Abstract
The chemical changes sustained by lignocellulosic biomass during hydrothermal treatment are reflected at multiple scales. This study proposes to benefit from this multiscale nature in order to provide a global understanding of biomass alterations during hydrothermal treatment. For this purpose, complementary imaging techniques—confocal Raman microscopy and X-ray nano-tomography—analysed by image processing and coupled to chemical measurements were used. This unique combination of analyses provided valuable information on topochemical and morphological changes of poplar samples, without the artefacts of sample preparation. At the cell wall level, holocellulose hydrolysis and lignin modifications were observed, which corresponded to anatomical modifications observed at higher scales. Overall, after treatment, samples shrank and had thinner cell walls. When subjected to more severe pre-treatments, cells were disrupted and detached from adjacent cells. Anatomical changes were then used to obtain quantitative indicators of the treatment severity. The effects of treatment at different scales can thus be quantitatively connected in both directions, from micro to macro and from macro to micro.
Highlights
The chemical changes sustained by lignocellulosic biomass during hydrothermal treatment are reflected at multiple scales
Hemicellulose is a type of polymer composed of different pentose and hexose monosaccharides[5]
Results obtained by Raman confocal microscopy (Figs. 1 and 2) have been compared with the chemical composition of hydrothermally treated biomass (Fig. 3)
Summary
The chemical changes sustained by lignocellulosic biomass during hydrothermal treatment are reflected at multiple scales. This study proposes to benefit from this multiscale nature in order to provide a global understanding of biomass alterations during hydrothermal treatment For this purpose, complementary imaging techniques—confocal Raman microscopy and X-ray nanotomography—analysed by image processing and coupled to chemical measurements were used. Most biological materials have hierarchically organized structures whose properties are affected by their chemical composition, the interactions between components, and by their spatial distribution and organization These relationships between properties are observed for lignocellulosic biomass and, wood. Its linear nature and the presence of multiple hydroxyl g roups[3] make it likely to form intra- and intermolecular hydrogen bonds This chemical feature has structural consequences: cellulose is highly organized into microfibrils[4], forming a crystalline core with a semi-crystalline shell. Hemicelluloses constitute 25–40% of wood by w eight[2] and are mainly composed of glucuronoxylans, which consist of a xylose unit backbone with 4-O-methylglucoronic acid and O-acetyl
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
