The current application of nanotechnology in food and agriculture.

Lignocellulosic materials are among the most promising alternative energy resources that can be utilized to produce cellulosic ethanol. However, the physical and chemical structure of lignocellulosic materials forms strong native recalcitrance and results in relatively low yield of ethanol from raw lignocellulosic materials. An appropriate pretreatment method is required to overcome this recalcitrance. For decades various pretreatment processes have been developed to improve the digestibility of lignocellulosic biomass. Each pretreatment process has a different specificity on altering the physical and chemical structure of lignocellulosic materials. In this paper, the chemical structure of lignocellulosic biomass and factors likely affect the digestibility of lignocellulosic materials are discussed, and then an overview about the most important pretreatment processes available are provided. In particular, the combined pretreatment strategies are reviewed for improving the enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulose and realizing the comprehensive utilization of lignocellulosic materials.

The role of pretreatment in improving the enzymatic hydrolysis

Abstract A heterogeneous magnesium oxide catalyst is a good alternative for homogeneous catalysts for the transesterification of alkyl esters for the production of fine-chemicals as well as for the production of biodiesel. The transesterification of ethyl acetate with methanol was used as a model reaction to simulate fine-chemical production in a batch slurry reactor at industrial conditions. The transesterification of triolein with methanol to methyl oleate was chosen to simulate continuous production of biodiesel from rapeseed oil. A kinetic model based on a three-step ‘Eley–Rideal’ type of mechanism in the liquid phase was used in both process simulations. The transesterification reaction occurs between methanol adsorbed on a magnesium oxide free basic site and ethyl acetate or the glyceride from the liquid phase. Methanol adsorption is assumed to be rate-determining in both processes. Activity coefficients were required to account for the significant non-ideality of the reaction mixture in the simulations of both processes. The simulations indicate that a production of 500 tonnes methyl acetate per year can be reached at ambient temperature in a batch reactor of 10 m 3 containing 5 kg of MgO catalyst, and that a continuous production of 100,000 tonnes of biodiesel per year can be achieved at 323 K in a continuous stirred reactor of 25 m 3 containing 5700 kg of MgO catalyst. Although various assumptions and simplifications were made in these explorative simulations the assumptions concerning the reaction kinetics used, the results indicate that for both processes a heterogeneous magnesium oxide catalyst shows promising potential as a viable industrial scale alternative.

Heterogeneously MgO-catalyzed transesterification for fine-chemical and biodiesel industrial production

Current advancement on the isolation, characterization and application of lignin.

Cellulose–metal organic frameworks (CelloMOFs) hybrid materials and their multifaceted Applications: A review

Over the past few years, nanocellulose (NC), cellulose in the form of nanostructures, has been proved to be one of the most prominent green materials of modern times. NC materials have gained growing interests owing to their attractive and excellent characteristics such as abundance, high aspect ratio, better mechanical properties, renewability, and biocompatibility. The abundant hydroxyl functional groups allow a wide range of functionalizations via chemical reactions, leading to developing various materials with tunable features. In this review, recent advances in the preparation, modification, and emerging application of nanocellulose, especially cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), are described and discussed based on the analysis of the latest investigations (particularly for the reports of the past 3 years). We start with a concise background of cellulose, its structural organization as well as the nomenclature of cellulose nanomaterials for beginners in this field. Then, different experimental procedures for the production of nanocelluloses, their properties, and functionalization approaches were elaborated. Furthermore, a number of recent and emerging uses of nanocellulose in nanocomposites, Pickering emulsifiers, wood adhesives, wastewater treatment, as well as in new evolving biomedical applications are presented. Finally, the challenges and opportunities of NC-based emerging materials are discussed.

/pdf/nanocellulose-from-fundamentals-to-advanced-applications-ecdehj4ngu.pdf

Nanocellulose: From Fundamentals to Advanced Applications

Susceptibility of hybrid sol-gel (TEOS-APTES) doped with caffeine as potent corrosion protective coatings for mild steel in 3.5 wt.% NaCl

Researchers and stakeholders alike have widely agreed that the biggest obstacle in producing biodiesel is the high cost of production. Due to this, much interest has been drawn in utilizing waste materials as catalysts to produce methyl esters (biodiesel) via transesterification. Thus, utilization of waste materials both as feedstock and catalyst is environmentally sustainable and bears economic, which reduces the cost of converting feedstock products into biodiesel. Application of heterogeneous catalyst is the most favored, primarily due to the ease of separation from the product. CaO has shown promising potential to be utilized as a base catalyst in the transesterification of feedstock. In this review paper, some beneficial information on the sources, preparation, and characterization of CaO are detailed. Enhancement of catalytic activity and durability through modification and the effect of type of feedstock on the production of biodiesel are presented as well.

Tuan Sherwyn Hamidon

Papers

Nanocellulose: From Fundamentals to Advanced Applications

Susceptibility of hybrid sol-gel (TEOS-APTES) doped with caffeine as potent corrosion protective coatings for mild steel in 3.5 wt.% NaCl

A review on the utilization of calcium oxide as a base catalyst in biodiesel production

Cellulose-based beads for the adsorptive removal of wastewater effluents: a review

Recent progress in cellulose-based composites towards flame retardancy applications