Abstract
The surface area is an important parameter in setting any biorefining technology. The aim of this study was to investigate the applicability of sorption of methylene blue to characterize the surface of the main biomass carbohydrates: α-cellulose, sigmacell cellulose, natural gum, β-glucan, and starch. The morphology of particles of the model objects was studied by scanning electron microscopy. Nitrogen adsorption isotherms demonstrate that the selected carbohydrates are macroporous adsorbents. The monolayer capacities, the energy constants of the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) equation, and specific surface areas were calculated using the BET theory, the comparative method proposed by Gregg and Sing, and the Harkins–Jura method. The method of methylene blue sorption onto biomass carbohydrates was adapted and mastered. It was demonstrated that sorption of methylene blue proceeds successfully in ethanol, thus facilitating surface characterization for carbohydrates that are either soluble in water or regain water. It was found that the methylene blue sorption values correlate with specific surface area determined by nitrogen adsorption/desorption and calculated from the granulometric data. As a result of electrostatic attraction, the presence of ion-exchanged groups on the analyte surface has a stronger effect on binding of methylene blue than the surface area does. Sorption of methylene blue can be used in addition to gas adsorption/desorption to assess the accessibility of carbohydrate surface for binding large molecules.
Highlights
Plant raw materials consist of various polymers, for example, cellulose, lignin, hemicelluloses, and minor components: starch and gum
Cellulose was chosen as the most common plant polysaccharide, β-glucan was chosen as a representative of the second most important component of cell walls—hemicelluloses, konjac gum, and potato starch—as plant raw material polysaccharides that are important for the food industry [1,2]
A study to adapt and master the procedure used for sorption of methylene blue onto selected biomass-derived carbohydrates to analyze the surface of biomass carbohydrates for evaluation of the accessibility of the carbohydrate surface for binding large molecules was conducted
Summary
Plant raw materials consist of various polymers, for example, cellulose, lignin, hemicelluloses, and minor components: starch and gum. During heterogeneous enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose, the initial rate of the reaction (the interaction between enzymes on a solid substrate surface) directly depends on the number of accessible sites (the accessible surface area) In this connection, most classical studies on biorefinery place a special focus on pretreatment of plant biomass, which is somehow related to particle size reduction [6,7]. Most classical studies on biorefinery place a special focus on pretreatment of plant biomass, which is somehow related to particle size reduction [6,7] This changes the surface area of the interface between the solid substrate and liquid reagents [8,9,10]. Further assessment of biomass reactivity often uses the concept of specific
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