Abstract
The establishment of sustainable bioeconomies requires the utilization of new renewable biomaterials. One such material currently seen as a waste product is oat hulls. Oat hulls exhibit a great potential for the production of dietary fibres due to their exceptionally large hemicellulose content (35%). Their recalcitrant structure however requires a suitable pre-treatment method to access and process the hemicellulose. After a screening of various physical, chemical and physico-chemical pre-treatment methods, including autoclaving, ultrasonication, microwave-, deep eutectic solvents-, as well as alkaline treatments, a combined ultrasonication and alkali pre-treatment method was here found to be the most suitable. A factorial design resulted in optimized conditions of 10 min ultrasonication in water, followed by an incubation in 5 M NaOH at 80 ºC for 9 h yielding solubilisation of 72% of all hemicellulose in the hulls. The method was shown to efficiently break the ester bonds between ferulic acid and the hemicellulose main chain, contributing to its solubilisation.Graphic
Highlights
With a growing world population, an increase in food production quantities is required
The in this study developed method yields a very high amount of soluble hemicellulose; higher than previously reported for oat hulls or other lignocellulosic material
The trend towards establishing bioeconomies around the world is demanding smarter treatment solutions. One such agricultural side stream produced in large quantities is oat hulls, i.e. the shell protecting the edible oat grain
Summary
With a growing world population, an increase in food production quantities is required. Alongside the production of food, larger amounts of agricultural side streams are generated. To date, those are mainly underutilized and often regarded as waste leading to improper handling increasing the risk for serious environmental pollution [1]. The trend towards establishing bioeconomies around the world is demanding smarter treatment solutions. One such agricultural side stream produced in large quantities is oat hulls, i.e. the shell protecting the edible oat grain. As the hull makes up 25–35% of the entire grain [3], considerable amounts of oat hull waste have to be treated
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 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.
