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Biomass Polymers
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Biomass Polymers

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Biobased and Biodegradable Polymers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 June 2023) | Viewed by 18468

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Xiao-Feng Sun

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710129, China
Interests: natural polymers; cellulose; lignin; hemicelulose; nanaomaterials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

Molecular engineering is an emerging and fast-growing field. The study of biomass molecular engineering has enhanced the green and efficient utilization of biomass and transformed biomass into ideal chemicals, high-performance materials and polymers, and valuable products, such as high-performance hydrogels and bioplastic.

Sustainable development is the goal of human society. Biomass resources are plentiful in the earth, such as wood, herb, straw, plant oil, and so on, and the green utilization of these resources by using molecular engineering technology is not only conducive to a reduction in carbon dioxide emission, but it can also approach the "carbon neutral" target and sustainable development of human society. Biomass was the original resource utilized by humans in the primitive society, and it will be the final substance that humans can use in the future, because it is renewable. The efficient utilization of the biomass resource has become very important during the 21st century, and the development of molecular engineering has promoted the transformation of biomass into chemicals, high-performance materials and functional polymers, and valuable products. 

This Special Issue may include the following topics:

(1) Lignin-derived chemicals and materials;
(2) Cellulose-derived chemicals and materials;
(3) Hemicelluloses-derived chemicals and materials;
(4) Plant oil-derived chemicals and materials;
(5) Bioplastic.

Dr. Xiao-Feng Sun
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • molecular engineering
  • lignin
  • polysaccharide
  • chitosan
  • starch
  • hemicellulose
  • cellulose 
  • plant oil
  • bioplastic

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 2734 KiB  
Article
Main Characteristics of Processed Grain Starch Products and Physicochemical Features of the Starches from Maize (Zea mays L.) with Different Genotypes
by Eduard B. Khatefov, Vladimir G. Goldstein, Alexey V. Krivandin and Lyubov A. Wasserman
Polymers 2023, 15(8), 1976; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15081976 - 21 Apr 2023
Viewed by 2943
Abstract
To understand the relationship between the genotype of maize plants and differences in their origin and the ploidy of the genome, which carry gene alleles programming the biosynthesis of various starch modifications, the thermodynamic and morphological features of starches from the grains of [...] Read more.
To understand the relationship between the genotype of maize plants and differences in their origin and the ploidy of the genome, which carry gene alleles programming the biosynthesis of various starch modifications, the thermodynamic and morphological features of starches from the grains of these plants have been studied. This study investigated the peculiarities of starch extracted from subspecies of maize (the dry matter mass (DM) fraction, starch content in grain DM, ash content in grain DM, and amylose content in starch) belonging to different genotypes within the framework of the program for the investigation of polymorphism of the world collection of plant genetic resources VIR. Among the starch genotypes of maize studied, four groups comprised the waxy (wx), conditionally high amylose (“ae”), sugar (su), and wild (WT) genotypes. Starches with an amylose content of over 30% conditionally belonged to the “ae” genotype. The starches of the su genotype had fewer starch granules than other investigated genotypes. An increase in amylose content in the investigated starches, accompanied by a decrease in their thermodynamic melting parameters, induced the accumulation of defective structures in the starches under study. The thermodynamic parameters evaluated for dissociation of the amylose–lipid complex were temperature (Taml) and enthalpy (Haml); for the su genotype, temperature and enthalpy values of dissociation of the amylose–lipid complex were higher than in the starches from the “ae” and WT genotypes. This study has shown that the amylose content in starch and the individual features of the maize genotype determine the thermodynamic melting parameters of the starches under study. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomass Polymers)
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15 pages, 3643 KiB  
Article
Fabrication of Electrospun Xylan-g-PMMA/TiO2 Nanofibers and Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue
by Yangyang Xie, Xiao-Feng Sun, Wenbo Li, Junhui He, Ran Sun, Sihai Hu and Yaoguo Wu
Polymers 2022, 14(12), 2489; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14122489 - 18 Jun 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2221
Abstract
Herein, xylan-g-PMMA was synthesized by grafting poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) onto xylan and characterized by FT-IR and HSQC NMR spectroscopies, and the xylan-g-PMMA/TiO2 solution was used to electrospun nanofibers at the voltage of 15 Kv, which was the first time employing xylan to [...] Read more.
Herein, xylan-g-PMMA was synthesized by grafting poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) onto xylan and characterized by FT-IR and HSQC NMR spectroscopies, and the xylan-g-PMMA/TiO2 solution was used to electrospun nanofibers at the voltage of 15 Kv, which was the first time employing xylan to electrospun nanofibers. Moreover, the electrospinning operating parameters were optimized by assessing the electrospinning process and the morphology of electrospun fibers, as follows: the mixed solvent of DMF and chloroform in a volume ratio of 5:1, an anhydroxylose unit (AXU)/MMA molar ratio lower than 1:2, the flow speed of 0.00565–0.02260 mL/min, and a receiving distance of 10–15 cm. Diameters of the electrospun fibers increased with increasing DMF content in the used solvent mixture, MMA dosage, and receiving distance. TiO2 nanoparticles were successfully dispersed in electrospun xylan-g-PMMA nanofibers and characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray diffraction spectrum, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and their application for methylene blue (MB) degradation presented above 80% photocatalytic efficiency, showing the good potential in water treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomass Polymers)
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13 pages, 3213 KiB  
Article
Extraction and Characterization of Cellulose from Agricultural By-Products of Chiang Rai Province, Thailand
by Orapan Romruen, Thomas Karbowiak, Wirongrong Tongdeesoontorn, Khursheed Ahmad Shiekh and Saroat Rawdkuen
Polymers 2022, 14(9), 1830; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14091830 - 29 Apr 2022
Cited by 42 | Viewed by 5867
Abstract
Cellulose is an abundant component of the plant biomass in agricultural waste valorization that may be exploited to mitigate the excessive use of synthetic non-biodegradable materials. This work aimed to investigate the cellulose utilized by alkaline extraction with a prior bleaching process from [...] Read more.
Cellulose is an abundant component of the plant biomass in agricultural waste valorization that may be exploited to mitigate the excessive use of synthetic non-biodegradable materials. This work aimed to investigate the cellulose utilized by alkaline extraction with a prior bleaching process from rice straw, corncob, Phulae pineapple leaves, and Phulae pineapple peels. The bleaching and alkaline extraction process was performed using 1.4% acidified sodium chlorite (NaClO2) and 5% potassium hydroxide (KOH) in all the samples. All the samples, without and with the alkaline process, were characterized for their physico-chemical, microstructure, thermal properties and compared to commercial cellulose (COM-C). The extraction yield was the highest in alkaline-extracted cellulose from the corncob (AE-CCC) sample (p < 0.05), compared to the other alkaline-treated samples. The undesired components, including mineral, lignin, and hemicellulose, were lowest in the AE-CCC sample (p < 0.05), compared to raw and alkaline-treated samples. The microstructure displayed the flaky AE-CCC structure that showed a similar visibility in terms of morphology with that of the alkaline-treated pineapple peel cellulose (AE-PPC) and COM-C samples compared to other alkaline-treated samples with a fibrous structure. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) of AE-CCC samples showed the lowest amorphous regions, possibly due to the elimination of hemicellulose and lignin during bleaching and alkaline treatment. The highest crystallinity index obtained in the AE-CCC sample showed a close resemblance with the COM-C sample. Additionally, the AE-CCC sample showed the highest thermal stability, as evidenced by its higher Tonset (334.64 °C), and Tmax (364.67 °C) compared to the COM-C and alkaline-treated samples. Therefore, agricultural wastes after harvesting in the Chiang Rai province of Thailand may be subjected to an alkaline process with a prior bleaching process to yield a higher cellulose content that is free of impurities. Thus, the extracted cellulose could be used as an efficient, eco-friendly, and biodegradable material for packaging applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomass Polymers)
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21 pages, 35762 KiB  
Article
Role of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch-Derived Cellulose in Improving the Sonocatalytic Activity of Silver-Doped Titanium Dioxide
by Yi Ding Chai, Yean Ling Pang, Steven Lim, Woon Chan Chong, Chin Wei Lai and Ahmad Zuhairi Abdullah
Polymers 2021, 13(20), 3530; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13203530 - 14 Oct 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2245
Abstract
In this study, a novel cellulose/Ag/TiO2 nanocomposite was successfully synthesized via the hydrothermal method. The cellulose extracted from oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) could address the disposal issue created by OPEFB biomass. Characterization studies such as FESEM, EDX, HRTEM, XRD, FTIR, [...] Read more.
In this study, a novel cellulose/Ag/TiO2 nanocomposite was successfully synthesized via the hydrothermal method. The cellulose extracted from oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) could address the disposal issue created by OPEFB biomass. Characterization studies such as FESEM, EDX, HRTEM, XRD, FTIR, UV–Vis DRS, PL, XPS, and surface analysis were conducted. It was observed that the incorporation of cellulose could hinder the agglomeration, reduce the band gap energy to 3 eV, increase the specific surface area to 150.22 m3/g, and lower the recombination rate of the generated electron-hole pairs compared to Ag/TiO2 nanoparticles. The excellent properties enhance the sonocatalytic degradation efficiency of 10 mg/L Congo red (up to 81.3% after 10 min ultrasonic irradiation) in the presence of 0.5 g/L cellulose/Ag/TiO2 at 24 kHz and 280 W. The improvement of catalytic activity was due to the surface plasmon resonance effect of Ag and numerous hydroxyl groups on cellulose that capture the holes, which delay the recombination rate of the charge carriers in TiO2. This study demonstrated an alternative approach in the development of an efficient sonocatalyst for the sonocatalytic degradation of Congo red. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomass Polymers)
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15 pages, 3022 KiB  
Article
High-Performance Hydrogel Adsorbent Based on Cellulose, Hemicellulose, and Lignin for Copper(II) Ion Removal
by Shuang Shan, Xiao-Feng Sun, Yangyang Xie, Wenbo Li and Tiezheng Ji
Polymers 2021, 13(18), 3063; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13183063 - 10 Sep 2021
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 4157
Abstract
Cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin are three kinds of biopolymer in lignocellulosic biomass, and the utilization of the three biopolymers to synthesize hydrogel adsorbent could protect the environment and enhance the economic value of the biomass. A novel hydrogel adsorbent was prepared using cellulose, [...] Read more.
Cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin are three kinds of biopolymer in lignocellulosic biomass, and the utilization of the three biopolymers to synthesize hydrogel adsorbent could protect the environment and enhance the economic value of the biomass. A novel hydrogel adsorbent was prepared using cellulose, lignin, and hemicellulose of wheat straw by a one-pot method, and the adsorbent showed excellent adsorption performance for copper(II) ions. Scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis showed that the prepared straw-biopolymer-based hydrogel had porous structure, and cellulose fibrils had crosslinked with lignin and hemicellulose by poly(acrylic acid) chains. The effects of contact time, initial concentration, and temperature on the copper(II) ion removal using the prepared hydrogels were investigated, and the obtained results indicated that the adsorption kinetics conformed to the pseudo-second-order and Elovich equation models and the adsorption isotherm was in accord with the Freundlich model. The adsorption thermodynamics study indicated that the adsorption process was spontaneous and accompanied by heat. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis revealed that the adsorption behavior resulted from ion exchange. The prepared hydrogel based on cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin could be used for water treatment and soil remediation because of its high performances of excellent heavy metal ion removal and water retention. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomass Polymers)
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