The role of lignin and cellulose in the carbon-cycling of degraded soils under semiarid climate and their relation to microbial biomass

A high level of biological degradation is usually observed in soils under semiarid climate where the low inputs of vegetal debris constraint the development of microbiota. Among vegetal inputs, cellulose and lignin are dominant substrates but their assimilation by the microbial community of semiarid soils is yet not understood. In the present study, ¹³C-labeled cellulose and ¹³C-labeled lignin (75 μg ¹³C g⁻¹ soil) were added to two semiarid soils with different properties and degradation level. Abanilla soil is a bare, highly degraded soil without plant cover growing on it and a total organic C content of 5.0 g kg⁻¹; Santomera soil is covered by plants (20% coverage) based on xerophytic shrubs and has a total organic C content of 12.0 g kg⁻¹. The fate of added carbon was evaluated by analysis of the carbon isotope signature of bulk soil-derived carbon and extractable carbon fractions (water and sodium-pyrophosphate extracts). At long-term (120 days), we observed that the stability of cellulose- and lignin-derived carbon was dependent on their chemical nature. The contribution of lignin-derived carbon to the pool of humic substances was higher than that of cellulose. However, at short-term (30 days), the mineralization of the added substrates was more related to the degradation level of soils (i.e. microbial biomass). Stable isotope probing (SIP) of phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA-SIP) analysis revealed that just a minor part of the microbial community assimilated the carbon derived from cellulose and lignin. Moreover, the relative contribution of each microbial group to the assimilation of lignin-derived carbon was different in each soil.     

天然木质微/纳纤丝增强纳米复合材料的研究现状

纤维素是世界上最丰富、可再生且能生物分解的天然高分子聚合物,其强度主要来源于镶嵌于木素和半纤维素形成的基质结构中的微/纳纤丝或针状晶体——一种完美的高强度的纳米晶体结构。近二十多年来,如何从纤维素中分离微/纳纤丝和用其来增强高分子聚合物受到许多学者的关注。本文简要叙述了木质微/纳纤丝的分离和性能评价方法以及其增强的纳米复合材料的制备和特性检测手段。     

利用FTIR对苯基异氰酸酯与不同含水率纤维素反应的研究

通过FTIR红外光谱对苯基异氰酸酯与醇、水、不同含水率纤维素反应产物的研究 ,确定了产物的红外光谱吸收峰的归属。研究发现 :异氰酸酯与绝干纤维素羟基反应产物是氨基甲酸酯 ,随着纤维素含水率的增加 ,异氰酸酯与纤维素的反应越来越低 ,与水反应的比例越来越高 ;当纤维素含水率为 9 78%时 ,异氰酸酯绝大部分与水反应生成取代脲     

The influences of boiling and drying treatments on the behaviors of tension wood with gelatinous layers in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Zelkova serrata</Emphasis>

This study examined how boiling and drying treatments influenced various physical properties of the tension wood with gelatinous fibers (G-fibers) of a 29-yearold Zelkova branch. By boiling treatment, tension wood with numerous G-fibers contracted considerably in the longitudinal direction and the longitudinal Young’s modulus decreased in spite of the water-saturated condition. The drying treatment caused green tension wood and boiled tension wood with numerous G-fibers to shrink longitudinally and increased their longitudinal Young’s moduli. These specific behaviors in tension wood were highly correlated with the proportion of G-fibers in a specimen and were probably caused by the microscopic behavior of cellulose microfibril (CMF) in the gelatinous layers (G-layers). The longitudinal shrinkage of tension wood due to drying suggests the existence of a hygro-sensible, noncrystalline region in the CMF, which is abundant in the G-layer. Furthermore, the noncrystalline region in the CMF softens during boiling treatment, resulting in the reduction of the longitudinal Young’s modulus in tension wood. The longitudinal contraction of tension wood with G-fibers by boiling might be caused by the tensile growth stress remaining in green G-layers. However, no changes were detected in the 004 d-spacing of cellulose crystal in tension wood from the boiling and drying treatments, regardless of the proportion of G-fibers.     

Effect of temperature and compression on the mechanical behavior of steam-treated wood

The mechanical behavior of steamed spruce wood changes dramatically with compression along the grain, the change being much more moderate perpendicular to the grain. The stiffness decrement due to increased temperature is greatest in the tangential material direction. The stiffness decrement due to compression is greatest along the grain. Compression to 80% compressive strain at 131°C inverts the order of the material directions regarding stiffness, the stiffness being the least along the grain. Plastic strain due to compression is greater at higher temperatures. The compression-induced decrement of stiffness along the grain is greater at higher temperatures, but the off-axis decrement of stiffness is less at higher temperatures.     

Chemical analysis of the product in acid-catalyzed solvolysis of cellulose using polyethylene glycol and ethylene carbonate

Degradation and decomposition of cellulose were studied in an acid-catalyzed solvolysis treatment of biomass using polyethylene glycol (PEG) and ethylene carbonate (EC). The solvolysis reaction was followed by a typical reaction system of wood liquefaction that uses sulfuric acid catalyst at 140° or 150°C at atmospheric pressure. The methods of fractionation and chemical analysis of the degraded cellulose in the solvolyzed product are discussed. The solvolyzed product was separated into several fractions, and they were hydrolyzed to release glucose and levulinic acid to determine the quantity of glucosides and levulinates in the solvolysis product. The data clearly showed that the solvolysis reaction had the same mechanism when using PEG or EC. Degradation of cellulose leads to the formation of glucosides, which then decompose, resulting in a levulinic acid structure, and producing a water-insoluble fraction. The conversion rates of both glucosides and levulinates strongly depend on the reaction conditions of the solvolysis. In particular, EC promotes faster conversion of the reactions. The method discussed here is a chemical analytical technique for characterization of the products of wood liquefaction.     

Characterization of the products resulting from ethylene glycol liquefaction of cellulose

The composition of liquefied cellulose in the presence of ethylene glycol (EG) was studied. The liquefied products were fractionated and analyzed with highperformance liquid chromatography and nuclear magnetic resonance. EG-glucosides were detected as the only saccharides and 2-hydroxyethyl levulinate as the highly decomposed compound derived from cellulose. Quantitative analysis of the EG-glucosides and levulinic acid that comes from the levulinate shows the presence of the following mechanism in the EG-liquefaction of cellulose. First, cellulose is degraded and produces considerable amounts of EG-glucosides during the early stage of liquefaction. Then, when liquefaction is prolonged, the glucosides are decomposed, leading to a large quantity of levulinates.     

毛竹材材性变异的研究

通过对毛竹材纤维形态，组织比量、纤维素含量和基本的分析测定，研究了不同年龄、不同胸径、竹秆不同部位栲生性状的变异特点结果表明，竹材纤维长度主要受竹秆部位的影响，与年龄和胸径无显著相关，组织比量与年龄无显著相关，与胸径有一定相关；纤维素含量和基本密度与年龄、胸径、竹秆部位均有关系，从材性变异特点来看，经营培育小径级毛竹对制浆造纸更有利。     

杉木木材纤维素及其开发利用的研究

介绍了在杉木木材纤维和纤维素方面开展的研究，主要包括：1)杉木纤维形态、纤维素含量及木材化学成分的研究；2)经过纤维素制取和稀酸水解两步工艺，制备了微晶纤维素(MCC)，并研究了水解的最佳条件；3)制作了添加了杉木微晶纤维素的面包，结果显示所得面包质量优良，可以作为一种新型功能食品。在这些工作的基础上，还对杉木纤维素开发利用的方法和途径进行了分析和讨论。     

Crystallinity of wood and the size of cellulose crystallites in Norway spruce (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Picea abies</Emphasis>)

X-ray diffraction was used to study variations in the crystallinity of wood and the average thickness and length of the crystallites of cellulose as a function of the number of the year ring in Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst.]. The crystallinity increased from ring 4 to ring 10 from the pith and was constant after ring 10. The crystallinity of mature wood was about 30% ± 5%. The average thickness and average length of the crystallites were 3.2 ± 0.1nm and 28 ± 2nm, respectively; and no systematic variation of these values with the number of the year ring was observed. The mean microfibril angle decreased near the pith but was constant in the mature wood.