Industrial Crops & Products xxx (xxxx) xxxx

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Industrial Crops & Products

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/indcrop

Characterization of rice straw from major cultivars for best alternative

industrial uses to cutoff the menace of straw burning
P. Bhattacharyya*, D Bhaduri, T. Adak, S. Munda, B.S. Satapathy, P.K. Dash, S.R. Padhy,
A. Pattanayak, S. Routray, M. Chakraborti, M.J. Baig, A.K. Mukherjee, A.K. Nayak, H. Pathak
ICAR-National Rice Research Institute (NRRI), Cuttack, India

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Rice straw is a useful bio-resource with worldwide annual production of approximately 731 million tons.
Rice straw characterization However, this valuable biomass is unfortunately burnt on field as waste that causes air pollution, global
Bioethanol warming, plant nutrient losses and environment menace. About 60% of rice straw produced in Asia in general
Biochar and India in particular is burnt in field. As for the basic requirement to predict their suitability for best alter-
FTIR spectra
native industrial uses biochemical, morphological and chemical (functional group) characterization of straws of
Biochemical profiling
Straw burning
18 most widely grown rice cultivars from eastern region of India was carried out. Biochemical characterization
Straw management was done on the basis of cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and silica content. The surface morphology of straws
was observed through Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), while, presence of functional groups were analyzed
through Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Primarily, quantified biochemical profiles were used to
group cultivars for best alternate uses of straw like bio-ethanol, biochar, compost and mushroom production.
Morphological feature (from SEM) of straw and functional group (through FTIR) were used to support the
grouping. Cultivars with higher hemicelluloses and cellulose with low to medium lignin and Si were better suited
for bio-ethanol production while, straw having higher lignin and low to medium cellulose and hemicellulose
were selected for biochar. Therefore, considering all the three characterization methods (chemical composition,
morphological features, presence or absence of functional groups), we found straws of rice cultivars, Tapaswini
and IR 64 were best suited for bio-ethanol and biochar production, respectively. There are overlapping as well as
contradictory observations found during grouping, when the three approaches were followed together. This
indicate that the grouping of straw for better alternative uses could be done by biochemical and morphological
characterization but this should be validated in small scale at farm or factory level for final recommendation.

1. Introduction thatching has reduced substantially. The demand of straw as animal

feed also reduced drastically due to reduction in numbers of draught
Rice is one of the major food grain crops especially in south and animals in rural areas and the wide spread use of farm machineries. The
south East Asia. Along with the grains nearly 50% or more non-edible total global rice straw production now stays to the tune of 731 million
biomass is produced in rice plant as straw which includes stem, leaf tonnes, with a distribution 1.7, 3.9, 20.9, 37.2 and 667.6 million tonnes
blades, leaf sheaths and post harvest remains of panicle. During the pre- in Oceania, Europe, Africa, America and Asia, respectively (Karimi
green revolution (before 1970) era, only tall varieties of rice were et al., 2006; Bhatia and Paliwal, 2011; Saini et al., 2015). In India the
grown in India which produced even higher amount of straw owing to rice straw production is not lesser than 126.6 million tones considering
low harvest index. Since, ancient times, rice straw has been considered harvest index of 0.45 (Singh et al., 2016). However, the issue of
in India as a very important bioresource especially for its uses like handling this large amount of biomass is posing a serious threat on
thatching of roofs and animal feed. In fact, during green revolution the Indian economy and ecology. In India, rice is direct seeded around 28%
semi-dwarf varieties were not accepted initially due to their lesser of rice growing areas mostly in rainfed lowland, flood-prone and upland
production of straw. However, now almost all the major rice growing ecologies (Annanda et al., 2018). And, zero-tillage rice system in con-
areas of the country have adopted high yielding semi-dwarf varieties. servation agriculture covers only 1.5 million ha (Bhan and Behera,
With transformation of economy, the use of rice straw for roof 2014). Further, with multi-cropping system being the norm of modern

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: pratap162001@gmail.com (P. Bhattacharyya).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2019.111919
Received 2 August 2019; Received in revised form 26 October 2019; Accepted 30 October 2019
0926-6690/ © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article as: P. Bhattacharyya, et al., Industrial Crops & Products, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2019.111919
P. Bhattacharyya, et al. Industrial Crops & Products xxx (xxxx) xxxx

agriculture, limited time (20–25 days) is available for the farmers to Endoaquept. The texture is sandy clay loam having 56% sand, 30% clay
make the field vacant for the succeeding crop (Kapoor et al., 2016). and 17% silt. The bulk density, electrical conductivity (EC) and pH
With lack of economically viable alternative option to utilize the straw, (using 1:2.5, soil: water suspension) of the soils (0–15 cm depth) were
the rice farmers in India especially from the northern states, Punjab and 1.41 Mg m−3, 0.60 dS m-1, and 6.8, respectively. Total organic C,
Haryana choose to burn the straw in their fields. Nearly 16% crop re- available N, available P and available K content were 7.4 g kg-1, 0.69 g
sidues are burnt on farm in India and out of which 60% is rice straw. kg-1, 23.3 mg kg-1 and 276 mg kg-1, respectively.
What is more alarming that the practice of rice straw burning is also Rice plants of 22–25 days old seedling were transplanted at a spa-
spreading rapidly in eastern Indian states like West Bengal, Odisha, cing of 20 cm (line to line) × 15 cm (plant to plant). Chemical fertili-
Bihar and Jharkhand of India (Down to Earth, 2017). zers were applied as recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) in this re-
Open burning of rice straw residues has harmful environmental gion, viz., at the rate of 80: 40: 40 kg ha−1 (N: P2O5: K2O). Nitrogen (N)
effects. Recent estimate showed that during November-December, 2017 was applied as neem coated urea in three splits (50% basal +25% each
around 70% cause of air pollution in the national capital, New Delhi as two top dressings). Phosphorus and potassium were applied in a
was due to straw burning (Down to Earth, 2017). Primarily, burning single dose as basal through single superphosphate (SSP) and muriate of
causes emission of obnoxious gases and particulate matters which in- potash (KCl), respectively. Irrigation water (6 ± 2 cm) was applied
creases air pollution and greenhouse gas/ carbon footprint significantly. through check-basin method, where irrigation was given at every 3–5
In terms of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, nearly 0.7–4.1 g of days interval. Standard recommended practices were followed to con-
CH4and 0.019-0.057 g of N2O are produced from burning of per kg of trol the weeds, insects and diseases. Rice cultivars were harvested
dry rice straw besides emission of other gaseous pollutants such as CO2, manually at maturity based on the duration (110 to 160 days) of the
SO2, NOx, HCl and, to some extent, volatile organic compounds (VOC) varieties in between 5th October to 25th November. The monsoon was
and carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), dioxins and ceased during harvesting time and the temperature varied from 20 to
furans (Oanh et al., 2011). Besides that, rice straw burning is also an 28 °C. After harvest the grain of rice was separated through thrashing
important source of aerosol particles such as coarse dust particles and winnowing and the straw samples were collected separately for
(PM10) and fine particles (PM2.5) (Chang et al., 2013), affecting air each cultivar, dried in shade, grinded and stored at room temperature
quality and reduces visibility as a result of the gas and particle emis- for further biochemical analysis.
sions. Another environmental concern of rice straw burning is the loss
of major nutrients like nitrogen (N; 40%), potassium (K; 30–35 %) and 2.2. Functional group analysis of rice straw by FTIR
sulphur (S; 40–50%) and is a widespread issue in India, Bangladesh,
and Nepal which is causing depletion of soil K and silicon (Si) reserves Three replicated straw samples were dried and grinded to fine
(Dobermann and Fairhurst, 2002). particles and a fixed quantity was pressed into a disc with KBr for FTIR
There is urgent need for finding out economically viable, socially spectra analysis. The chemical structures of the solid samples were
acceptable and eco-friendly solutions for the alternative uses of rice analyzed using a FTIR spectrometer (ALPHA FTIR Spectrometer,
straw. Rice straws (composed of cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin) Bruker) with a resolution of 1 cm−1 and over the wave number range of
can be used as potent feedstock for second-generation biofuel produc- 400–4000 cm−1.
tion which may in turn help in reducing GHG emissions. Besides biofuel
production, rice straw can be used in production of compost as well as 2.3. Surface morphology analysis by SEM
substrate for mushroom production. Suitability of straw for biochar
conversion has also lately entered in the arena. The high silica content To understand the surface morphology of rice straw of 18 varieties,
in rice straw has made it a potent source for extraction of silicon. These samples (three replications) were examined using scanning electron
different uses of rice straw majorly depend on the quantitative chemical microscope (SEM). The small pieces of dried straw samples were put
compositions and physical properties. Genotypic differences play a into aluminum stub and coated with gold for analysis. The SEM analysis
major role in this differential composition. was performed using a Zeiss EVOMA10 (FEI, Quanta- 250) scanning
In India, rice varieties are released either in specific agro-ecological electron microscope, operating at 15 kV.
zones or states considering the huge ecological diversity and geo-
graphical area of the country. The eastern part of the country is the 2.4. Biochemical characterization of rice straw
major rice growing area. Although farmers of this zone still consider
rice straw as a very useful bioresource, the negative practice of straw 2.4.1. Cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin
burning has already penetrated in this region. Hence, it is very perti- Biochemical composition (cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin) of
nent to characterize the rice-straw of popular varieties of this zone on rice straw was measured by ultrasound assisted alkaline pre-treatment
the basis of chemical and physical parameters for their best possible method (84% lignin fraction could be extracted) (Li et al., 2016).
uses. This kind of information is lacking and would support the in- Firstly, straw samples of the 18 varieties were finely grinded to make
dustries and other stakeholders for deciding the alternatives. Therefore, them powder. Then 1.0 g of each straw sample was taken into cen-
straw of eighteen popular rice varieties has been characterized based on trifuge tube and treated with 2 M NaOH solution, and there after it was
biochemical and chemical profile, functional groups and surface feature kept in water bath at 90 °C for 1.5 h, followed by putting in the ultra-
in order to group those for suitability in potential uses like, bioethanol, sonicator (UP 200S, Ultrasonic processor; Hielscher Ultrsound tech-
biochar, compost and mushroom cultivation. nology) for 30 min with 55% amplitude and 0.5 cycles. After sonica-
tion, the samples were further centrifuged and the residue was filtered.
2. Materials and methods Residue of each sample was washed with distilled water for repeated
times until a clear or transparent filtrate was obtained. After washing,
2.1. Growing of rice cultivars the tubes were placed in inverted position for one day and then the
residues were transferred to Petri-plates and kept in hot air oven at
Eighteen (18) rice cultivars were grown in the experimental plots of 60 °C for estimation of cellulose. After the cellulose was collected, the
J13, 14ab, at ICAR-National Rice Research Institute, Cuttack (20° 44′ N, same filtrate was acidified (with HCl to pH 5.5). Then it was allowed to
85° 94′ E; 24 m above mean sea level) in the wet (kharif) season of precipitate in 90% ethanol solution (at 1:3, filtrate: ethanol ratio). The
2018. The climate of the experimental site is sub-humid tropical, having samples were then centrifuged to separate out residue and filtrate.
annual mean precipitation around 1500 mm; most of which is received Residues were washed with 70% ethanol solution. After washing the
during June to September. The soils are grouped in soil order, Aeric tubes were placed inverted position for one day and then the residues

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were transferred to Petri-plates again and placed in hot air oven at 60 °C Table 1
and hemicellulose content were obtained. In a similar way, filtrates Assignment of peaks corresponding to different functional groups present in
were acidified (with HCl to pH 1.5) and placed for evaporation with rice straw by FTIR analysis.
ethanol. Samples were centrifuged and the residues were washed with Name of the molecules Corresponding peaks (cm−1) Corresponds to
HCl (pH 2.0) and lyophilized. After lypholization, lignin contents were
obtained after weighing of tubes taking empty tube as control (Van Lignin 1720 C=O
1650-1515 Aromatic
Soest et al., 1991; Vadiveloo, 2000). Cellulose, hemicelluloses and
1465 C-H deformation
lignin content of each variety was determined in three replications. 1310-1390 Phenol
1320 Syringyl
2.4.2. Silicon estimation of rice straw 1268 Guaiaryl
Hemicellulose 1720 C=O
The silicon (Si) estimation of rice straw was done by spectro-
875-930 Glycosidic bond
photometrically (Elliot and Snyder, 1991). For extraction of silicon, Cellulose 2910 CH
100 mg straw sample from each variety was taken in a 50 mL poly- 900 Glycosidic bond
propylene tube and dried at 60 °C in a hot air oven. Then 3 mL of 50% 1075 C-O-C
NaOH solution was added to the tubes and were vortexed properly and 3300-3500 OH

then autoclaved at 121 °C for 20 min. After that, the extracted solution
was transferred to 50 mL volumetric flask and the volume make-up was
Pooja, Gayatri, Ratna, IR 64 and Swarna-sub 1. The presence of C]O
done with double distilled water. From the extracted solution 1.0 mL
along with aromatic functional group also found in IR64 (Fig. 1a).
aliquot was taken and transferred to another 50 mL volumetric flask.
Then 30 mL acetic acid (20%) and 10 mL ammonium molybdate solu-
tion (54 gL−1, pH7.0) was added and the total solution was mixed 3.2. Surface morphology of rice straw
properly. After 5 min, 5 mL tartaric acid (20%) and 1 mL reducing agent
(solution A- 2 g Na2SO3, 0.4 g 1-amino-2-napthaline-4-sulphanilic acid; In SEM micrographs, grooves and grains were observed on the
Solution B- 25 g NaHSO3 in 200 mL distilled water) was added. Then surface of rice straw producing a rough surface. Pooja, Gayatri, CR
again the volume was made up to 50 mL and after 30 min the absor- Dhan 310 and Satabdi had more silica grooves compared to other
bance was measured at 650 nm. For preparation of standard solution, varieties (Fig. 2). Pore spaces were seen in Tapaswini and Swarna
ultrapure SiO2 was heat-treated with Na2SO3 in muffle furnace and cultivars (Fig. 2). Inner side of the rice straw was also found rough.
1000 mL stock solution was prepared at room temperature by double However, relatively smooth surfaces were observed in varieties, Pooja,
distilled water (0.1 mg mL−1∼100 ppm). Then from 100 ppm standard Varshadhan and IR 64 (Fig. 2). The similar observations were noticed
0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0 mL standard was taken in 50 mL both in lower (1000x) and higher (4000x) magnification (Figs. 2 and 3).
volumetric flask and the colour development was done as mentioned
earlier. 3.3. Biochemical (cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and silica) analysis of rice
straw
2.5. Statistical analysis
Rice straw of 18 cultivars were basically characterized on the basis
The biochemical parameters of straw were statistically analyzed of four different biochemical parameters namely, cellulose, hemi-
including descriptive statistics and histogram representing frequency celluloses, lignin and silica (Si). As expected the cultivars showed a fair
distribution by MS-Excel (Microsoft Office v. 2016). The same dataset amount of variation. The range of cellulose, hemicelluloses, lignin and
was further used to prepare dendrogram-clustering by using average Si varied from 28.5 to 41, 15.3–25.9, 6.2–12.6 and 5–8%, respectively,
linkage (between groups) of 18 rice cultivars derived from Hierarchical with a corresponding means of 36.3, 20.7, 9.8 and 6.7 (Table 2). Heat
cluster analysis by SPSS v.20.0 (IBM Corp., 2011, Armonk, New York, map of individual biochemical parameters also showed broad varia-
USA). tions among the cultivars (Fig. 4). Based on the range, median and
descriptive statistics of four biochemical parameters of straw, we have
3. Results categorized cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and Si contents in high,
medium and low range. Medium range of cellulose, hemicelluloses,
3.1. Functional group identified through Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) lignin and Si were 36–39, 20–22, 9–11 and 6.5–7.5%, respectively
spectroscopy (Table 2). Any quantitative value less than the lower limit of medium
range were considered as low category. Similarly, any value of those
The infrared spectra were used to determine the specific chemical- parameters above higher limit of medium range was considered as
functional groups present in cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin of rice higher category.
straw. In IR spectra, the broad band at 3000-3500 cm−1 is associated The relatedness among varieties based on their biochemical prop-
with OeH stretching of cellulose or hemicelluloses (Table 1). In addi- erties of straw were analyzed through a dendrogram (Fig. 5). The
tion, band at 2900 cm−1 was attributing to C–H stretching. The band dendrogram depicted that Shahbaghi and Tapaswini are most distantly
near 875-930 cm−1 is the characteristics of the glycosidic β (1–4) related, while, cultivars, Naveen, CR Dhan 310, Ketekijoha and MTU
linkage of cellulose. On the other hand, absorption peak at 1720 cm−1 1010 were formed Cluster I; Gayatri, Varshadhan, IR 64 were formed
was usually defined as the acetyl (C]O) group in hemicellulose / Cluster II; Sarala, Ratna, Swarna Sub1 were formed Cluster III; and
lignin. The bonds between 1650 to 1515 cm−1 have been assigned to Durga, Pooja, Kalajeera, Swarna were formed Cluster IV; in the den-
aromatic skeleton stretching (Table 1). Based on the above criteria of drogram based on their similarities. It may be noted that the two
presence of functional group, we found higher cellulose but less genotypes Naveen and CR Dhan 310 are Near-Isogenic-Lines (NILs)
hemicellulose (absence of glycosidic linkage bond) in cultivars like differing only for grain protein content.
Swarna. Sahabhagi, Swarna and Geetanjali had less aromatic skeleton
bond (i.e 1650-1515 cm−1 absorption peak) signified less stable carbon 4. Discussion
and easier decomposition. Hemicelluloses content was less (less
1720 cm−1 bond) in cultivars like, Naveen, Sarala, Pooja, Ratna and IR 4.1. Structural variation of rice straw in cultivars
64. We also observed the functional group, syringyl moiety of lignin
(1320 cm−1) which was more prominent in Naveen, Durga, Sarala, Rice straw is highly heterogeneous and having complex biochemical

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P. Bhattacharyya, et al. Industrial Crops & Products xxx (xxxx) xxxx

Fig. 1. FTIR analysis of 18 rice cultivars Naveen, Durga, Sarala, Pooja; Gayatri, Varsha Dhan, Ratna, IR-64; Swarna sub-1, Kalajeera, Tapaswini, Swarna; CR-310,
Sahabhagi, Geetanjali, Satabdi; Ketakijoha, MTU-1010.

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P. Bhattacharyya, et al. Industrial Crops & Products xxx (xxxx) xxxx

Fig. 1. (continued)

structure. So, its characterization should be done on the basis of its both morphological characteristics of rice straw from many varieties showed
physical and chemical structural properties. Moreover, it was reported wider variability among Asian, European and Californian cultivars. Jin
that its structural makeup might vary among the cultivars depending on and Chen (2007) did an in-depth analysis in this regards and concluded
their origin and history of breeding (ancestor/ parents history) that structural properties of rice straw including chemical composition,
(Agbagla-Dohnani et al., 2001a,b). Explicit study on the chemical and cell proportion and fibre characteristics have a significant effect on

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P. Bhattacharyya, et al. Industrial Crops & Products xxx (xxxx) xxxx

Fig. 1. (continued)

enzymatic hydrolysis. Fibre and parenchyma cell content were posi- higher hemicelluloses and low to medium lignin and silicon content for
tively related to the hydrolysis performance, but epidermis cell was not. better feedstock for bioethanol. On a similar note, another recent study
The fastest hydrolytic rate and the highest saccharification were ob- reported that rice cultivar (Taraori Basmati) with lower silica and
tained in the inter-node fraction. lignin, but higher total sugar recovery gave more ethanol yields
(Sheetal et al., 2019). Among the 258 tested corn cultivars, varietal
4.2. Categorization of genotypes based on recorded parameters differences and starch content determined the ethanol productivity, and
those with higher starch content showed lower saccharification rate
Based on the range, median and descriptive statistics of four bio- (Gumienna et al., 2016). Besides the structural components, non-
chemical parameters of straw, we have categorized cellulose, hemi- structural extractives may be water or ethanol extractives could play
cellulose, lignin and Si contents in high, medium and low range in critical role in bioethanol production. Herbaceous feedstocks like rice
terms of percentages. or wheat straw tend to contain more non-structural materials (Sluiter
et al., 2010). These extractives may contribute significantly, up to 30%
4.3. Characterization and grouping of straw for their best alternative uses or more of total biomass. Pretreatments are the major interventions to
increase non-structural extractives from structural components. So, rice
The grouping of rice straw was done for four industrial uses viz, straw composition and types of pretreatments determine the ethanol
production of bio-ethanol, biochar, compost and mushroom based on yield which varies from 40 to 74% (Karimi et al., 2006). Specifically,
the biochemical properties, morphological feature and presence of Zhu et al (2006) reported that in optimum condition practically 61%
functional groups in straw. Broad groups were found through the FTIR ethanol extraction could be possible from rice straw.
and SEM observations, as those are mostly qualitative (or semi-quali- Our observation from morphological feature (from SEM) indicated
tative) and morphological (surface) features, respectively. However, cultivars, Tapaswini, Swarna and Swarna-sub1 having relatively higher
convergence in grouping was noticed with the help of quantitative pore space and lower Si grooves, could be selected for bio-ethanol
biochemical data along with morphological features and presence and conversion for their easily decomposable surface feature. The func-
absence of functional groups (Table 3). The criterion of categorizing tional group as founded by FTIR spectra, indicated a relatively large
genotypes based on different parameters has been summarized in group of cultivars viz. Swarna, Swarna-sub1, Tapaswini, CR Dhan 310,
Table 3. Ketakijoha, Kalajera are suitable for bio-ethanol production as they
have C]O (at 1720 cm−1 bond) along with glycosidic (900 cm−1) and
4.3.1. Bio-ethanol hydroxidal bonds (3300-3500 cm−1), which signified relative higher
Biochemical makeup of rice straw primarily determines the hydro- hemicellulose contents. However, only five (5) cultivars, Naveen, CR
lysis and enzyme adsorption capacity for production of bioethanol. The Dhan 310, Tapaswini, Satabdi and Ketakijoha qualified as better feed-
structural biochemical composition of rice straw (cellulose: 32–47%, stock for bio-ethanol production on the basis of quantitative biochem-
hemicellulose: 19–27%; lignin: 5–24%) (Maiorella, 1983; Saha, 2003; ical analysis (cellulose, hemicelluloses, lignin and Si) having higher
Garrote et al., 2002) makes them suitable feedstock for bioethanol hemicelluloses (> 22%), and low lignin and Si content (≤11% lignin
production (Binod et al., 2010). Rice straw contains carbohydrates in and ≤ 7.5% Si, respectively). But if we consider both higher hemi-
two forms, (i) crystalline cellulose bound to a high degree of poly- cellulose and cellulose with low to medium lignin and Si for bioethanol
merization and (ii) branched hemicellulose of low molecular weight; then only Tapaswini qualified in that group. Therefore, considering all
while both of the above are shielded, by a matrix of lignin, second most three feature of morphology, functional groups and biochemical para-
abundant biopolymer resistant to biodegradation (Agrawal et al., 2017; meters, cultivar Tapaswini (among the studied cultivars) found best
Foston et al., 2016). Here comes the requirement of pretreatment from suited for bioethanol conversion from rice straw (Fig. 6a).
cellulosic to fermentable forms of sugars by decreasing the crystallinity
and to liberate the hemicellulose by breaking the lignin shield for 4.3.2. Biochar
bioethanol production (Mosier et al., 2005). Therefore, the fraction of The degree of aromaticity is important features that determine the
extract (after pretreatment) of crop residue is also important for bioe- potentiality of rice straw (of any cultivar) for converting into biochar.
thanol recovery or yield (Table 4). The dominating sources of pentoses Even at the higher temperature (> 500 °C) the higher percentage of
(more specifically, xylose) which majorly derives from hemicellulose is carbon remained stable at aromatic groups only and lower percentage
the major driving force (Avanthib et al., 2016) for the bioconversion of belong to alkyl-C (Wu et al., 2012). There are many successful examples
straw to ethanol. However, many reports showed that lignin, Si and ash where rice straw could produce biochars and had been shown to per-
contents create hindrance not only for rice straw even for other po- form well to manage soils (Demirbas et al., 2006; Peng et al., 2011;
tential feedstocks of bioethanol production (Binod et al., 2010; Swain Purakayastha et al., 2016). The FTIR study also revealed that presence
et al., 2019). Therefore, we emphasized more on rice straw having of C]O along with aromatic functional groups in IR spectra denotes it

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P. Bhattacharyya, et al. Industrial Crops & Products xxx (xxxx) xxxx

Fig. 2. Scanning Electron Microscopic view of 18 rice cultivars at 1000x.

as lignin. Addition to this, presence of phenol and more particularly, indicating lignin coverage on the fibers (Phitsuwan et al., 2017).
syringyl and guaiaryl phenol can be assigned as more stable lignin Hemicellulose, cellulose, lignin, Si and K are the major components
(Phitsuwan et al., 2017). Our study identified that absorbance for of rice straw. Degradation/ breaking of cellulose and hemicellulose are
aromatic skeleton band i.e.1650-1515 cm−1 were more prominent in relatively faster than lignin and Si during pyrolysis process (Yard et al.,
the varieties Naveen, Pooja, IR 64, Kalajera and Ratna proving them 2007). Therefore, weight loss and reduction of hydrogen (H) / carbon
more suitable candidates for biochar production. Further, the SEM and oxygen (O) / carbon ratios of rice-straw biochar were more sig-
study could conclude that Pooja, Varshadhan and IR 64 had high lignin nificant in straw-biochar than those of wood-biochar at same tem-
content compared to other varieties due to inner smooth surfaces perature and residence time (Keiluweit et al., 2010). So, higher lignin

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P. Bhattacharyya, et al. Industrial Crops & Products xxx (xxxx) xxxx

Fig. 3. Scanning Electron Microscopic view of 18 rice cultivars at 4000x.

content is often inferred to have better thermal stability, a desirable cultivars IR 64 (among studied cultivars) found best suited for rice-
property of substrate one can expect during preparation of biochar. straw biochar conversion (Fig. 6b).
Hence, rice-straw having higher lignin and low to medium content of
cellulose and hemicellulose could be considered as better substrate for
4.3.3. Compost
biochar production. Considering those points, we classifiedGayatri, IR
Composting, a natural bioprocess, decompose the organic wastes by
64, Sahabhagi, and Geetanjali (among studied cultivars) asbetter suited
an array of microbial activity. However, rice straw is not such an easy
for rice-straw biochar. Now, considering all three features (i.e. surface
target in that sense, due to high share of lignin and wider C/N ratio,
morphology, functional group and biochemical profile), straw of rice
which make it more or less resistant to microbial attack (Zhu, 2007).

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P. Bhattacharyya, et al. Industrial Crops & Products xxx (xxxx) xxxx

Table 2
Descriptive statistics of biochemical properties of straw from 18 rice cultivars.
Sl. No. Varieties Cellulose (%) Hemicellulose (%) Lignin (%) SiO2 (%)

1 Naveen 30.0 ± 1.20 22.0 ± 0.81 8.4 ± 0.21 6.57 ± 0.15

2 Durga 41.0 ± 1.64 23.0 ± 0.85 9.6 ± 0.24 7.82 ± 0.18
3 Sarala 39.0 ± 1.56 19.0 ± 0.70 6.2 ± 0.16 5.93 ± 0.13
4 Pooja 41.0 ± 1.64 21.0 ± 0.78 10.7 ± 0.27 6.77 ± 0.15
5 Gayatri 37.0 ± 1.48 17.0 ± 0.63 12.1 ± 0.30 5.60 ± 0.13
6 Varsha Dhan 37.6 ± 1.50 16.3 ± 0.60 9.0 ± 0.23 7.82 ± 0.18
7 Ratna 37.9 ± 1.52 17.4 ± 0.64 6.7 ± 0.17 7.34 ± 0.17
8 IR-64 38.4 ± 1.54 15.3 ± 0.57 12.6 ± 0.32 7.06 ± 0.16
9 Swarna Sub-1 38.9 ± 1.56 19.3 ± 0.71 8.6 ± 0.22 5.12 ± 0.12
10 Kalajeera 38.8 ± 1.55 22.1 ± 0.82 7.7 ± 0.19 8.02 ± 0.18
11 Tapaswini 38.4 ± 1.54 23.3 ± 0.86 7.7 ± 0.19 5.00 ± 0.11
12 Swarna 40.3 ± 1.61 20.2 ± 0.75 8.4 ± 0.21 7.50 ± 0.17
13 CR Dhan 310 32.4 ± 1.30 22.1 ± 0.82 8.2 ± 0.21 5.32 ± 0.12
14 Sahabhagi 34.3 ± 1.37 20.9 ± 0.77 11.7 ± 0.29 5.89 ± 0.13
15 Geetanjali 33.7 ± 1.35 20.6 ± 0.76 11.6 ± 0.29 6.85 ± 0.15
16 Satabdi 35.0 ± 1.40 25.9 ± 0.96 8.6 ± 0.22 6.37 ± 0.14
17 Ketakijoha 28.5 ± 1.14 23.9 ± 0.88 9.5 ± 0.24 7.14 ± 0.26
18 MTU-1010 31.1 ± 1.24 22.8 ± 0.84 12.3 ± 0.31 7.86 ± 0.18
Mean 36.29 20.67 9.42 6.67
Standard Error 0.90 0.67 0.46 0.23
Standard Deviation 3.82 2.84 1.97 0.99
Range-Category - High > 39; > 22; > 11; > 7.5;
Medium 36-39; 20-22; 9-11; 6.5-7.5;
Low < 36 < 20 <9 < 6.5

Overall, the composting process adds few sound benefits like killing of domestic wastes like cow dung, poultry manure, vegetable wastes,
pathogens; mineralization of organic-N (stable inorganic forms), and swine manure, sewage sludge etc. Qian et al. (2014) reported that swine
fertilize the soil seasonally apart from minimizing the volume of huge manure exhibited faster maturation (i.e. more organic matter miner-
wastes (USEPA, 1993). alization) than dairy manure when co-composted with rice straw for a
Composting ability of rice straw depends of the faster decomposi- study conducted at 3 months; this further benefitted the germination
tion by lowering of C:N ratio in the presence of a suitable microbial index and plant growth index. The relative percentage of humic sub-
environment. Rice straw is often co-composted with other farm and stances can increase with the sheer progress of composting process. The

Fig. 4. Heat map of values for biochemical properties of straw collected from 18 rice cultivars.

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P. Bhattacharyya, et al. Industrial Crops & Products xxx (xxxx) xxxx

Fig. 5. Dendrogram using Average Linkage (Between Groups) derived from Hierarchical cluster analysis of 18 rice cultivars based on their biochemical parameters
tested.

Table 3 the presence of fungal inoculum and displayed least phytotoxicity levels
The desirable features of rice straw for production of valuable products like along with higher production of β-1,4-Exoglucanase (Pandey et al.,
bioethanol, biochar, compost and mushroom-substrates. 2009).
Products Desirable features of Straw The cellulose and hemicellulose are the easy to degrade in straw
materials and lignin is hardest to degrade/decomposeby microbes.
Bioethanol 1 High Hemicellulose or High Hemicellulose and Cellulose Hence composting should be relied on such rice cultivars having less
2 Low to medium lignin and Si
lignin content. The FTIR spectra of our study suggested that a number
3 C = O, FTIR (hemicelluloses Group)
Biochar 1 High Lignin of our tested cultivars (18 varieties) having less aromatic C]O moiety
2 Low to Medium Cellulose and Hemicellulose. and syngril band (signified stable lignin and carbon) and relatively
3 High Aromicity (aromatic group in FTIR; more Syngil moiety) higher C–H stretching in cellulose suitable for composting (easy mi-
4 High silica grooves and low surface area crobial decomposition). Those includes Swarna Sub1, Tapaswini, CR
Compost 1 High to Medium Cellulose
Dhan310, Ketokijoha, MTU 1010 or even Durga, Vashadhan and
2 Low to medium Lignin and Silica
3 Low silica grooves and High surface area Gayatri.
4 Broad –OH bond (FTIR) The morphological features observed by SEM indicated higher pore
Mushroom 1 High to Medium Cellulose spaces in Tapaswini and Swarna, whereas, few number of Si grooves in
2 Low Silica
Swarna Sub1 and Durga and recommended those cultivars for compost
3 Low silica grooves and High surface area
4 Broad –OH bond (FTIR) making. However, we know Varshadhan, MTU 1010 and Durga have
higher inherent Si content in straw and suitable for composting.
Therefore, final grouping for composting should be done with the
well-known humification index, the ratio of the humic acid to the fulvic help of biochemical profiling supported by FTIR and SEM data. High to
acid (HA/FA), is a standard indicator often measures the maturity of the medium cellulose and low to medium lignin and Si contents were
composts (Aparna et al., 2007). Humification index reflects the degree considered better suited for compost preparation. Based on that we
of condensation of the aromatic nucleus of humus, pointing its faster found, Tapaswini, Sarala, Swarna, Swarna Sub1 and Ratna were sui-
maturity when rice straw was composted with additional source of P by table candidates for compost making. However, considering mor-
rock phosphate (Rashad et al., 2010). The compost prepared from bio- phology, functional groups and biochemical profiling, Tapaswini and
augmented rice straw-composting mixture, with poultry manure (8:1 Swarna were grouped as best suited compost (Fig. 6c).
ratio) as nitrogen supplement attained desirable C:N ratio in 1 month in

Table 4
Fraction extracts from crop residues under various pretreatments.
Biomass used Pre-treatment procedures Fraction extracts/ Recovery References

Rice straw The ammonia fibre/freeze explosion/expansion Produce glucose with greater than 90% theoretical yield and xylose Zhong et al., 2009
(AFEX) process with up to 80% theoretical yield; Drapcho et al., 2008
Rice straw Dilute sulphuric acid pre-treatment 0.72 g g−1 sugar yield during 48 h; Abedinifar et al., 2009
Rice straw Green solvent (chloride/ glycerol) –pre-treatment Ethanol production of 36.7 g L−1 from 8% glucose by 36 h with Kumar et al., 2016
conversion efficiency of 90.1%
Rice straw Ethanol organo-solvent pre-treatment 80.3 g butanol, 21.1 g acetone, and 22.5 g ethanol from per kg of Amiri et al., 2014
straw
Wheat and barley straw Steam pre-treatment in an alkaline environment 70–85% cellulose conversion with 40% extraction of the arabinoxylan Persson et al., 2009
Maize cobs and maize stalks High-tech solution of hydrothermal pre- 13.4–15.2 g ethanol per 100 g total solid raw material Thomsen et al., 2015
treatment
Rape straw Microwave-assisted dilute sulphuric acid pre- 21.0 g ethanol/100 g dry matter.; 92.9% higher energy savings Lu et al., 2011
treatment

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P. Bhattacharyya, et al. Industrial Crops & Products xxx (xxxx) xxxx

Fig. 6. Categorization of 18 rice cultivars for (a) Bioethanol, (b) Biochar, (c) Compost and (d) Mushroom production based on Biochemical, FTIR and SEM analysis.

4.3.4. Mushroom cultivation Ketakijoha and MTU-1010 were biochemically, chemically and mor-
It is an age old practice when commercial mushroom cultivation has phologically characterized. Biochemical profiling was used as basic for
relied on rice straw as base materials and the required energy source. In grouping and SEM and FTIR data were used as supporting parameters
this context, organic matter turnover and the transformation of silicon as they are mostly qualitative or semi-qualitative in nature. The
content in rice straw (as soil like substrate) during planting, and the grouping of rice straw was done for their potential alternative uses like
growing of mushroom needs to be optimized. Higher Si in rice straw has bio-ethanol, biochar conversion, compost making and mushroom cul-
been a barrier to decompose the cellulosic and lingo-cellulosic mate- tivation. Rice straw containing high hemicelluloses or high hemi-
rials, and to extract the nutrients for the survival of living body grown cellulose + cellulose and low to medium lignin and Si were considered
over it (here, mushroom). Mushroom substrate may be defined as a kind better for bio-ethanol production, while, straw having higher lignin and
of lignocellulose material which supports the growth, development and low to medium cellulose and hemicellulose were selected for biochar.
fruiting of mushroom (Chang and Miles, 1989; Baysal et al., 2003). High to medium cellulose and low to medium lignin and Si were con-
Oyster mushroom may be grown on wide range of plant waste as sub- sider better candidates for compost making, whereas, straw having high
strate e.g. sawdust, paddy straw, sugarcane baggage, corn stalk, corn to medium cellulose and low Si were grouped for better substrate for
cobs, waste cotton, leaves and pseudo stem of banana, water hyacinth, mushroom production.
duck weed, rice straw etc. does not require costly processing method We conclude that morphological and biochemical differences exist
and enrichment material (Quimio, 1980; Chow, 1980; Bano et al., 1979; among straws of major rice cultivars grown in eastern India. Although
Salami and Bankole, 2018). Hence, it is preferred to take cultivars for only few cultivars like Tapaswini for bio-ethanol, IR-64 for biochar and
mushroom cultivation of higher to medium cellulose with lower Si Tapaswini and Swarna were found best suited for bio-ethanol, biochar
content. and compost making, respectively by considering all the three ap-
In our study, FTIR spectra suggested Sahabaghi and Geetanjali (less proaches. Besides that non-structural composition of rice straw also
C]O aromatic moiety and less syngril bands) and SEM recommended could be considered for grouping of straw for other alternative uses.
Tapaswini and Swarna (more pore space at outer surface of straw) Therefore, this characterization could explain only the potential alter-
better for mushroom cultivation. But biochemical characteristics of nate uses and options. However, future study should aim to validate
straw recommended four cultivars namely, Sarala, Gayatri, Tapaswini these results in small and large scale productions (bioethanol, biochar
and Swarna Sub1 out of 18 cultivars tested, suitable for rice-straw etc) considering the susceptibility of the straw to enzymatic hydrolysis
mushroom cultivation (Fig. 6d). for final recommendation. Furthermore, other possible alternative
avenues for utilization of rice straw like paper pulp production, brick
preparation, biofuel pellet, animal food block etc., also could be ex-
5. Conclusions
plored.
Eighteen rice cultivars namely, Naveen, Durga, Sarala, Pooja,
Gayatri, Varsha Dhan, Ratna, IR-64, Swarna Sub-1, Kalajeera,
Tapaswini, Swarna, CR Dhan 310, Sahabhagi, Geetanjali, Satabdi,

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P. Bhattacharyya, et al. Industrial Crops & Products xxx (xxxx) xxxx

Declaration of Competing Interest agro-industrial wastes: technical challenges and commercialization potential. Agro-
Industrial Wastes as Feedstock for Enzyme Production. Academic Press, pp. 61–93.
Karimi, K., Kheradmandinia, S., Taherzadeh, M.J., 2006. Conversion of rice straw to
Authors declare there are no conflicts of interest. sugars by dilute-acid hydrolysis. Biomass Bioenergy 30 (3), 247–253.
Keiluweit, M., Nico, P.S., Johnson, M.G., Kleber, M., 2010. Dynamic molecular structure
Acknowledgement of plant biomass-derived black carbon (biochar). Environ. Sci. Technol. 44 (4),
1247–1253.
Kumar, A.K., Parikh, B.S., Shah, E., Liu, L.Z., Cotta, M.A., 2016. Cellulosic ethanol pro-
Authors acknowledge the support of Indian Council of Agricultural duction from green solvent-pretreated rice straw. Biocatal. Agric. Biotechnol. 7,
Research (ICAR)- National Rice Research Institute (NRRI), Odisha, 14–23.
Li, S., Yang, X., Zhang, Y., Ma, H., Liang, Q., Qu, W., He, R., Zhou, C., Mahunu, G.K.,
India, project no. 2.7 (Flagship project), DST (EAP-262) and ICAR- 2016. Effects of ultrasound and ultrasound assisted alkaline pretreatments on the
National Fellow Project for providing support. enzymolysis and structural characteristics of rice protein. Ultrasonicssonochemistry
31, 20–28.
Lu, X., Xi, B., Zhang, Y., Angelidaki, I., 2011. Microwave pretreatment of rape straw for
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