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Pure deep eutectic solvents (DESs) system of choline chloride (ChCl)/Lactic acid (Lac) were demonstrated to be an effective strategy for extraction of lignin. In this study, two kinds of different promising solid acid (SA) with DESs were designed to promote the pretreatment of lignocellulose. The SA of phosphotungstic acid (H3O40PW12) and iron bromide (FeBr3) were introduced into DESs to extract poplar wood lignin and evaluate the antioxidant activity. It was found that 82.2% and 80.9% of lignin were obtained from poplar wood under H3O40PW12-ChCl/Lac acid and FeBr3-choline ChCl/Lac system with 4 h and 8 h, respectively. The lignin fractions with a high purity (>89%), low molecular weight (Mw 1800–2000 g/mol). Besides, the antioxidant activities of lignin fractions were better than butyl hydroxyanisole (BHA). Therefore, DES lignin has prominent antioxidant activity and could developed a potential natural cosmetics and food packaging.

The study was carried out at the poultry unit of the Department of Animal Science teaching and research farm, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria to determine the chemical and microbial analysis of poultry litter (wood shavings) treated with graded levels of alum. The alum used was obtained from the Sabon-gari market in Zaria, Kaduna State. The rates of alum application (prior to keeping the birds) was as follows: T1 control (normal wood shavings with no alum), T2 (5% alum by kg weight of wood shavings), T3 (10% alum by kg weight of wood shavings) and T4 (15% alum by kg weight of wood shavings). Five sets of litter samples were obtained fortnightly from each pen from different locations i.e. the four corners and center from which the microbial load, pH, total nitrogen (N), soluble reactive phosphorus, VFA and NH4+ concentration were measured. The result shows significantly (P

Lignin-decomposing ability of several bacteria and the degradation mechanism have been revealed in vitro. However, the abundance of such bacteria in decayed wood in nature remains unknown at genus and species levels. This study was aimed at identifying bacterial communities in the decayed wood coexisting with white-rot fungi, which play a potential role in lignin degradation, and predicting the functional profile of bacterial lignin degradation in wood via bacterial community analyses. The bacterial flora of forest soil and four decayed wood samples showed marked differences; particularly, in addition to Methylobacterium and Acidibrevibacterium, sphingomonads, which degrade the major skeleton of lignin in vitro, were more abundant in the decayed wood than in forest soil, suggesting that multiple bacteria were involved in lignin degradation. The bacterial community in the decayed wood was more influenced by wood type and lignin structure than the fungal species observed in the decayed wood.

Effect of treating maize cobs with a combination of urea and wood ash (WA) on chemical composition and in vitro gas production truly degraded substrate (TDS) were examined. The treatments were:1) 100U = (100% urea and 0% wood ash), 2) 75U25WA = (75% urea and 25% wood ash), 3) 50U50WA = (50% urea and 50% wood ash), 4) 25U75WA = (25 % urea and 75% wood ash) and 5) 0U0WA = (Untreated maize cobs). The concentrations were reconstituted as follows: 100U = 5 kg urea dissolved in 100 liters of water /200 kg maize cobs; 75U25WA = 3.75 kg urea mixed with 7.5 kg WA in 100 liters of water/200 kg maize cobs; 50U50WA = 2.5 kg urea mixed with 15 kg WA in 100 liters of water/200 kg maize cobs; 25U75WA = 1.25kg urea mixed with 22.5 kg WA in 100 liters of water/200 kg maize cobs; Untreated = 200 kg maize cobs mixed with 100 kg water. Chemical composition of samples were analyzed to determine dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), ash, crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF) and acid detergent lignin (ADL). The samples were then incubated in vitro for 6, 12, 24, 48 and 72 hrs and their DM degradation kinetics determined. It was observed that crude protein contents declined as urea is substituted with WA while the ash contents increased. Treatment 25U75WA had the highest reduction in both NDF and ADF (660 and 360 g/kg) compared to those of 100U (700 and 380g/kg) and 0U0WA (840 and 430 g/kg). In contrast treatment 25U75 had the highest neutral detergent soluble (340 g/kg) while 0U0WA had the least (160 g/kg).Treatment 25U75WA had the highest gas production (73.5ml per 0.5mg sample; P=0.0001) and TDS (70.53%) while 0U0WA had the least. Treatment 25U75WA also resulted in the highest microbial mass protein (MMP) (53.55 mg) while 0U0WA had the least (25.20 mg). Treatment 25U75WA had the highest efficiency of microbial mass protein (EMMP) and partitioning factor (PF) (23.68 and 2.883) while 0U0WA had the least (12.00 and 2.500). It was concluded that combinations of 25% urea and 75% WA in the treatment of maize cobs had beneficial synergic effect and improved its nutritive value compared to treating it with urea alone.

Abstract Wood in service is sequestering carbon, but it is principally prone to deterioration where different fungi metabolize wood, and carbon dioxide is released back to the atmosphere. A key prerequisite for fungal degradation of wood is the presence of moisture. Conversely, keeping wood dry is the most effective way to protect wood from wood degradation and for long-term binding of carbon. Wood is porous and hygroscopic; it can take up water in liquid and gaseous form, and water is released from wood through evaporation following a given water vapour pressure gradient. During the last decades, the perception of wood-water relationships changed significantly and so did the view on moisture-affected properties of wood. Among the latter is its susceptibility to fungal decay. This paper reviews findings related to wood-water relationships and their role for fungal wood decomposition. These are complex interrelationships not yet fully understood, and current knowledge gaps are therefore identified. Studies with chemically and thermally modified wood are included as examples of fungal wood substrates with altered moisture properties. Quantification and localization of capillary and cell wall water – especially in the over-hygroscopic range – is considered crucial for determining minimum moisture thresholds (MMThr) of wood-decay fungi. The limitations of the various methods and experimental set-ups to investigate wood-water relationships and their role for fungal decay are manifold. Hence, combining techniques from wood science, mycology, biotechnology and advanced analytics is expected to provide new insights and eventually a breakthrough in understanding the intricate balance between fungal decay and wood-water relations. Key points • Susceptibility to wood-decay fungi is closely linked to their physiological needs. • Content, state and distribution of moisture in wood are keys for fungal activity. • Quantification and localization of capillary and cell wall water in wood is needed. • New methodological approaches are expected to provide new insights

Wood-plastic composites (WPC) are actually a type of composites made by blending wood particles/flour with polymers. The Mechanical Properties of Wood Plastic Composites primarily is dependent on the makeup of the matrix of its (Polymers), reinforcements (Sawdust), coupling agents, and lubricants. In general, the polymer of the matrix in WPCs is actually made of a single monomer like HDPE, PS, PP, PET, etc. The Objective of the project is actually investigating the physical properties of a Wood Plastic Composite by using polymer blend (a combination of two or maybe more polymer) as a matrix and the effects of its own physical properties of WPC by varying the makeup of the combination at various proportions.

Introduction Silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) is one of the most valuable conifer wood species in Europe. Among the main opportunistic pathogens that cause root and butt rot on silver fir are Armillaria ostoyae and Heterobasidion abietinum. Due to the different enzymatic pools of these wood-decay fungi, different strategies in metabolizing the phenols were available. Objective This work explores the changes in phenolic compounds during silver fir wood degradation. Methodology Phenols were analyzed before and after fungus inoculation in silver fir macerated wood after 2, 4 and 6 months. All samples were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a hybrid quadrupole-orbitrap mass spectrometer. Results Thirteen compounds, including simple phenols, alkylphenyl alcohols, hydroxybenzoketones, hydroxycinnamaldehydes, hydroxybenzaldehydes, hydroxyphenylacetic acids, hydroxycinnamic acids, hydroxybenzoic acids and hydroxycoumarins, were detected. Pyrocatechol, coniferyl alcohol, acetovanillone, vanillin, benzoic acid, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid and vanillic acid contents decreased during the degradation process. Methyl vanillate, ferulic acid and p-coumaric were initially produced and then degraded. Scopoletin was accumulated. Pyrocatechol, acetovanillone and methyl vanillate were found for the first time in both degrading and non-degrading wood of silver fir. Conclusions Despite differences in the enzymatic pool, both fungi caused a significant decrease in the amounts of phenolic compounds with the accumulation of the only scopoletin. Principal component analysis revealed an initial differentiation between the degradation activity of the two fungal species during degradation, but similar phenolic contents at the end of wood degradation.

In this work, twenty-five kinds of choline chloride (ChCl)-based deep eutectic solvents (DESs) containing acid, hydroxyl, amide, and binary hydrogen bond donors (HBDs) were prepared and successfully used to pretreat pine wood powder. As a result of the pretreatment, the glucan content in the pretreated biomass was increased, whereas the contents of hemicellulose and lignin were significantly decreased. The biomass pretreatment efficiency of the DESs had improved with increasing the polarity and hydrogen bond acidity (α) of the DESs. Among the studied DESs, ChCl:lactic acid:formic acid (1:1:1) with the highest α value was the most efficient DES in extracting lignin from biomass. The pretreated biomass also showed an enhanced enzymatic saccharification yield owing to the decreased particle size of the biomass and reduced content of hemicellulose and lignin. During the pretreatment process of biomass using DESs, the extracted lignin could be recovered successfully, with a yield of up to 60% and purity of over 90%. The molecular weight of the extracted lignin was much lower than that of the native cellulolytic enzyme lignin. The DES used for pretreatment process could be also successfully reused with high recovery yield of DES and high retention of delignification capacity.

Çalışmanın amacı: Bu çalışma, emprenye edilmiş karaçam (Pinus nigra Arnold subsp. pallasiana) odununun radyasyon zırhlama özelliklerini lineer zayıflatma katsayısı, kütle zayıflatma katsayısı, yarı değer ve onuncu değer katman kalınlığını 5 keV'den 1000 keV'ye kadar farklı gama enerjilerinde ölçerek araştırmaktadır.Materyal ve yöntem: Emprenye edilmiş ahşap malzemenin doğrusal zayıflatma katsayısı (1/cm), kütle zayıflatma katsayısı (cm2/g), yarı değer ve onuncu değer katman kalınlığı değerleri WinXCOM tabanlı Phy-X/PSD yazılımı kullanılarak 5 ile 1000 keV enerji aralığında hesaplanarak beton ile karşılaştırılmıştır.Temel sonuçlar: Emprenyeli ahşabın lineer zayıflatma katsayısı ile kütle zayıflatma katsayısının foton enerjisi arttıkça azaldığı bulunmuştur. Ancak, emprenyeli ahşabın yarı değer kalınlığı ve onuncu değer kalınlığı foton enerjisi arttıkça artmıştır. Sonuç olarak, ahşabın radyasyon kalkanı özelliklerinin borik asit emprenyesi ile arttığı tespit edilmiştir.Araştırma vurguları: Emprenyeli odunun radyasyonu zırhlama özellikleri, yüksek yoğunluğu ve bor elementi içeren kimyasal bileşimi nedeniyle çam odunundan daha yüksek çıkmıştır., Aim of study: The present work is to investigate the radiation shielding properties of impregnated black pine (Pinus nigra Arnold subsp. pallasiana) wood material by measuring linear attenuations coefficient, mass attenuations coefficient, half value and tenth value layer thickness for different gamma energies from 5 keV to 1000 keV.Material and methods: The values of linear attenuation coefficient (1/cm), mass attenuation coefficient (cm2/g), half value and tenth value layer thickness of impregnated wood material were calculated in energy range between 5 to 1000 keV using the WinXCOM based Phy-X/PSD software and compared with concrete.Main results: It has been found that the linear attenuation coefficient and the mass attenuation coefficient of impregnated wood decrease as photon energy increases. But, half value layer and tenth value layer of impregnated wood increased as photon energy increased. As a result, it was found that the radiation shielding properties of wood increasing with boric acid impregnation.Highlights: The radiation shielding properties of impregnated wood are higher than pine wood because of its high density and chemical composition, which contains boron elements.

The Oseberg ship is one of the most important archaeological testimonies of the Vikings. After excavation in 1904, the wooden gravegoods were conserved using alum salts. This resulted in extreme degradation of a number of the objects a hundred years later through acid depolymerisation of cellulose and lignin. The fragile condition of the artefacts requires a reconsolidation which has to be done avoiding water as solvent. We synthesized tert-butyldimethylsilyl (TBDMS) chitosan which is soluble in a 50:50 solution of ethyl acetate and toluene. Measurement of its molecular weight, to anticipate its penetration, provided a challenge as the density difference of the polymer and solvent was too small to provide adequate solute redistribution under a centrifugal field, so a two-stage process was implemented (i) determination of the weight-average molar mass of the aqueous soluble activated precursor, chitosan mesylate, Mw,mc using sedimentation equilibrium with the SEDFIT-MSTAR algorithm, and determination of the degree of polymerisation DP; (ii) measurement of the average degree of substitution DSTBDMS of the TBDMS group on each chitosan monosaccharide monomer unit using NMR, to augment the Mw,mc value to give the molar mass of the TBDMS-chitosan. For the preparation, we find Mw = 9.8 kg·mol−1, which is within the acceptable limit for penetration and consolidation of degraded wood. Future work will test this on archaeological wood from different sources.

Camphor wood is welcomed by museums due to its insect-repelling effect but the smell indicates a potential risk to the collections. In order to judge the suitability of camphor wood as a museum storage material, typical camphor wood (Cinnamomum camphora) samples aged for different years were evaluated by conducting the Oddy test. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and time of flight–secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) were applied to identifying the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by the materials and the corrosion products, respectively. The results showed that the camphor wood samples led to visible corrosion on copper and lead coupons. GC-MS indicated that the major VOCs emitted were terpenes and their derivatives, while XRD, EDS, and ToF-SIMS provided various clues to the corrosion mechanisms. Pb10(CO3)6(OH)6O and CuO were regarded as the major corrosion products of lead and copper coupons, respectively. The study provides the museum curators and the conservators with abundant information to reassess the application of camphor wood to museums as well as a different way to understand the mechanism of metallic corrosion caused by camphor wood.

In this study, dowel tensile strength values of wooden length joints prepared using dowels obtained from ash (Fraxinus excelsior Lipsky), chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) and oak (Quercus petraea Lieble) were investigated. Experimental samples were prepared from Eastern beech wood. Polyurethane (PU-D4) and polyvinyl acetate (PVAc-D4) glues were used as adhesives. In the experiments, 2 types of glue, 3 species of dowel wood and a total of 60 test samples were prepared from 10 pieces of each sample. The tests were carried out under static load according to BSI 6948 standards. According to the test results, the highest dowel tensile strength value was obtained in the test specimens prepared with ash dowel and polyvinyl acetate (PVAc-D4) glue, the lowest dowel tensile strength value was obtained in the test specimens prepared using polyurethane (PU-D4) glue with chestnut dowel.

Enhancing the performance of starch-based wood adhesive is vitally important for its practical applications. Accordingly, we designed the use of micronized starch (MS) to prepare micronized starch-based wood adhesive (MSWA) by incorporating 0, 2, 4 and 6% (w/w, dry basis starch) sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The results showed that 2% SDS exhibited remarkable improvement in shear strength and viscosity of MSWA. The grafted reaction was demonstrated by 1H NMR and the steady shear results indicated that the adhesive possessed a pseudoplastic behavior under yield stress conditions. Besides, dynamic rheological measurements were applied to evaluate the structure of MSWA under varying frequencies, temperatures and constant stain. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Zeta potential and surface tension indicated that SDS could improve the surficial properties. Meanwhile, the microstructure of adhesive films and fracture surfaces of glued wood veneers by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) demonstrated that the migration of SDS led to the formation of surfactant layer. Furthermore, element analysis revealed the distribution of S/N in latex slices. The results of this study provide the detailed information about the influence of SDS on the rheological properties and microstructures of MSWA, which may facilitate the preparation of high performance bio-based adhesive for wood applications.

In this work, a novel delignification process was proposed for the fractionation of invasive species such as Acacia dealbata wood. Organosolv process catalyzed with an acidic ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hydrosulfate was evaluated to obtain cellulose-enriched solids and liquid fractions rich in hemicelluloses derived compounds and lignin. Under selected operating conditions (190 °C, 60% ethanol, 60 min of reaction time and 0.6 g 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hydrosulfate/g wood), high solubilization of lignin and hemicelluloses and cellulose recovery (87.5%, 88.7% and 88.3%, respectively), with a pulp yield of 43.1% were achieved. Moreover, 62.6 % of lignin was recovered by precipitation from the black liquor (composed mainly by 4.43 g xylose/L, 7.66 g furfural/L and 3.59 g acetic acid/L). In addition, enzymatic digestibility of delignified wood was also assayed. Overall, this work presents an alternative biorefinery scheme based in the use of environmentally friendly solvent and catalyst for selective fractionation of A. dealbata wood., The authors acknowledge the financial support received from the Spanish “Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness” (Project CTQ2017-82962-R) and from “Xunta de Galicia” (GRC ED431C 2018/47 and Centro Singular de Investigación Biomédica “CINBIO”). These projects are partially funded by the FEDER Program of the European Union (“Unha maneira de facer Europa”). A. Romaní thanks BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01–0145-FEDER-000004) funded by European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020 – Programa Operacional Regional do Norte., info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Surface treatment of wood surface is an effective method to improve the physical properties. The friction dynamics of wood coated with vegetable oil were evaluated and compared to wood treated with polyurethane and untreated wood. The kinetic friction coefficient, µk, was 0.39±0.01, which was smaller than the values for polyurethane-treated wood and untreated oak. The effect of the surface treatment was also observed in the dependence of velocity on the friction coefficient. The friction profile of the wood surface treated with vegetable oil was similar to that of untreated wood, and the friction coefficient was nearly constant, except in the static friction region of sliding out. These results suggest that wood treated with vegetable oil is suitable for inducing a smooth feel.

Protic ionic liquids have been proposed as effective solvents for the selective extraction of lignin from wood. In this work, the protic ionic liquid 1-methylimidazolium chloride has been used to extract lignin at different biomass loadings, temperatures, and times to understand the influence of treatment severity on the lignin dissolution mechanism. The maximum lignin recovery (82.35 g lignin/100 g biomass lignin) was achieved at 10% (w/w) biomass loading, 135 °C, and 6 h. An increase in treatment severity leads to an acid cleavage of ether linkages, which increases the average molecular weight and thermal stability of lignins due to C-C repolymerization. HSQC-NMR analysis showed the effect of operating conditions on the predominant mechanism of lignin depolymerization. At mild conditions, there is a preferential degradation of G units (the typical depolymerization mechanism of ionic liquid treatments); but at the most severe conditions, S units are predominantly removed, as usually occurs in acidic treatments. This work contributes to better understanding the different lignin extraction mechanisms occurring with a protic ionic liquid depending on different operating conditions.

Micronized Cu (μ-Cu) is used as a wood preservative, replacing toxic chromated copper arsenate (CCA). Micronized Cu is malachite [Cu(2)CO(3)(OH)(2)] that has been milled to micron/submicron particles, with many particle diameters less than 100 nm, mixed with biocides and then used to treat wood. In addition to concerns about the fate of the Cu from μ-Cu, there is interest in the fate of the nano-Cu (n-Cu) constituents. We examined movement of Cu from μ-Cu treated-wood after placing treated-wood stakes into model wetland ecosystems. Release of Cu into surface and subsurface water was monitored. Surface water Cu reached maximum levels 3 days after stake installation and remained elevated if the systems remained inundated. Subsurface water Cu levels were 10% of surface water levels at day 3 and increased gradually thereafter. Sequential filtering indicated that a large portion of the Cu in solution was associating with soluble organics, but there was no evidence for n-Cu in solution. After 4 months, Cu in thin-sections of treated-wood and adjacent soil were characterized with micro X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (μ-XAFS). Localization and speciation of Cu in the wood and adjacent soil using μ-XAFS clearly indicated that Cu concentrations decreased over time in the treated-wood and increased in the adjacent soil. However, n-Cu from the treated-wood was not found in the adjacent soil or plant roots. The results of this study indicate that Cu in the μ-Cu treated-wood dissolves and migrates into adjacent soil and waters primarily in ionic form (i.e., Cu(2+)) and not as nano-sized Cu particles. A reduced form of Cu (Cu(2)S) was identified in deep soil proximal to the treated-wood, indicating strong reducing conditions. The formation of the insoluble Cu(2)S effectively removes some portion of dissolved Cu from solution, reducing movement of Cu(2+) to the water column and diminishing exposure.

Liposoluble liquid smoke (LS) preparations are versatile food additives used worldwide. The objective of the present work was to characterise the chemical composition of four types of industrial liposoluble LS currently used as the basis for the production of commercial smoke flavourings. The LS was obtained by vacuum fractional distillation from a raw pyrolysis oil (raw LS) obtained primarily from eucalyptus wood tar. The raw LS and the four LS flavourings obtained therefrom were analysed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) to characterise the main groups of components. Additional analyses were carried out to evaluate the occurrence of PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) in the samples, as the producer claimed that these samples are free of PAHs. The main chemical components characterised in the LS were organic acids, aldehydes, esters, furans, pyrans and phenols, with phenolic compounds being the major chemical group. For the four LS tested samples, no PAHs could be detected with the method employed, which could indicate that the industrial processing was able to effectively remove this harmful class of compounds, or at least decrease its concentrations to levels below the limits of detection of the method of analysis.

International audience; Ellagitannins are the main extractible phenolic compounds in oak wood; the monomers vescalagin and castalagin, lyxose/xylose-bearing monomers grandinin and roburin E, dimers roburins A and D and lyxose/xylose-bearing dimers roburins B and C are the principal ones. These compounds are responsible for the high durability of wood and may contribute to the organoleptic quality of wines and spirits (color, astringency, bitterness). Despite their importance, their presence and forms in distilled spirits are not well known. The aim of this work was therefore to develop and validate a method to identify and quantify oak wood ellagitannins in Cognac using high liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole (LC-QQQ) analysis. The method was validated using vescalagin as the standard and by studying sensitivity, linearity in working range, intraday repeatability, and intraday precision in order to quantify individual ellagitannins in this complex matrix.

A synergistic pretreatment that realizing effective fractionation and targeted valorization can guarantee the implementability to future biorefinery scenario. In the present study, a stepwise approach using hydrothermal and deep eutectic solvents (DES) pretreatment was developed to preferentially dissociate hemicelluloses and further remove lignin from poplar, while retaining a cellulose-rich substrate that can be easily digested via enzymatic saccharification to obtain glucose. Results showed that the hydrothermal filtrate is mainly composed of xylooligosaccharide (XOS), monosaccharides, byproducts, and xylan-type hemicelluloses, which have homogenous structures and uniform molecular weights distribution as well as excellent antioxidant activity. Subsequent DES pretreatment further removed the lignin barriers, leading to a remarkable increase in the saccharification efficiency from 15.72% to 96.33% under optimum conditions for enzymatic hydrolysis. In short, the integrated pretreatment is effective for dissociating and chemical conversion of poplar wood, which was reasonable to promote the frontier of highly available biorefinery.

Resveratrol is a phenolic compound with strong antioxidant activity, being promising for several applications in health, food, and cosmetics. It is generally extracted from plants or chemically synthesized, in both complex and not sustainable processes, but microbial biosynthesis of resveratrol can counter these drawbacks. In this work, resveratrol production by microbial biosynthesis from lignocellulosic materials was assessed. Three robust industrial Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains known for their thermotolerance and/or resistance to inhibitory compounds were identified as suitable hosts for de novo resveratrol production from glucose and ethanol. Through the CRISPR/Cas9 system, all industrial strains, and a laboratory one, were successfully engineered with the resveratrol biosynthetic pathway via the phenylalanine intermediate. All strains were further screened at 30 °C and 39 °C to evaluate thermotolerance, which is a key feature for Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation processes. Ethanol Red RBP showed the best performance at 39 °C, with more than 2.6-fold of resveratrol production in comparison with the other strains. This strain was then used to assess resveratrol production from glucose and ethanol. A maximum resveratrol titer of 187.07 ± 19.88 mg/L was attained from a medium with 2\% glucose and 5\% ethanol (w/v). Lastly, Ethanol Red RBP produced 151.65 ± 3.84 mg/L resveratrol from 2.95\% of cellulose from hydrothermally pretreated Eucalyptus globulus wood, at 39 °C, in a Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation process. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of lignocellulosic resveratrol production, establishing grounds for the implementation of an integrated lignocellulose-to-resveratrol process in an industrial context., This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of the UIDB/04469/2020 unit and a Ph.D. grant SFRH/BD/130739/2017 to C.E.C. I.B. and I.M.-H. acknowledge financial support from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (YEAST-TRANS project, Grant Agreement No. 757384), the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 814408 (SHIKIFACTORY100 project), and The Novo Nordisk Foundation (Grant agreement No. NNF20CC0035580 and No. NNF20OC0060809)., info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

In the present work, palm wood was pretreated using hydrothermal technique in conjunction with chemical method for removal of lignin. Pretreated palm wood was subjected to hydrolysis using Trichoderma reesei MTCC 4876. Subsequently bioethanol was produced using palm wood hydrolysate by Kluveromyces marxianus MTCC 1389. RSM was used to identify the non-linear relationship and optimize various process parameters such as parameters such as pH, temperature, agitation rate, substrate concentration and inoculum size for bioethanol production. ANN constructed with 5-2-1 topology was also used to optimize process parameters. The experimental bioethanol yield of 22.90 g/l was obtained at ANN optimum conditions of temperature 45 degrees C, agitation rate 156 rpm, pH 5, substrate concentration 8% (v/v) and inoculum size 3.2% (v/v).

Widespread smoke from wildfires and biomass burning contributes to air pollution and the deterioration of air quality and human health. A common and major emission of biomass burning, often found in collected smoke particles, is spherical wood tar particles, also known as "tar balls". However, the toxicity of wood tar particles and the mechanisms that govern their health impacts and the impact of their complicated chemical matrix are not fully elucidated. To address these questions, we generated wood tar material from wood pyrolysis and isolated two main subfractions: water-soluble and organic-soluble fractions. The chemical characteristics as well as the cytotoxicity, oxidative damage, and DNA damage mechanisms were investigated after exposure of A549 and BEAS-2B lung epithelial cells to wood tar. Our results suggest that both wood tar subfractions reduce cell viability in exposed lung cells; however, these fractions have different modes of action that are related to their physicochemical properties. Exposure to the water-soluble wood tar fraction increased total reactive oxygen species production in the cells, decreased mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and induced oxidative damage and cell death, probably through apoptosis. Exposure to the organic-soluble fraction increased superoxide anion production, with a sharp decrease in MMP. DNA damage is a significant process that may explain the course of toxicity of the organic-soluble fraction. For both subfractions, exposure caused cell cycle alterations in the G2/M phase that were induced by upregulation of p21 and p16. Collectively, both subfractions of wood tar are toxic. The water-soluble fraction contains chemicals (such as phenolic compounds) that induce a strong oxidative stress response and penetrate living cells more easily. The organic-soluble fraction contained more polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and oxygenated PAHs and induced genotoxic processes, such as DNA damage.

Pine wood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, is a plant parasitic nematode which causes severe damage to several Pinus species. Two natural compounds, dipropyl trisulfide (DPTS) and methyl propyl trisulfide (MPTS), showed strong nematicidal activity against the pine wood nematode, presenting 4.24 and 17.81 μg/mL LC50 values, respectively. However, hydrophobicity and low stability have limited their practical use in the field as nematicides. To overcome these problems, chitosan-coated nanoemulsions of DPTS and MPTS were developed. The optimum chitosan concentration for the delivery system of the two sulfides was 0.5%. Optimized chitosan-coated nanoemulsions of sulfides have a uniform size distribution (mean diameter = 203.7 and 207.7 nm, mean polydispersity index = 0.176 and 0.178) with sufficient colloidal stability (mean zeta potential = +40 and +45 mV). The LC50 values of DPTS and MPTS nanoemulsions coated with 0.5% chitosan against the pine wood nematode were 5.01 and 16.60 μg/mL, respectively. In addition, chitosan coating improved the long-term storage stability and persistence of nematicidal activity of the nanoemulsions. This study indicates that the chitosan-coated nanoemulsion is a suitable formulation for sulfides as novel nematicides against the pine wood nematode for field application.

International audience; This study investigated the performance and microbiome of cyclic denitrification filters (CDFs) for wood and sulfur heterotrophic-autotrophic denitrification (WSHAD) of saline wastewater. Wood-sulfur CDFs integrated into two pilot-scale marine recirculating aquaculture systems achieved high denitrification rates (103 ± 8.5 g N/(m3·d)). The combined use of pine wood and sulfur resulted in lower SO42− accumulation compared with prior saline wastewater denitrification studies with sulfur alone. Although fish tank water quality parameters, including ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and sulfide, were below the inhibitory levels for marine fish production, lower survival rates of Poecilia sphenops were observed compared with prior studies. Heterotrophic denitrification was the dominant removal mechanism during the early operational stages, while sulfur autotrophic denitrification increased as readily biodegradable organic carbon released from wood chips decreased over time. 16S rRNA-based analysis of the CDF microbiome revealed that Sulfurimonas, Thioalbus, Defluviimonas, and Ornatilinea as notable genera that contributed to denitrification performance.

Wood-based biochar, as a metal-free heterogeneous activator of peroxydisulfate (PDS), was successfully prepared by pyrolysis of polar sawdust for efficient removal of Acid Orange 7 (AO7). The results demonstrate PDS could be effectively activated by wood-based biochar, and AO7 was rapidly eliminated in a wide range of pH value (3.0–10.0) with AO7 removal achieved ≥ 99.3% after 14 min reaction. The dominant reactive species in the biochar/PDS system were verified via radical quenching tests and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) technique. It is speculated that sulfate radicals (SO4•−) and hydroxyl radicals (•OH) were formed on the surface of biochar. Based on the results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), π-electron density and oxygen-containing functional groups (especially C–OH) on biochar surface were active centers for the catalytic reaction. Recycle experiments of biochar for 4 runs were carried out and the regeneration method of the catalyst was also studied.

Under the effect of disturbances, like unbalanced stem, but also during normal development, poplar trees can develop a specific secondary xylem, called "tension wood" (TW), which is easily identifiable by the presence of a gelatinous layer in the secondary cell walls (SCW) of the xylem fibers. Since TW formation was mainly performed on 2-year-old poplar models, an in vitro poplar that produces gelatinous fibers (G-fibers) while offering the same experimental advantages as herbaceous plants has been developed. Using specific cell wall staining techniques, wood structural features and lignin/cellulose distribution were both detailed in cross-sections obtained from the curved stem part of in vitro poplars. A supposed delay in the SCW lignification process in the G-fibers, along with the presence of a G-layer, could be observed in the juvenile plants. Moreover, in this G-layer, the immunolabeling of various polymers carried out in the SCW of TW has allowed detecting crystalline cellulose, arabinogalactans proteins, and rhamnogalacturonans I; however, homogalacturonans, xylans, and xyloglucans could not be found. Interestingly, extensins were detected in this typical adaptative or stress-induced structure. These observations were corroborated by a quantitation of the immunorecognized polymer distribution using gold particle labeling. In conclusion, the in vitro poplar model seems highly convenient for TW studies focusing on the implementation of wall polymers that provide the cell wall with greater plasticity in adapting to the environment.

Poplar wood hemicellulose prehydrolysate was used for microbial oil production using an oleaginous microorganism Cryptococcus curvatus. Initially, the effect of substrate concentration and nitrogen content was investigated on synthetic media. Then poplar wood prehydrolysate without detoxification was used as substrate in the fermentation. The result showed that this strain is capable of consuming both hexose and pentose sugars, a challenge in fermentation of hemicellulosic streams. It was able to accumulate 36.98% of lipid and the fermentation resulted in 13.78 g/L of biomass and 5.13 g/L of lipid under optimum conditions after 164 h of fermentation. The lipid product obtained was characterized in terms of their fatty acid profiles. Overall, this study shows that it is possible to produce microbial oil from a sustainable renewable feedstock like poplar wood hemicellulose prehydrolysate. This robust strain used has the ability to grow on industrially produced hemicellulose which can help in the development of an integrated biorefinery, where all the three components of lignocellulosic biomass are utilized.

Aims Wood as a packing tool is used for packaging and transportation of fruits and vegetables for a time period varying from hours to days. During transportation, fruits and vegetables can be affected by moulds with significant postharvest problems. The present study describes the possibility of using wood-treated oil fungicide of n-hexane extracts from Eucalyptus camaldulensis (aerial parts), Vitex agenus-castus (leaves) and Matricaria chamomilla (flowers) against the infestation of Fusarium culmorum, Rhizoctonia solani and Penicillium chrysogenum. Methods and results Air-dried wood samples of Melia azedarach were prepared with the dimensions of 0·5 × 1 × 2 cm and treated with the oily extracts at the concentrations of 0, 1, 2 and 3%. Oils extracted with n-hexane from E. camaldulensis and V. agenus-castus showed promising antifungal activities against the isolated and molecularly identified three fungi F. culmorum, R. solani and P. chrysogenum, while M. chamomilla observed the lowest activity against the studied fungi. GC/MS analysis of oils reported that the major components in E. camaldulensis were β-fenchol (25·51%), Cyclobuta[1,2:3,4]dicyclooctene-1,7(2H,6bH)-dione,dodecahydro,(6αβ,6βα,12αα,12ββ)- (17·05), 1,8-cineole (eucalyptol) (12·01%) and sabinene (9·45%); in V. agenus-castus were eucalyptol (22·17%), (E)-β-caryophyllene (18·39%), and β-sitosterol (12·44%); while in M. chamomilla were bisabolol oxide A (27·87%), (Z)-β-farnesene (16·11%), D-limonene (14·18%) and chamazulene (11·27%). Conclusions The results suggest using n-hexane oily extracts from E. camaldulensis and V. agenus-castus as a biofungicide for wood protection. Significance and impact of the study This study highlights the importance of using bio-friendly fungicide agents to protect wood against most common moulds occurring during handling of food packaging.

Evidence indicates that wood pulp-derived sterols (WS) have beneficial effects on cardiovascular diseases. The present study aimed to (i) investigate the serum cholesterol-lowering activity of dietary WS and (ii) investigate the effects of dietary WS on the balance of gut microbiota in hamsters fed with a high-fat diet. Thirty-six hamsters were divided into four groups fed on a normal chow diet (NCD), a high-fat diet (HFD), or HFD plus 0.1% or 0.5% wood pulp-derived sterols (WSL, WSH), respectively, for 6 weeks. Levels of serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL-C, non-HDL-C, and non-HDL-C/HDL-C ratio in hamsters fed the NCD were originally 120.4 mg dL-1, 235.8 mg dL-1, 71.7 mg dL-1, 48.7 mg dL-1 and 0.68 mg dL-1, which were elevated by being fed the HFD to 187.7 mg dL-1, 389.5 mg dL-1, 92.3 mg dL-1, 95.3 mg dL-1 and 1.03 mg dL-1, and alleviated completely by being fed the WSH. The excretion of total fecal neutral sterols was dose-dependently increased with the amounts of dietary WS. Furthermore, dietary supplementation with WS modulated the relative abundance of gut microbiota compared with the HFD group. Spearman's correlation analysis revealed that Bacteroides, Allobaculum, Coprobacillus, Lactobacillus, Akkermansia, Coprococcus, and Oscillospira were correlated negatively with most of the serum metabolic parameters and cholesterol metabolic parameters, whereas Desulfovibrio was positively correlated with most of the lipid metabolism-associated parameters. Taken together, dietary supplementation with WS was found to have cholesterol-lowering activity, in part mediated by modulating the gut microbiota in a positive way and regulating the cholesterol absorption and metabolism-related genes.

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a recommended treatment to remediate hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) in wastewater. In this study, a wood carbon (WC) electrode was introduced in MFC to enhance the Cr(VI) removal efficiency. WC electrode in MFC completely removed Cr(VI) as compared to the carbon cloth (31.12%) and carbon felt (34.83) within 48 h of operation at 20 mg L-1 of Cr(VI) concentration. The maximum power density of WC electrode was 62.59 mW m-2 higher than 0.115 and 3.154 mW m-2 of carbon cloth and felt respectively. The specific surface area of WC increased to 158.47 m-2 g-1 after high-temperature carbonization, and electrochemical tests indicate it has higher electrocatalytic ability. Therefore, WC might be a good electrode material to effectively remove Cr(VI) and generate bioelectricity simultaneously.

We investigated the effects of wood kraft pulp (KP) feeding on feed digestibility and rumen fermentation of Japanese Black (JB) steer in the middle fattening stage. The feeding experiment was carried out a replicated 3 × 3 Latin square design using six JB steers (16.2 ± 0.8 months of age). Steers were fed rice straw and three concentrated feeds: commercial formula feed (control), formula feed containing 7.5% KP on a dry matter (DM) basis (7.5% KP), and formula feed containing 15% KP on a DM basis (15% KP). Feed digestibility and rumen fermentation parameters were recorded for 3 days during the measurement period, after an adaptation phase of 11 days. There was no significant difference in DM intake per day among diets. A slightly higher digestibility of neutral detergent fiber was observed in steers fed 15% KP, compared with those fed other diets (P = 0.059). The butyric acid ratio in rumen fluid was higher in steers fed KP diets than in steers fed control (P = 0.083). The average ruminal pH was unaffected by KP diets. This study suggests that replacing 15% of concentrated feed with KP has little effect on feed digestibility and rumen fermentation in JB fattening steer.

In the present paper, an environmental fire retardant with core-shell structure ammonium polyphosphate (APP) @ Aluminum hydroxide (ATH) (microencapsulated APP with nanoscale ATH via coprecipitation) was obtained and employed to flame-retard wood pulp paper (WPP). The factors that influence the synthesis of the microcapsule were discussed, and the products with the average diameter of less than 100 nm of the ATH particles formed on APP was obtained at a mutual compound of Al2(SO4)3•18H2O and Al(NO3)3•9H2O with Al molar ratio of 1:9. The optimum reaction conditions including APP kind and amount were studied and 15%APPII@nano-ATH exhibited optimized surface morphology, evenly dispersed state, enhanced water resistance and strong interaction with vapor water. Fundamentally, it imparted WPP excellent flame resistance: for 15 mm * 150 mm WPP, the smoldering rate value of WPP was 100.08 s/150 mm at 1 mg additive amount of the flame retardant, indicating an improvement of 17.7% compared to 85.04 s/150 mm of pure paper; the limiting oxygen index (LOI) of WPP increased from 19.0 to 27.6% at a relatively low 15%APPII@ATH addition of 6 mg. This high-efficient flame retardant performance could be explained by the direct contact and sufficient interaction between APP and ATH which gives full play to their synergy and accelerated the formation of cross-linked P-O-C/Al-O-Al/Al-O-C/Al-O-P/P-O-P structures, leading to a strong and compact char layer with a result of dramatic reduction in heat release rate and smoke production. The specific decomposition and interaction mechanism was conducted associated with the analysis results of thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) etc.

In the present study, a methodology involving hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) and electrospray (ESI) tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) was developed for measurement of anhydrous monosaccharides as markers for wood burning in atmospheric aerosols, PM10. No extensive sample preparation, other than ultrasound-assisted solvent extraction and evaporation, was applied. A pentahydroxysilica column enabled separation of levoglucosan from mannosan and galactosan within 5 min and the quantitative performance was validated using the standard reference materials (SRM) 1649a and 1649b. The experimentally obtained results for SRMs were in agreement with values previously reported in other studies. Achieved instrumental limits of detection (LODs) were below 10 pg injected on column, corresponding to LODs in air lower than 0.10 ng/m3 for all measured isomers for 2–3 day sampling with 1.0 m−3 h−1 sampling rate. The validated method was used for the determination of levoglucosan and its isomers in atmospheric aerosols collected in three different Swedish urban areas during the winter and summer time in 2017. The total measured concentrations for levoglucosan and galactosan + mannosan were determined to be between 78 and 167 ng/m3 in January 2017, which is approximately 10-times higher compared to the levels detected in July, reflecting the higher frequency of wood burning for heating during the cold season. Calculated concentration ratios between levoglucosan and its isomers in the urban area samples indicated mostly mixed softwood/hardwood combustion in winter time; on the other hand, softwood burning was observed as the major emission in summer time.

Lignin is an important renewable energy source as an excellent new battery fuel and ideal substitutes for the petrochemical industry. However, the molecular mechanism underlying lignin biosynthesis in wood formation of P. massoniana remains unexplored. Thus, an integrative analysis of wood biomass and the developing xylem transcriptome was performed to identify genes involved in lignin biosynthesis. A total of 1624 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, consisting of 797 upregulated and 827 downregulated genes (MaxG vs MinG). Additionally, 122 candidate genes and 17 DEGs were successfully annotated to the lignin biosynthesis pathway. All upregulated MYB and NAC genes were regulators of secondary cell wall formation. Moreover, the qRT-PCR analyses shown that 9 lignin biosynthesis-related genes and 7 transcription factor-encoding genes were upregulated (MaxG vs MinG), which indicated that the downregulation of lignin biosynthesis-related genes might be the possible causes of growth retardation and dwarf phenotype in some P. massoniana individuals. The identification of lignin biosynthesis-related genes can provide valuable genetic basis and resource for further researches on molecular mechanisms of lignin biosynthesis and contribute to the future investigations of bioengineering and synthetic biology to regulate lignin content in wood formation for the pulp and wood utilization industry.

Effects of the addition of 2-naphthol and 2-naphthol-7-sulfonate on the dilute acid pretreatment of mixed wood sawdust were investigated, respectively. Compared to 2-naphthol, 2-naphtnol-7-sulfonate was more effective to enhance delignification and facilitate the enzymatic hydrolysis. The 72 h hydrolysis yield was improved by 47.8% for 2-naphthol-7-sulfone, while only 9.1% was observed for 2-naphthol. The surface charges, enzyme adsorption, and cellulose accessibility of dilute acid pretreated substrates with or without naphthol derivatives were examined. The improved enzymatic hydrolysis by adding 2-naphthol-7-sulfonate was ascribed to the higher negative surface charges, the lower enzyme non-productive binding, and the higher cellulose accessibility of pretreated substrates. Additionally, the HSQC NMR and 31P NMR analysis were carried out on both decomposed lignins and residual bulk lignins. It indicated that the addition of the naphthol derivatives during pretreatment could suppress the lignin repolymerization, which further mitigated the inhibition of residual lignins on enzymatic hydrolysis.

Ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) with explosive characteristics at high temperatures was used as a novel activating reagent to prepare a surface-engineered activated carbon derived from pistachio wood wastes (PWAC). PWAC was characterized and compared with commercial activated carbon (CAC) by textural and morphological properties, surface chemistry, crystal structure, and surface elemental composition. The results indicated that the optimal conditions of PWAC preparation to obtain the highest mercury adsorption capacity were pyrolysis temperature (800 °C), pyrolysis time (2 h), and impregnation ratio (5%). PWAC was of highly regular-shaped and well-developed pores and possessed a large surface area (1448 m2/g) and high total pore volume (0.901 cm3/g). The batch experiments indicated that the adsorption process of Hg(II) was strongly dependent on the solution pH and reached fast equilibrium at approximately 30 min. PWAC (202 mg/g) exhibited a significantly higher maximum adsorption capacity than commercial activated carbon (66.5 mg/g). Adsorbent-adsorbate dispersion interaction plays a major role in the adsorption mechanism, compared to the minor role played by pore filling and reduction mechanism. Overall, ammonium nitrate can be considered a newer activating reagent to prepare promising and low-cost PWAC for effectively Hg(II) removal from water media.

This study proposes a new process to synthesize zero-valent iron/biochar (Fe0-BC) by carbothermal reduction using wood waste and iron mud as raw materials under different temperature. The characterization results showed that the Fe0-BC synthesized at 1200ºC (Fe0-BC-1200) possessed favorable adsorption capacity with the specific surface area of 103.18 m2/g, and that the zero-valent iron (Fe0) particles were uniformly dispersed on the biochar surface. The removal efficiency of rhodamine B (RB) was determined to evaluate the performance of the prepared Fe0-BC. Fe0-BC-1200 presented the best performance on RB removal, which mainly ascribe to that more Fe0 particles generated at higher temperature. The equilibrium adsorption capacity reached 49.93 mg/g when the initial RB concentration and the Fe0-BC-1200 dosage were 100 mg/L and 2g/L, respectively, and the pseudo-second-order model was suitable to fit the removal experimental data. LCMC and XRD analyses revealed that the removal mechanism included the physical adsorption of biochar and the redox reaction of Fe0. Moreover, copper existed in the iron mud was also reduced to Cu0, which was beneficial to catalyze the oxidation of iron, the degradation of RB was promoted at the same time.

Microwave hydrothermal treatment (MHT), a novel advanced technology, was proposed for the fractionation of Paulownia wood (PW) at temperatures ranging 200–230 °C and residence times of 0–50 min, corresponding to severities of 2.93–4.70. This procedure allowed 80% of xylan recovery as xylooligosaccharides and an average of 95% cellulose recovery in the pretreated PW biomass, showing the selectivity of the treatment, that was also compared to conduction–convection heating autohydrolysis. Finally, a kinetic model was proposed for the prediction of PW fractionation using MHT, with the ultimate goal of being applied to a wide range of feedstocks and minimizing the number of parameters used. For that, two strategies were approached, allowing the reduction of 80 to 34 parameters, without significant influence in the kinetic fitting. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first kinetic modelization of MHT of PW, taking into account all the lignocellulosic fractions. Financiado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade de Vigo/CISUG Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. PID2019-110031RB-I00 Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (España) | Ref. CTM2015-68503-R Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte (España) | Ref. FPU16/04077 Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (España) | Ref. RYC2018-026177-I Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED431C 2017/62

Anisakiasis is common in countries where raw or incompletely cooked marine fish are consumed. Currently, effective therapeutic methods to treat anisakiasis are unavailable. A recent study found that wood creosote inactivates the movement of Anisakis species. Essential oil of Origanum compactum containing carvacrol and thymol, which are similar to the constituents of wood creosote, was reported to inactivate Anisakis by inhibiting its acetylcholinesterase. We examined whether wood creosote can also inhibit acetylcholinesterase. We examined the effect of components of wood creosote using the same experimental method. A computer simulation experiment (molecular docking) was also performed. Here, we demonstrate that wood creosote inactivated acetylcholinesterase in a dose-dependent manner with an IC50 of 0.25 mg/mL. Components of wood creosote were also tested individually: 5-methylguaiacol, p-cresol, guaiacol, o-cresol, 2,4-dimethylphenol, m-cresol, phenol and 4-methylguaiacol inactivated the enzyme with an IC50 of 14.0, 5.6, 17.0, 6.3, 3.9, 10.0, 15.2 and 27.2 mM, respectively. The mechanism of acetylcholinesterase inactivation was analyzed using a computer-based molecular docking simulation, which employed a three-dimensional structure of acetylcholinesterase and above phenolic compounds as docking ligands. The simulation indicated that the phenolic compounds bind to the active site of the enzyme, thereby competitively blocking entry of the substrate acetylcholine. These findings suggest that the mechanism for the inactivation of Anisakis movement by wood creosote is due to inhibition of acetylcholinesterase needed for motor neuron activity.

The surface-dependent evaporation behavior of phthalates as semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) on glass, wood, and polyurethane foam (PUF) was investigated. Three phthalates of di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) were studied to compare the amount of gases vaporized from their surfaces. A 10 mL silicate glass vial was used to compare the gas equilibrium of the phthalates after 2 h. The gases accumulated in the air were transferred to a solid-phase microextraction (SPME) column and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). As correlated with the physicochemical properties of the phthalates, including molecular weights and vapor pressure, the surface-air partition coefficients (Ksa) were found to be in the range of 101–105 m, 106–107 m, and 107–109 m on glass, wood, and PUF, respectively, implying that a significant amount of phthalates are retained on wood and PUF surfaces as compared to glass, and only a trace amount of phthalates can be volatilized into the air, especially the less volatile DEHP. The three-dimensional (3D) morphologies of glass and wood were also examined using a white-light interferometric surface profile microscope and an atomic force microscope (AFM). In contrast to smooth glass surfaces within the sub-micrometer vertical range, the wood surfaces exhibited uneven irregular structures at a height of 5–30 μm. The rough wood surfaces were found to adsorb substantial amounts of gases to prevent the effective volatilization of phthalates into the air, especially the low molecular DBP. Our results imply that wood and PUF surfaces may be superior to glass surfaces in storage and reduction of phthalates in the air, especially DBP.

Green composite processing technology of wood fibers is an inevitable choice for global sustainable development. In this research, waste poplar powder with different particle sizes was used to prepare glue-free biocomposites with good mechanical and waterproof properties by hot-molding. The biocomposites made of larger size wood powder had better tensile strength (40.3 MPa) and the biocomposites made of smaller size wood powder had the greater bending strength (50.5 MPa). The thickness swelling rate of the biocomposites was only 4.26% after soaking in water for 24 h. The cross-section morphology of the biocomposites showed that the cell wall collapses enhanced the interfacial bonding. Chemical analysis showed that lignin repolymerized with cellulose and hemicellulose for the vitrification transition. In addition, the biocomposites with excellent mechanical properties had no formaldehyde release, which can replace the traditional density boards made of adhesives and applied as furniture materials and in line with the concept of cleaner production.

A total of 90 wooden toys were collected, and six wood preservatives (chlorophenols and lindane) were analyzed by using gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry to assess the exposure risk of children to wood preservatives through oral contact with wooden toys. The detection rates of six preservatives ranged from 2.2% to 22.2%. The contents of the preservatives ranged from 0.6 µg/kg to 9.6 µg/kg. 2,4-Dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) and 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (2,4,6-TCP) had higher detection rates and contents than other preservatives. Thus, their migration behaviors from toys to saliva were further investigated. In 11 positive samples, the max migration ratios of 2,4-DCP and 2,4,6-TCP ranged from 7.1% to 20.3% and from 11.1% to 24.8%, respectively. For children aged 3–36 months, the daily average 2,4-DCP exposure level associated with wooden toys ranged from 2.7 pg/(kg day) to 46.9 pg/(kg day), and the daily average 2,4,6-TCP exposure ranged from 3.6 pg/(kg day) to 69.4 pg/(kg day). The contribution to exposure provided by the saliva mobilization pathway was more than that provided by the ingestion of scraped-off toys, and the exposure level of 2,4,6-TCP was greater than that of 2,4-DCP. The max hazard quotient for 2,4-DCP was 1.9 × 10−4, and the max cancer risk for 2,4,6-TCP was 1.2 × 10−9. The above results indicated that although wood preservatives were distributed in wooden toys, exposure arising from directly mouthing these materials currently does not pose unacceptable risks to children.

Eucalypts are the most planted trees worldwide, but most of them are frost sensitive. Overexpressing transcription factors for CRT-repeat binding factors (CBFs) in transgenic Eucalyptus confer cold resistance both in leaves and stems. While wood plays crucial roles in trees and is affected by environmental cues, its potential role in adaptation to cold stress has been neglected. Here, we addressed this question by investigating the changes occurring in wood in response to the overexpression of two CBFs, taking advantage of available transgenic Eucalyptus lines. We performed histological, biochemical, and transcriptomic analyses on xylem samples. CBF ectopic expression led to a reduction of both primary and secondary growth, and triggered changes in xylem architecture with smaller and more frequent vessels and fibers exhibiting reduced lumens. In addition, lignin content and syringyl/guaiacyl (S/G) ratio increased. Consistently, many genes of the phenylpropanoid and lignin branch pathway were upregulated. Most of the features of xylem remodeling induced by CBF overexpression are reminiscent of those observed after long exposure of Eucalyptus trees to chilling temperatures. Altogether, these results suggest that CBF plays a central role in the cross-talk between response to cold and wood formation and that the remodeling of wood is part of the adaptive strategies to face cold stress.

Plant extracts have been proved as natural antioxidants resources as well as alternative feed additives in livestock and poultry species. Chestnut wood extract (CWE) as a source of hydrolysable tannic acid was used to evaluate the growth performance, nutrient retention, meat quality, antioxidant status, and immune function of broilers. A total of 168, day-old Arbor Acre male broilers (weight 46.59 ± 0.44 g) were randomly divided to 3 treatments, 7 replicate pens per treatment, 8 broilers per pen. The treatments contain a control diet, CON (corn-soybean meal basal diet); an antibiotic diet, CTC (basal diet + 75 mg/kg chlortetracycline); and chestnut wood extract diet, CWE (basal diet + 1,000 mg/kg chestnut tannins). At the finisher phase, final body weight was higher (P

In the present study, industrial wood flour waste was selected for the first time as the precursor to produce biochar (WFB). The WFB was then used to prepare WFB/BiOBr visible-light photocatalysts, in which WFB acted as the carbon support to enhance the photocatalytic performance of BiOBr. Specifically, the impact of WFB pyrolysis temperature on the visible-light photo-removal performance of WFB/BiOBr was studied through degrading rhodamine B and reducing Cr(VI). The results indicated that when the pyrolysis temperature was 600 °C, the prepared WFB (600-WFB) had the highest graphitization degree, which afterwards significantly enhanced the visible-light photocatalysis performance of the BiOBr. Having higher graphitization degree, 600-WFB/BiOBr exhibited the highest photocatalytic capability. With a dosage of 0.5 g/L, the 600-WFB/BiOBr could completely remove to 20 mg/L of RhB and 5 mg/L of Cr(VI) within 90 min. Since wood flour is an abundantly existed industrial bioresource waste and easily pyrolyzed to prepare biochar, WFB is a promising alternative to replace traditional carbonaceous materials for the design of green and high-efficient visible-light photocatalysts for environmental remediation.

Wood distillate (pyroligneous acid) can be successfully applied in agriculture to increase crop quality and productivity with a lower risk for the environment respect to synthetic chemical herbicides, pesticides or fertilizers. However, the effects of wood distillate on the environment and biota are still under investigation, depending on biological attributes of potentially influenced organisms. The potential toxicological effects of wood distillate on sensitive non-target organisms, lichens and mosses, are studied for the first time. The physiological parameters (chlorophyll a fluorescence emission FV/FM and PI(ABS), chlorophyll content, spectral reflectance, antioxidant power, and dehydrogenase activity) and eventual bioaccumulation of selected elements (As, Ba, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, Zn) were investigated in the lichen Xanthoria parietina and the moss Hypnum cupressiforme after short-term treatments over a range of wood distillate solutions (1:300, 1:500, 1:700) to detect potential early stress responses. Overall, the lichen did not show changes after the treatments, while in the moss wood distillate caused only modest alterations in FV/FM and PI(ABS) and progressive increasing of antioxidant activity according to the dose supplied. The bioaccumulation of toxic elements was low and did not show any pattern of uptake with increasing concentrations of wood distillate.

In this work, ash generated by the combustion of wood in a central heating plant was used to remove and permanently store by accelerated carbonation CO2 contained in a gas mixture simulating biogas. The process was studied as an alternative treatment to the ones currently available on the market for biogas upgrading. The process was investigated at laboratory scale by setting up a facility for directly contacting the wood ash and the synthetic biogas in a fixed bed reactor. The process was able to completely remove CO2 during its initial phase. After about 30 h, CO2 started to appear again in the outlet stream and its concentration rapidly increased. The specific CO2 uptake achieved in solid carbonate form was of about 200 g/kg of dry wood ash. This value is an order of magnitude higher than the ones found for waste incineration bottom ash carrying out similar experiments. The difference was ascribed to the physicochemical properties of the ash, characterized by a fine particle size (d50

The catalytic activity of engineered biochar was scrutinized for generation of glucose and hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) from starch-rich food waste (bread, rice, and spaghetti). The biochar catalysts were synthesized by chemical activation of pinewood sawdust with phosphoric acid at 400–600 °C. Higher activation temperatures enhanced the development of porosity and acidity (characterized by C O PO3 and C PO3 surface groups), which imparted higher catalytic activity of H3PO4-activated biochar towards starch hydrolysis and fructose dehydration. Positive correlations were observed between HMF selectivity and ratio of mesopore to micropore volume, and between fructose conversion and total acid density. High yields of glucose (86.5 Cmol% at 150 °C, 20 min) and HMF (30.2 Cmol% at 180 °C, 20 min) were produced from rice starch and bread waste, respectively, over H3PO4-activated biochar. These results highlighted the potential of biochar catalyst in biorefinery as an emerging application of engineered biochar.

This study aims to explore distinct bacterial strains from wood-feeding termites and to construct novel bacterial consortium for improving the methane yield during anaerobic digestion by degrading birchwood sawdust (BSD) and removing creosote (CRO) compounds simultaneously. A novel bacterial consortium CTB-4 which stands for the molecularly identified species Burkholderia sp., Xanthomonas sp., Shewanella sp., and Pseudomonas mosselii was successfully developed. The CTB-4 consortium showed high efficiency in the removal of naphthalene and phenol. It also revealed reduction in lignin, hemicellulose, and cellulose by 19.4, 52.5, and 76.8%, respectively. The main metabolites after the CRO degradation were acetic acid, succinate, pyruvate, and acetaldehyde. Pretreatment of treated BSD mixed with CRO enhanced the total methane yield (162 L/kg VS) by 82.7% and biomass reduction by 54.7% compared to the untreated substrate. CRO showed a toxicity decrease of >90%, suggesting the efficiency of constructed bacterial consortia in bioremediation and biofuel production.