Chemical and Structural Characterization of Maize Stover Fractions in Aspect of Its Possible Applications.

Magdalena Woźniak,Sławomir Borysiak,Izabela Ratajczak,Piotr Goliński,Kinga Szentner,Dawid Wojcieszak,Agnieszka Waśkiewicz,Jacek Przybył

doi:10.3390/ma14061527

Abstract

In the last decade, an increasingly common method of maize stover management is to use it for energy generation, including anaerobic digestion for biogas production. Therefore, the aim of this study was to provide a chemical and structural characterization of maize stover fractions and, based on these parameters, to evaluate the potential application of these fractions, including for biogas production. In the study, maize stover fractions, including cobs, husks, leaves and stalks, were used. The biomass samples were characterized by infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction and analysis of elemental composition. Among all maize stover fractions, stalks showed the highest C:N ratio, degree of crystallinity and cellulose and lignin contents. The high crystallinity index of stalks (38%) is associated with their high cellulose content (44.87%). FTIR analysis showed that the spectrum of maize stalks is characterized by the highest intensity of bands at 1512 cm−1 and 1384 cm−1, which are the characteristic bands of lignin and cellulose. Obtained results indicate that the maize stover fraction has an influence on the chemical and structural parameters. Moreover, presented results indicate that stalks are characterized by the most favorable chemical parameters for biogas production.

Highlights

Our results clearly indicate that the crystallinity of biomass depends on its cellulose and lignin contents
Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) bands of functional groups in lignocellulosic stover biomass samples and relative absorbance value for each fraction of maize presented in this paper indicate that the fractions of maize stover harvested in Poland showed differences in the chemical composition and supermolecular
Kendall’s statistical indicated a strong correlation between the maize fractions and cellulose content as well as lignin content and individual fractions. Group and Their stalks were characterized by the highest cellulose and lignin contents

Summary

Introduction

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).The constantly increasing and improving world production of maize is followed by an increase in crop residue volume. Combine harvesting of maize allows the grain to be separated from the other fractions of the plant-residues, called stover, consisting of cobs, husks, stalks, and leaves [1]. Obtained biomass is heterogeneous and constitutes about 50%

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