Birch Wood Research Articles

Carbohydrate-binding property of a cell wall integrity and stress response component (WSC) domain of an alcohol oxidase from the rice blast pathogen Pyricularia oryzae

The cell wall integrity and stress response component (WSC) domain was first described in the Wsc-family protein of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and later found in diverse eukaryotic organisms. Due solely to their presence in the Wsc-family proteins working as a plasma membrane sensor for surface stress and in a fungal β-1,3-exoglucanse, WSC domains have been presumed to possess carbohydrate-binding property without any experimental evidence. Aiming at elucidation of function(s) of WSC domains, we characterized a WSC domain-containing alcohol oxidase from the rice blast pathogen Pyricularia oryzae (PoAlcOX). Recombinant PoAlcOX produced with Pichia pastoris showed alcohol oxidase activity toward a wide range of substrates including two aliphatic alcohols, a branched-chain alcohol, a diol, and a polyol. Deletion of the WSC domain virtually unaffected oxidation of these substrates by PoAlcOX, indicating that the domain makes no contribution to the catalytic activity. In analogy to some carbohydrate-binding modules, we inferred that the WSC domain plays a role in protein anchoring, and evaluated binding capability of PoAlcOX to a set of polysaccharide components of fungal and plant cell walls. This revealed that PoAlcOX binds to xylans and fungal chitin/β-1,3-glucan in the WSC domain-dependent manner, demonstrating for the first time the carbohydrate-binding property of the domain. Additionally, we provide evidence that PoAlcOX immobilized on birch wood xylan retains the catalytic activity. Overall, the data we collected suggest that the role of the WSC domain of PoAlcOX is not recognition of substrates but attaching the enzyme to plant and/or fungal cell wall.

The chemical composition of silver birch (Betula pendula Roth.) wood in Poland depending on forest stand location and forest habitat type

We report on the most extensive study to date in Poland concerning the variability in the chemical composition of silver birch (Betula pendula Roth.) wood depending on the forest habitat type and the location of the forest stand. The research was carried out in 12 forest districts, on two habitat types where silver birch forest stands predominate in respect of coverage area and merchantable volume. Chemical composition analysis was performed on 51 samples from 306 test trees aged approximately 30, 50 and 70 years. In the examined sample material, the sum of the main chemical components for individual locations varied from 89.26 to 91.57%. The content of substances soluble in water and ethanol ranged from 2.30 to 4.03%, and the ash content was measured at between 0.09 and 0.25%. The results showed that the location had a significant influence on the contents of substances soluble in cold water (p = 0.0015), hot water (p = 0.0005), ethanol (p < 0.0001) and 1% NaOH (p = 0.0014), as well as on the contents of cellulose (p = 0.04), lignin (p = 0.002), pentosans (p = 0.04) and ash (p < 0.0001) and on the pH value (p < 0.0001). Notable influence of location on the contents of secondary constituents of birch wood, especially those extractable with water and ethanol, was recorded for the test plots in north-eastern Poland. The obtained results may form a basis for assessment of the industrial utility of birch wood, as well as the optimisation of traditional methods of utilisation and the development of new such methods that are ecological and sustainable.

Influence of Site Conditions and Quality of Birch Wood on Its Properties and Utilization after Heat Treatment. Part I—Elastic and Strength Properties, Relationship to Water and Dimensional Stability

This work deals with the quality of birch (Betula pendula) wood from different sites and the impact of heat treatment on it. Two degrees of heat treatment were used, 170 °C and 190 °C. The resulting property values were compared with reference to untreated wood samples. These values were wood density, compressive strength, modulus of elasticity (MOE), bending strength (MOR), impact bending strength (toughness), hardness, swelling, limit of hygroscopicity, moisture content and color change. It was supposed that an increase in heat-treatment temperature could reduce strength properties and, adversely, lead to better shape and dimensional stability, which was confirmed by experiments. It was also shown that the properties of the wood before treatment affected their condition after heat treatment, and that the characteristic values and variability of birch properties from 4 sites, 8 stems totally, were reflected in the properties of the heat-treated wood. Values of static MOR were the exception, where the quality of the input wood was less significant at a higher temperature, and this was even more significant in impact bending strength, where it manifested at a lower temperature degree. Impact bending strength also proved to be significantly negatively affected by heat treatment, about 48% at 170 °C, and up to 67% at 190 °C. On the contrary, the most positive results were the MOE and hardness increases at 170 °C by about 30% and about 21%, respectively, with a decrease in swelling at 190 °C by about 31%. On the basis of color change and other ascertained properties, there is a possibility that, after suitable heat treatment, birch could replace other woods (e.g., beech) for certain specific purposes, particularly in the furniture industry.

Thermal conductivity measurement of insulating innovative building materials by hot plate and heat flow meter devices: A Round Robin Test

The characterization of thermal insulation properties of construction materials represents a fundamental step on the building insulation assessment. In recent years innovative materials have been introduced in the market to fulfill the continuously growing requirements of energy saving and sustainability, and their performance is not so reliable and mature as it happens for traditional insulators. The work presents a Round Robin Test realised among six European laboratories hosting hot plates devices to measure the thermal conductivity of four different materials: aerogel, vacuum insulation panels, polystyrene and birch wood fibre insulation boards. After the definition of the common measurement protocol, the tests campaign was executed and the results were checked with a consistency analysis. Data showed that the hot plate apparatuses result suitable for the measurement of the tested innovative materials, both in terms of absolute values retrieved and repeatability. The reproducibility is satisfactory as well, except for vacuum insulation panels, the most insulating samples, which present values of standard deviations quite high, at least in relative terms, so showing that the thermal properties of high performance materials must be assessed with particular care.

Soil organic matter alteration under biochar amendment: study in the incubation experiment on the Podzol soils of the Leningrad region (Russia)

Biochar is one of the most widely used ameliorants for soil amendment, which is known as factor which rises crop yields and levels of soil biological activity. Nowadays, it is under investigated how biochar application affects the dynamics of the humic components and whole soil organic matter (SOM) and the processes of its alteration. This investigation is aimed to evaluate the influence of biochar on the content, composition, and transformation of humic acids (HAs) as the main component of the SOM. The incubation experiment was carried out on three Podzol Antric soils, with varying amounts of initial total organic carbon. The incubation time was 90 days, using biochar gravimetric doses of 0.1 and 1.0%. The biochar was produced by fast pyrolysis of birch and aspen wood at 550 °С. Humus composition was analyzed for the organic matter fractions extracted with 0.1 M NaOH (containing HAs 1 + fulvic acids (FAs) 1) and 0.1 M Na4P2O7 (containing HAs 1 + FAs 1 + HAs 2 + FAs 2). Isolated HAs were characterized for their elemental composition (C, N, H, and S) and molecular composition with the use of solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (13C-NMR) techniques. We found that 0.1% of biochar amendment does not influence SOM mineralization, but 1.0% of biochar increases the mineralization by 15–18%. This process is accompanied by changes in the composition and properties of the HS. The increased proportion of HA aromatic fragments in biochar indicates an increasing of their stability. However, in soils with high humus content and a significant amount of insoluble matter, the processes of mineralization and the growth of HAs are taking place simultaneously. The replenishment of HAs could be the outcome of both the intensification of the transformation processes (mineralization and humification) of the more sustainable insoluble matter compounds and the humification of the biochar itself. The influence of biochar on humification in Podzol Antric soils was revealed on the basis of incubation experiment. Both negative and positive changes under biochar in HS system were demonstrated. The active decrease of humus total contents and also the labile HS ought to qualify as negative changes. The increase of HA chemical maturity that leads to the stability of humus in whole as well as the intensive new HA formation thought to qualify as positive changes.

Investigation of suberinic acids-bonded particleboard

Birch outer bark and residual veneer shorts are one of the main leftovers from plywood production and have a high potential to be converted into value-added products. Birch (Betula pendula) outer bark contains up to 45% (dry basis) of suberin and has been recognized as a promising resource of suberinic acids (SA), where the bonding potential has been proven. Therefore, this study assesses the application of SA as formaldehyde free bio-based adhesive for the production of particleboards (PBs) made of birch wood particles obtained from residual veneer shorts. The solids of ethanol extracted outer bark were hydrolytically depolymerized and SA obtained. A two stage design of experiments, in terms of screening and optimization, was used varying three PB preparation parameters: amount of the binder (c 20–30%), hot-pressing temperature (T 220–230 °C), and duration (t 2–6 min). The binder was evaluated by thermogravimetric, differential scanning calorimetric, Fourier transform infrared spectrometric and scanning electron microscopic analyses. SA-bonded PBs were evaluated in terms of modulus of elasticity and modulus of rupture in the bending test, internal bond strength, and thickness swelling. The properties of the optimized SA-bonded PB (c = 21%, T = 226 °C, t = 5 min) are in the range of PBs standard EN 312 type P3 (requirements of non load-bearing boards for use in humid environment). The achieved superior internal bond strength (2.7 ± 0.5 N mm−2) and instrumental analyses confirmed a high potential of natural SA-based binder to be used in PB production.

INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY OF WOOD OF PINE, BIRCH AND OAK, MODIFIED WITH MONOETHANOLA-MINE(N→B)THREEHYDROXYBORATE

The article presents the results of IR-spectroscopic study of wood of pine, birch and oak, modified with 50% aqueous solution of monoethanolamine(N→B)threehydroxyborate. IR spectra of the samples of birch and oak, modified by monoethanolamine(N→B)threehydroxyborate havebeen obtained for the first time. It was found that the modifier chemically interacts at room temperature with the reactive groups of the tree species under study; the chemical bonds being formed are hydrolytically stable. It is revealed that the change in the supramolecular structure of the modified wood is associated with a change in the system of hydrogen bonds. It is shown that the in the case of modifyingwith monoethanolamine(N→B)threehydroxyborate, there is no destruction of the aromatic rings of lignin, and the main chains of the macromolecules of cellulose, i.e. modifying is in "soft" conditions. It was found that the modifier interacts with the primary hydroxyl groups of cellulose and carboxyl groups of lignin in the modification of pine wood; when modifying, the wood of birch and oak monoethanolamine(N→B)threehydroxyborate mainly interacts with the carboxyl groups of lignin. The density of the grafting modifier depends on the availability of reactive groups of wood composite, and it decreases with increasing the density of wood. Taking into account that surface grafted compounds determine many properties of wood (specific surface area, water absorption, swelling, bio- and fire-resistance), different grafting density and surface distribution of grafted molecules of modifiers on the surface of wood samples under study will lead to differences in the listed properties of the modified wood materials.

Comparative study of chemical and topological structure of macromolecules of lignins of birch (Betula verrucosa) and apple (Malus domestica) wood.

Recent advances in investigations of chemical structure of lignin give rise to questions about relationship between chemical structure and topology of the macromolecules. In this paper, we made a comparison of results of the studies of chemical and topological structures of lignins. The features of topological structure of lignins of birch and apple wood were identified on the basis of the study of dilute solutions of the lignins by the sedimentation-diffusion analysis and viscometry. The number of branches of macromolecules in the birch and apple lignins was calculated by the Zimm-Kilb equation. Quantitative characteristics of chemical structure of the lignins were obtained by 2D NMR spectroscopy and nitrobenzene oxidation. The structural analysis and the calculations based on the hydrodynamic data gave estimation of the degree of branching of macromolecules, which fit well in the theory on the role of dibenzodioxocin and 4'-O-5 structures in branching of lignin macromolecules.

Bonding of birch solid wood of sawmill surface roughness with use of selected thermoplastic biopolymers

Bonding of birch solid wood of sawmill surface roughness with use of selected thermoplastic biopolymers. The aim of the research was to determine the shear strength and in-wood damage share of the birch lamellas of the surface shaped by rotary saw cutting and bonded with use of selected thermoplastic biopolymers, like polylactide (PLA) and polycaprolactone (PCL), as well as with use of polypropylene (PP) as a reference bonding material. The results show that the highest mechanical properties have been achieved in case of PLA used as a binder.

Variability in the basic density of silver birch wood in Poland

This work presents the findings of a study concerning variability in the basic density of silver birch ( Roth) wood, depending on the geographical location of tree stands, the age and thickness of the trees, the forest habitat type, and interactions between some of these factors. The study was carried out on wood from trees aged approximately 30, 50 and 70 years in 12 forest districts located throughout Poland. In total 4777 wood samples, taken from 306 trees from 51 test plots, were measured. The location, the age of the trees, the thickness of the trees and the forest habitat type, as well as interactions between these factors, proved to have a significant influence on the basic density of silver birch wood. The highest mean values of the basic density of the birch wood were found in Sokołów forest district on the FBF habitat type (549 kg m) and in Giżycko forest district on the FMBF habitat type (548 kg m). For the entire set of examined material, the average values of the basic density of wood increase with tree age. For the examined material originating in FBF and FMBF habitats the average values of basic density showed no significant differences; however, in the cases of the forest districts of Giżycko, Łobez and Rudziniec, significant differences in the analysed property were observed.Betula pendula–3–3

Effect of the Pyrolysis Step on the Filtration Combustion of Solid Organic Fuels

The results of filtration combustion of various types of wood and wood charcoal are compared. Data on the temperature and composition of the gas in experiments with mixtures containing birch wood well agree with the results obtained with mixtures containing wood charcoal. Because of a decrease in the wood weight upon pyrolysis, the maximal characteristics of the combustion are shifted toward higher fuel content. The dependences of the combustion temperature and product composition on the wood content in a mixture with an inter material, obtained for oak wood, appreciably differ from those obtained for birch wood, probably owing to higher lignin content of oak wood.

Increasing the service life of sleepers made from birch wood

In construction of railway bed, sleepers of various materials are used: wooden, ferro-concrete, steel and polymer ones. Of all the sleeper types, wooden ones have the greatest distribution, possessing some performance characteristics inherent only in wood. The disadvantages of wooden sleepers are: short service life; using commercial timber of valuable species, the reserves of which are severely depleted. It is possible to meet the demand for wooden sleepers using wood of soft leaf-bearing species. These species are of low cost, but inferior to hardwood in density. It is possible to increase wood density by its modification (compressing). The predicted service life of sleepers from modified wood is higher than that of sleepers from natural wood. Considering its significant reserves and physical-mechanical properties, the most suitable of all soft leaf-bearing species is birch. Reducing the cost price of sleepers from modified wood and increasing the efficiency of their production is possible when compressing several billets simultaneously by height in the compression mold. This research studies the density and compression ratio of wood with uniaxial compression of four billets, regarding their location, the duration of exposing them in the compression mold after pressing, and the initial moisture content of wood.

Impact of Alternative Raw Materials on the Profitability of a Large-Scale Bio-Coal Pellet Plant in Finland

The aim of this paper was to compare the annual economic impact of a large-scale bio-coal pellet plant by raw material specifically for the Finnish Lakeland region. In this study, the total production volume of the theoretical plant was 200,000 tons per year and the raw wood materials used were birch pulpwood, spruce pulpwood, pine pulpwood, and energy wood. These wood materials were young delimbed wood from early thinnings. The main goal of the paper was to illustrate that the energy content differences of raw wood materials affect the economic profitability of a bio-coal pellet plant at regional level. In this case, wood type also has a regional economic impact, which the pellet plant can influence through its raw wood material choices. The raw material comparison was based on measured data and not computational or literary data alone. The study found that lower solid wood energy densities caused higher relative costs for the total supply chain. A parallel phenomenon occurred with the required gross margin of the pellets, where lower energy content caused higher required gross margin for pellet sales. The gross margin was also sensitivity analyzed at different discount rates from 5% to 20%. At each required discount rate, the highest annual economic impact on the region was found for birch pellets, with values of 36.95 - 42.66 million � Spruce pellets had the smallest annual economic impact, although it had the highest final pellet price in the same cases. The different economic effects were caused by the energy volumes sold.

Anthropogenic disturbances of the landscape structure of the Kola Peninsula northwest caused by mining and metallurgical industry

On the basis of field landscape research results, the spatial features of the anthropogenic impact of Pechenganikel mining and metallurgical plant located in the northwest of the Kola Peninsula have been analysed. The landscape mapping of the Plant’s vicinity (scale 1 : 50 000) has been done, the typology of natural complexes representing the features of their structure and anthropogenic transformation has been developed. The tunturi type (upland massifs with altitudinal belts) and varaka type (rocky ridges) of landscapes are dominated in landscape structure. The main type of vegetation is mixed pine and birch subshrub forests on podzols. Higher than 220 m they turn into birch crooked subshrub wood on podzols and podzolized brown soils. On the tops higher than 320 m tundra subshrub and lichen communities on moderately developed soils prevail. However, vegetation vertical zonality has been blurred due to the anthropogenic influence. More than a half (58%) of plant and vegetation cover should be declared damaged: forests have been replaced by woodland, a significant amount of natural woodland have turned into hessians, burnt and barren lands on anthropogenically transformed soils (the result of Podzols degradation) are dominated in the area. Anthropogenic landscape types (pits, refuse piles, mining sites) occupy a relatively insignificant part (5%) of the area in the Plant’s vicinity. All in all, anthropogenic impact (Plant’s emissions, pits’ dust distribution) leads to vegetation and soil cover modification and formation of anthropogenic landscape types.

Lignin Valorization by Cobalt-Catalyzed Fractionation of Lignocellulose to Yield Monophenolic Compounds.

Herein, a catalytic reductive fractionation of lignocellulose is presented using a heterogeneous cobalt catalyst and formic acid or formate as a hydrogen donor. The catalytic reductive fractionation of untreated birch wood yields monophenolic compounds in up to 34 wt % yield of total lignin, which corresponds to 76 % of the theoretical maximum yield. Model compound studies revealed that the main role of the cobalt catalyst is to stabilize the reactive intermediates formed during the organosolv pulping by transfer hydrogenation and hydrogenolysis reactions. Additionally, the cobalt catalyst is responsible for depolymerization reactions of lignin fragments through transfer hydrogenolysis reactions, which target the β-O-4' bond. The catalyst could be recycled three times with only negligible decrease in efficiency, showing the robustness of the system.

Density and density profile changes in birch and spruce caused by thermo-hydro treatment measured by X-ray computed tomography

Birch and spruce samples were scanned using X-ray computed tomography (CT) to determine changes in the density and density profile caused by thermo-hydro treatment (THT). Small-dimension wood blocks were subjected to treatment at three different temperatures (160 °C, 170 °C and 180 °C) for 1 h and scanned before and after treatment. Identical acquisition and analysis procedures were used to evaluate the changes in approximate mean density and radial density profile of oven-dried untreated and treated material. The X-ray CT scans enabled measuring of the changes in wood density after THT. The results confirm that there were similar tendencies in the total density decrease with increasing temperature. However, variations in density changes between the earlywood (EW) and latewood (LW) of birch and spruce were found. A correlation of the radial density profiles of treated versus untreated specimens showed a similar density decrease in EW and LW in birch wood and inconsistent reductions in spruce wood.

Trehalose, mannitol and arabitol as indicators of fungal metabolism in Late Cretaceous and Miocene deposits

Trehalose, mannitol and arabitol are the main saccharides of extant fungal metabolism, but their occurrence and distribution in geological materials have rarely been considered. Here, we identify these sugars in Miocene lignites and for the first time in Late Cretaceous mudstones and coals. The co-occurrence of trehalose, mannitol and arabitol in the sedimentary rocks investigated suggests their fungal origin, because these three saccharides are major compounds present in most modern fungi, including the very common mycorrhizal and wood-rotting groups. Therefore, we conclude that these sugars should be treated as new fungal biomarkers (biomolecules) present in geological rocks. Trehalose and mannitol are major compounds in total extracts of the samples and a sum of their concentration reaches 4.6 μg/g of sample. The arabitol concentrations do not exceed 0.5 μg/g, but in contrast to trehalose, the concentration correlates well with mannitol (R2 = 0.94), suggesting that they have the same, translocatory role in fungi. Based on the trehalose vs. mannitol and arabitol distributions in Cretaceous samples and their comparison with data for modern fungi, we preliminarily conclude that the coal seams from the Rakowice Małe (SW Poland) section were formed during warmer climatic periods than the overlying sediments. Furthermore, no DNA could be isolated from the samples of lignites and overlying sediments, whereas it was abundant in the control samples of maple, birch and oak wood degraded by fungi. This indicates an absence of recent fungi responsible for decay in lignites and implies that the saccharide origin is connected with ancient fungi.Other sugar alcohols and acids like D-pinitol, quinic acid and shikimic acid, were found for the first time in sedimentary rocks, and their source is inferred to be from higher plants, most likely conifers. The preservation of mono- and disaccharides of fungal origins in pre-Palaeogene strata implies that compounds previously thought as unstable can survive for tens to hundreds of millions of years without structural changes in immature rocks unaffected by secondary processes.

Secretome analysis of the basidiomycete Phanerochaete chrysosporium grown on ammonia-treated lignocellulosic biomass from birch wood

Ammonia pretreatment is a promising technique for enhancing enzymatic saccharification of lignocellulosic biomass. However, an enzymatic cocktail suitable for the breakdown of pretreated biomass samples is still being developed. The basidiomycete Phanerochaete chrysosporium is a well-studied fungus with regard to bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass. In the present work, we analyzed proteins secreted by P. chrysosporium grown on untreated and ammonia-treated birch wood meal. Fungal growth, xylanase activity, and extracellular protease activity increased in the media containing the ammonia-treated biomass; however, cellulase production decreased compared to that observed in the untreated biomass. Secreted extracellular proteins were separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis and identified by liquid chromatography ion–trap mass spectrometry. Fifty-five spots corresponding to secreted proteins were chosen for further analysis. In the culture with ammonia-treated biomass, the relative concentration of a xylanase belonging to glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 11 increased, while acetyl xylan esterases belonging to carbohydrate esterase family 1 decreased. Moreover, GH family 10 xylanases were promoted proteolysis in the culture of ammonia-treated biomass, leading to the loss of family 1 carbohydrate-binding modules. These results indicated that P. chrysosporium produced enzymes related to the recognition of structural changes on xylan with de-acetylation and introduction of nitrogen by ammonia pretreatment of birch wood meal.

Purification and characterization of a thermo-acid/alkali stable xylanases from Aspergillus oryzae LC1 and its application in Xylo-oligosaccharides production from lignocellulosic agricultural wastes

Xylooligosaccharides (XOS) from lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) have found widespread applications in food, feed, nutraceuticals and pharamecutical industries. Enzymatic degradation of LCB for generation of XOS have gained impetus in recent times In the present investigation an extracellular thermo-alkali stable xylanase from Aspergillus oryzae LC1 was purified by using PEG 8000/MgSO4 aqueous two-phase system and was capable of hydrolysing various agricultural residues into XOS system. Highest activity was observed using 11.3% (w/w) PEG 8000 and 22.5% (w/w) sulphate salt with maximum purification factor (13-fold), highest yield (86.8%) and partition coefficient (8.8%). The purification of the crude enzyme also resulted in decrement of β-xylosidase activity (29.8 U/mL to 0.6 U/mL). The molecular weight of enzyme was estimated ~35 kDa. The highest residual activity was obtained with birch wood xylan as substrate with Km and Vmax of 0.2 mg/mL and 172.2 μmol min−1 mg−1 respectively. The metal ions Fe2+, Ag2+, Mg2+, Mn+ and Co+ enhanced xylanase activity while EDTA, DMSO and SDS acted as inhibitor. The effect of Fe+2 was confirmed by the circular dichroism experiment. The partially purified enzyme was capable of generating XOS i.e. xylobiose (0.68 mg/g), xylotriose (2.47 mg/g) and xylotetraose (2.29 mg/g) by direct enzymatic hydrolysis of untreated sugarcane baggase, wheat straw and wheat bran respectively.

Utilization of DES-Lignin as a Bio-Based Hydrophilicity Promoter in the Fabrication of Antioxidant Polyethersulfone Membranes.

Enhancement of membrane permeability at no detriment of its other performances, e.g., selectivity, is a goal-directed objective in membrane fabrication. A novel antioxidant DES-lignin (lignin extracted from birch wood by using a deep eutectic solvent) polyethersulfone (PES) membrane, containing 0–1 wt % DES-lignin, was fabricated with the phase inversion technique. The performance and morphology of the fabricated membranes were characterized by a pure water flux, polyethylene glycol (PEG) retention, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and contact angle measurements. Membranes with less negative charge and better hydrophilicity were obtained when the DES-lignin content in the polymer solution was increased. With the highest dosage, the incorporation of DES-lignin in the membrane matrix improved the membrane permeability by 29.4% compared to a pure PES membrane. Moreover, no leakage of DES-lignin from the membrane structure was observed, indicating good compatibility of DES-lignin with the PES structure. It was also found that the improvement of both rejection and pure water flux could be achieved by using a small dosage of DES-lignin (0.25 wt %) in membrane fabrication. The membranes incorporated with DES-lignin showed higher DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and ABTS (2,2-Azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)) scavenging activity compared to the pure membrane, where 2.6 and 1.1 times higher DPPH and ABTS scavenging activity was observed with the highest DES-lignin content (1 wt %). Thus, the results of this study demonstrate well the feasibility of utilizing DES-lignin as an antioxidant bio-based hydrophilicity promoter in the fabrication of ultrafiltration membranes.