Rapid Carboxymethylation of Xylan-Rich Hemicelluloses by Microwave Irradiation

Abstract

Rapid carboxymethylation of xylan-rich hemicelluloses from wheat straw biomass with sodium monochloroacetate and sodium hydroxide in the ethanol/water medium under microwave irradiations was investigated in this paper. The effects of reaction conditions such as the reaction time, the reaction temperature, and the amounts of sodium hydroxide and sodium monochloroacetate on the degree substitution (DS) of carboxymethylated hemicelluloses were discussed. The structures of hemicelluloses before and after the chemical modification were analyzed by13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra. Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) was used to characterize the carboxymethylated hemicelluloses. During the chemical modification, it was found that the remarkable degradation of hemicelluloses occurred under microwave irradiations.