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Nanocellulose of different morphologies was extracted from Sunn Hemp (Crotalaria Juncea) using acid hydrolysis. The work focused on two objectives: first, to valorize the Sunn Hemp fibers for nanocellulose (NC) production, and second, to study the effects of acid concentration on different morphologies of NC and their properties. The study extracted nanocellulose at five different concentrations of H 2 SO 4 : 16 %, 32 %, 48 %, 64 %, and 72 %. Obtained nanocellulose was characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). AFM and FE-SEM confirmed the production of three different morphologies of nanocellulose. The NC-32 had a web-like structure typically observed for cellulose nanofibrils (CNF), whereas NC-48 and NC-64 were observed as cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) with rod-like and needle-like shapes, respectively, and NC-72 displayed spherical particles termed cellulose nanospheres (CNS). The total crystallinity index of NC was calculated using FTIR, and a similar trend of crystallinity was also observed from XRD analysis. NC-32 was obtained with the highest yield of 94.83 %, followed by 91.40 % and 81.70 % for NC-48 and NC-64, respectively, whereas NC-72 yielded the lowest yield of 12.03 %. NC-72 had the highest thermal stability among other NC morphologies., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In seed extracts of five oilseed species, in bran extracts of three cereal species, and in seed and/or whole berry extracts of 10 berry species, the concentrations of a large number of lignans and the enantiomeric composition of selected lignans were determined. In the case of sesame and hemp seeds, the lignan content and composition of the whole seeds was compared to that of the hulled seeds. The results showed that cloudberry seeds are the third most lignan-rich food source after linseeds and whole sesame seeds, and that most of the berry species analysed were more lignan-rich than the cereal brans. The lignans are concentrated in the hull of the oilseeds and in the seeds of the berries. In most samples, secoisolarici-, pino-, medio-, and syringaresinol were present as a mixture of two enantiomers., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Changes in carbohydrate components and crystalline structure of hemp bast fibers during organosolv pulping were investigated by X-ray diffractometry, FT-IR spectroscopy and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The reasons for defibrillation and beating problems with organosolv hemp bast fiber pulp were investigated with reference to these properties of pulp samples. Hemp bast fibers and organosolv pulp samples had low hemicellulose contents and high cellulose contents. It was found that the disorder parameter of cellulose in hemp bast fibers was very low, when crystalline cellulose ratio was high and the crystalline structure of cellulose in hemp bast fibers was very stable. These properties affected defibrillation and beating of organosolv hemp bast fibers pulp negatively.

A model was developed, based on the power law of growth and Avrami's concepts in nuclei growth to describe the heterogeneous nature of alkaline pulping kinetics, taking into account the effects of effective alkali concentration and temperature. It was then applied against published data to estimate model parameters. The final form of the model applied to alkaline pulping of thin hemp woody core in flow-through reactors could be represented by a first order rate equation with a time-dependent rate constant: [-dY/dt = A.[OH-]b.exp (-E/RT)n.Y.t(n-1). The rate equations applied for delignification, cellulose and xylan losses. It was found that the heterogeneous kinetic models predicted well the delignification and xylan loss of hemp woody core, with R2 values of 0.96 and 0.97, respectively. The model was, however, less accurate in predicting cellulose loss. The values n, which could represent the acceleration/deceleration extent of growth of reacting volumes, were found to be less than unity. This demonstrated the heterogeneous characteristics of alkaline pulping for hemp woody core.