (CNF), i. e., the fibers were modified by a 3-layer PVAm/CNF/PVAm system. Interestingly, the antibacterial efficacy of this system was greater than that of the previous PVAm/PAA/PVAm system. A higher salt concentration and lower assembly pH in the multilayer build-up resulted in better bacterial reduction. As the surface of a cellulose fiber is heterogeneous, making it difficult to characterize and visualize at high resolution, more homogeneous cellulose model surfaces were prepared by spin coating the dissolved cellulose fiber onto a silica surface to model the fiber surface. With incr...
Sustainable thermal insulating materials produced from cellulosic fibers provide a viable alterna... more Sustainable thermal insulating materials produced from cellulosic fibers provide a viable alternative to plastic insulation foams. Industrially available, abundant, and inexpensive mechanical pulp fiber and recycled textile fiber provide potential raw materials to produce thermal insulating materials. To improve the fire retardancy of low-density thermal insulating materials produced from recycled cotton denim and mechanical pulp fibers, bio-based fire retardants, such as sulfonated kraft lignin, kraft lignin, and nanoclays, were coated onto sustainable insulating material surfaces to enhance their fire retardancy. Microfibrillated cellulose was used as a bio-based binder in the coating formula to disperse and bond the fire-retardant particles to the underlying thermal insulating materials. The flammability of the coated thermal insulating materials was tested using a single-flame source test and cone calorimetry. The results showed that sulfonated kraft lignin-coated cellulosic the...
Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology
Bacteria are removed from contaminated waters through adsorption onto the modified cellulose fibe... more Bacteria are removed from contaminated waters through adsorption onto the modified cellulose fiber surface in paper filters with pores larger than the bacteria.
Contact-active surfaces have been created by means of the layer-by-layer (LbL) modification techn... more Contact-active surfaces have been created by means of the layer-by-layer (LbL) modification technique, which is based on previous observations that cellulose fibers treated with polyelectrolyte multilayers with polyvinylamine (PVAm) are perfectly protected against bacteria. Several different cationic polyelectrolytes were applied, including PVAm, two different poly(diallyl dimethyl ammonium chloride) polymers and two different poly(allylamine hydrochloride) polymers. The polyelectrolytes were self-organized in one or three layers on cellulosic fibers in combination with polyacrylic acid by the LbL method, and their antibacterial activities were evaluated. The modified cellulose fibers showed remarkable bacterial removal activities and inhibited bacterial growth. It was shown that the interaction between bacteria and modified fibers is not merely a charge interaction because a certain degree of bacterial cell deformation was observed on the modified fiber surfaces. Charge properties ...
Portable purification systems are easy ways to obtain clean drinking water when there is no large... more Portable purification systems are easy ways to obtain clean drinking water when there is no large-scale water treatment available. In this study, the potential to purify water using bacteria adsorbing cellulosic fibers, functionalized with polyelectrolytes according to the layer-by-layer method, is investigated. The adsorbed polyelectrolytes create a positive charge on the fiber surface that physically attracts and bonds with bacteria. Three types of cellulosic materials have been modified and tested for the bacterial removal capacity in water. The time, material-water ratio and bacterial concentration dependence, as well as the bacterial removal capacity in water from natural sources, have been evaluated. Freely dispersed bacteria adsorbing cellulosic fibers can remove greater than 99.9% of Escherichia coli from nonturbid water, with the most notable reduction occurring within the first hour. A filtering approach using modified cellulosic fibers is desirable for purification of natural water. An initial filtration test showed that polyelectrolyte multilayer modified cellulosic fibers can remove greater than 99% of bacteria from natural water. The bacteria adsorbing cellulosic fibers do not leach any biocides, and it is an environmentally sustainable and cheap option for disposable water purification devices.
ABSTRACT In this study, the feasibility of using different kraft pulps as dissolving pulps for th... more ABSTRACT In this study, the feasibility of using different kraft pulps as dissolving pulps for the viscose process was investigated. Two different bleached hardwood kraft pulps from eucalypt (Eucalyptus globulus) and birch (Betula pendula) were subjected to several enzymatic and chemical pretreatments in order to improve the accessibility and reactivity of the pulps and to reduce the hemicellulose content. Enzymatic treatments were carried out using a commercial monocomponent endoglucanase and a commercial xylanase. Chemical treatment consisted of an alkali extraction. The effects of these pretreatments on reactivity and viscosity were assayed. In both pulps, the endoglucanase enhanced the cellulose reactivity and reduced the viscosity. The sequential combination of xylanase and endoglucanase enhanced the positive effect of endoglucanase treatment alone for eucalypt but showed no major effect for birch. The addition of an alkali extraction step after the xylanase followed by endoglucanase treatment as a final step significantly reduced the hemicellulose content to 2-4% while the reactivity reached the value of a commercial dissolving pulp (65-70%). The viscosity, on the other hand, showed a considerably decrease.
Cellulose nanofibril (CNF) materials have been widely studied in recent years and are suggested f... more Cellulose nanofibril (CNF) materials have been widely studied in recent years and are suggested for a wide range of applications, e.g., medical and hygiene products. One property not very well studied is the interaction between bacteria and these materials and how this can be controlled. The current work studies how bacteria adhere to different CNF materials modified with polyelectrolyte multilayers. The tested materials were TEMPO-oxidized to have different surface charges, periodate-oxidized to vary the water interaction and hot-pressed to alter the surface structure. Then, multilayers were constructed using polyvinylamine (PVAm) and polyacrylic acid. Both the material surface charge and water interaction affect the amount of polymer adsorbed to the surfaces. Increasing the surface charge decreases the adsorption after the first PVAm layer, possibly due to conformational changes. Periodate-oxidized and crosslinked films have low initial polymer adsorptions; the decreased swelling ...
The use of cellulose aerogels as antibacterial materials has been investigated by applying a cont... more The use of cellulose aerogels as antibacterial materials has been investigated by applying a contact-active layer-by-layer modification to the aerogel surface. Studying the adsorption of multilayers of polyvinylamine (PVAm) and polyacrylic acid to aerogels comprising crosslinked cellulose nanofibrils and monitoring the subsequent bacterial adhesion revealed that up to 26mgPVAmgaerogel(-1) was adsorbed without noticeably affecting the aerogel structure. The antibacterial effect was tested by measuring the reduction of viable bacteria in solution when the aerogels were present. The results show that >99.9% of the bacteria adhered to the surface of the aerogels. Microscopy further showed adherence of bacteria to the surfaces of the modified aerogels. These results indicate that it is possible to create materials with three-dimensional cellulose structures that adsorb bacteria with very high efficiency utilizing the high specific surface area of the aerogels in combination with their...
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