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Alkaline Peroxide Mechanical Pulp (APMP) of triploid of Populus tomentosa was modified by laccase and a Laccase-Mediator-System (LMS). The influence of the following main variables on the pulp physical properties were studied: enzyme dosage, reaction time, treatment temperature, and pH. Under the optimum conditions of laccase treatment – pH 5, temperature 50 °C, pulp consistency 4%, and a reaction time of 60 min – the optimum charge of laccase was 2u/g. It was also found that the tensile strength and tear indices of the pulps treated with laccase increased significantly. The two-stage method of enzyme-mild acidic hydrolysis was adopted to isolate lignin from the APMP pulps both before and after enzymatic treatments. The functional groups in all lignin samples were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed with 31P-NMR spectra. The molecular weight distributions of all the lignin samples were obtained through Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC) after the lignin samples were benzoylated.

Preparation and pre-treatment of raw material influences the pulp production time and color elimination. Pulp consistency during the treatment also influences the color reaction. In the preparation of the APMP pulp, bagasse was pretreated by either boiling water, 1% NaOH as well as 1% NaOH + 1% H2O2. The liquor to bagasse ratio, treatment time and temperature of alkaline peroxide treatment were constant as 10:1, 30 min, and 70 °C respectively. The treatment duration was determined so that at least five percent of the initial hydrogen peroxide remained at the end of chemical treatment. Characteristics of hand sheets were determined according to the TAPPI standard. The results showed that, the duration of the treatment for pulp consistency of 10, 15 and 20% was 50, 30 and 10 minute, for sample pretreated with boiling water and 290, 230 and 170 minute for the sample pretreated with 1% NaOH + 1% H2O2. The highest brightness of the paper reached with bagasse pretreated in boiling water at 20 % consistency.

A pilot-scale membrane process for the concentration of effluent from an alkaline peroxide mechanical pulping (APMP) plant was investigated. Specifically, the cross-flow velocity and volume reduction were optimized again for a higher flux and a lower system energy consumption. A mathematical model was established to obtain the optimal parameters. Estimates were obtained of the expected savings in energy and water. The obtained optimal concentration conditions were: molecular weight cut-off at 10,000 Dalton, trans-membrane pressure at 3 bar, feed temperature at 50 oC, cross-flow velocity at 2 m/s, and volume reduction at 0.9. The average permeate flux under these conditions was 43.21 l/m2.h. The total solids content was increased from 25.47 g/L in the feed to 128.36 g/L in the concentrate. The permeate had low total solids content of 11.03 g/L, Chemical Oxygen Demand of 9180 mg/l, and Biochemical Oxygen Demand of 5870 mg/L. Such qualities would allow the permeate to be reused in the APMP process after a light biochemical treatment. With this new membrane concentration process, about 1402 kWh energy can be saved and 22 m3 effluent discharge can be reduced for each ton of pulp produced.

The aim of present study was to investigate the effects of xylanase enzyme obtained from Trichoderma viride on APMP pulp from Populus nigra wood. Treatment temperature, time, enzyme dosage and pulp consistency were varied. The results demonstrated that treating by xylanase has considerable effects on pulp. Paper brightness improved in average 2.5% ISO and the highest gain was 4.5%. Also, using enzyme resulted in enhancement of tear and burst indices. Breaking length of paper from enzyme treated pulp was increased to 4098 meters. Further treatment by xylanase reduced the pulp yield by 2.78% as compared to sample without enzyme treatment. The impact of other treatment such as washing by distilled water and alkaline extraction revealed that these treatments did not have significantly effect on the results of enzyme treatment. The optimum temperature, time, enzyme dosage and pulp consistency were 40-50° C, 70 minutes, 10 U/g of oven dried pulp and 10% respectively.

In this study, mechanical and optical properties of CMP, one stage APMP and two stage APMP pulps ( from Tajan wheat straw Golestan province ) were investigated. wheat straw collected at research center of Agriculture and Natural resources of Golestan province. Fiber dimensions such as average fiber length , diameter cell , lumen and fiber wall thickness were assessed at 1.18mm, 18.156, 11.461 and 3.396 microns, respectively. chemical components such as cellulose , lignin , ash and extractives were assessed at 53.7, 21.1, 5.1 and 8.5 percent, respectively. Based on the preliminary experiment results, impregnation temperature was 950C, impregnation times of 10, 20, 30, 40 minutes, caustic charge 10% and peroxide charge was 3% in CMP ,one stage APMP and two stages APMP pulps. Considering pulp properties and treatment conditions, many treatments including 20 and 40 minutes treatments were selected for making of handsheet. The selected pulps were refined up to 350 ml (CSF) freeness prior to making of hasndsheet. Final results indicated that two stages APMP pulp (impregnation in time 40 minutes) had the highest burst strength, breaking length and brightness. Also, the results of yield and tear strength showed that, there was no meaningful difference at the 5% level between three methods CMP, one and two stages of APMP pulps.

Central composite design (CCD) approach of the response surface methodology design of experiment was adopted to determine the production of fermentable sugars after enzymatic conversion of alkaline peroxide oxidative pretreated sugarcane bagasse lignocellulose. MINITAB 16 statistical software was used to design the experiments, evaluate and interpret data generated during the process. The effects of factors such as time, hydrogen peroxide concentration, and temperature on treated biomass for reducing sugars (RS) production were investigated. Operating pretreatment conditions (low–high design levels) were reaction time (6–10 h), hydrogen peroxide concentrations (1–3%v/v), and reaction temperature (60–90 °C). With the desirability of optimization of 1.000, optimal reducing sugar yield after enzymatic hydrolysis was validated to be at 100.2 °C, reaction time of 4.6 h, and hydrogen peroxide concentration of 0.3% with optimum RS yield of 153.74 mg equivalent glucose/g biomass. Keywords: Fermentable sugars, Central composite design, Pretreatment, Enzymatic hydrolysis, Optimization

Effects of alkaline peroxide (AP) pre-treatment were investigated with respect to the extracted cellulose fibres from the vascular bundles of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) fronds (OPF) rachis at different AP concentrations. The extracted fibres were prepared through the mechanical fibrillation resulting from the AP pre-treatment concentrations of the rachis. The cellulose fibres obtained were characterized using microscopic (SEM), spectroscopic (FTIR), thermal (TGA-DTG), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The screen pulp yield was between 38.07% and 42.69%, which increased with the increase in the AP concentrations. The SEM showed a significant separation of the fibres after the AP pretreatment. FTIR spectroscopy and TGA showed significant dissolution of both lignin and hemicellulose molecules from the treated biomass at higher alkaline peroxide concentrations. The thermal stability of the extracted fibres ranged from 366 oC to 392 oC while the XRD results showed that the cellulose fibre extracted at H2O2/NaOH ratio of 2.5%: 2.0%,w/v AP concentrations gave the highest percentage crystallinity (35.7%). The handsheet made from the cellulose fibre showed that tensile, burst, and tear indexes increased with an increase in AP concentration. Duncan Multiple Range Test shows that mild alkaline peroxide pretreatment (medium concentrations) is best favoured for paper making pulp and bio-composite production.

Purpose: To evaluate in vitro the effectiveness of eight different cleansers containing alkaline peroxide against yeast [Candida albicans (Ca) and Candida glabrata (Cg)], Gram-negative bacteria [Escherichia coli (Ec) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa)], and Gram-positive bacteria [Bacillus subtilis (Bs), Enterococcus faecalis (Ef), Staphylococcus aureus (Sa), and Streptococcus mutans (Sm)]. Methods: Denture base acrylic resin specimens (Lucitone 550; 1264 denture base acrylic resin specimens) were obtained from a circular metal matrix (15 x 3 mm) and sterilized with microwave irradiation (650 W, 6 minutes). The specimens were contaminated with 106 CFU/mL suspension of yeasts and 108 CFU/mL suspensions of Grantpositive and -negative bacteria. The contaminated specimens were incubated (37°C/48 hours) and immersed (short cycle) in a stainless steel basket placed in a beaker. The beaker contained one of the following cleanser solutions, which were prepared and used according to the manufacturers' instructions (n=10): PBS (positive control, C), Fixodent (FI), Medical Interporous (MI), Kukident (KU), Efferdent Plus (EF), Equate (EQ), Kroger (KR), Kirari (KI), and Corega Tabs (CT). Reduction in the viability of microorganisms was evaluated through counting of Colony Forming Units (CFU/mL), metabolic activity (XTT), and cell viability by epifluorescence microscopy (EM) analyses. For counting CFU, the specimens (n=10 of each group) were washed and immersed in Letheen medium, from which aliquots were obtained and seeded into selective solid culture media. After incubation (37°C, 24 hours), the colonies were counted (CFU/mL). The metabolic activity of microorganisms was measured using XTT reduction assay (n=5). For EM analysis, the specimens (n= 2 of each group) were stained (Live/Dead BacLight), and the images were analyzed in terms of biofilm areas (total and living cells). Data were processed and analyzed by Wilcoxon, Mann Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests followed by Dunn test (a= 0.05). Results: Significant differences were found between the experimental groups and C for the evaluated microorganisms. MI was the most effective for yeasts; this cleanser reduced the metabolic activity, viability, and total counts of both yeasts evaluated. All cleansers reduced the total counts of Gram-negative microorganisms, except CT for Pa. For Gram-negative bacteria, KR, CT, EF, and EQ significantly reduced the metabolic activity of Ec but did not remove all dead cells. FI and Ml significantly reduced the metabolic activity of Pa, and the latter also removed the dead cells of Pa. FI and MI showed improved results against all Gram-positive bacteria. Both cleansers significantly decreased the metabolic activity of all bacterial species and reduced the viability of Sa, Ef, and Bs. MI also reduced the biofilm aggregates of Sm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An enzymatic mild acidic hydrolysis was used to separate and purify residual lignin from alkaline peroxide mechanical pulp (APMP). Using the optimum conditions for the laccase treatment (pH 4.5, temperature 50 °C, lignin consistency of 1%, a reaction time of 60 min, and a laccase dosage of 8 μ/g), oven-dried lignin was treated with laccase and in a laccase mediator system (LMS) to explore the mechanism for laccase and the LMS modification of APMP. The changes of functional groups in lignin were analyzed using nuclear magnetic resonance (31P-NMR and 13C-NMR). The molecular weight distributions of the lignin samples were confirmed by gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The 31P-NMR and 13C-NMR spectra revealed that the lignin structure changed significantly with the laccase and the LMS treatments. Meanwhile, GPC demonstrated that laccase without a mediator could lead to the polymerization of lignin, while the LMS could degrade the lignin. Hence, it was concluded that laccase is an attractive enzyme for lignin modification.

In the mechanical pulping process, some process state and product quality variables are difficult to measure on-line. In this paper, soft sensors were used to estimate Canadian Standard Freeness (CSF) and outlet consistency (Cout) after the high consistency refining stage of the alkaline peroxide mechanical pulping (APMP) process. After the secondary variables for modeling that are readily available processed measurements in pre-treatment and the HC refining stage was selected, models based on the case-based reasoning (CBR) method were developed to estimate CSF and Cout. The ability of CBR soft sensors to predict CSF and Cout was tested using data collected from an APMP mill, and the results were satisfactory. Additionally, two typical soft sensor methods that back propagation network (BP) algorithms and support vector regression algorithms (SVR) were employed to predict CSF and Cout and evaluate the performance of the CBR soft sensor. As a result, the proposed soft sensor demonstrated a better performance than the BP method and can be regarded as of comparable quality to the SVR method.

Residual melanins have been detected in multimillion-year-old animal body fossils; however, confident identification and characterization of these natural pigments remain challenging due to loss of chemical signatures during diagenesis. Here, we simulate this post-burial process through artificial maturation experiments using three synthetic and one natural eumelanin exposed to mild (100 °C/100 bar) and harsh (250 °C/200 bar) environmental conditions, followed by chemical analysis employing alkaline hydrogen peroxide oxidation (AHPO) and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). Our results show that AHPO is sensitive to changes in the melanin molecular structure already during mild heat and pressure treatment (resulting, e.g., in increased C-C cross-linking), whereas harsh maturation leads to extensive loss of eumelanin-specific chemical markers. In contrast, negative-ion ToF-SIMS spectra are considerably less affected by mild maturation conditions, and eumelanin-specific features remain even after harsh treatment. Detailed analysis of ToF-SIMS spectra acquired prior to experimental treatment revealed significant differences between the investigated eumelanins. However, systematic spectral changes upon maturation reduced these dissimilarities, indicating that intense heat and pressure treatment leads to the formation of a common, partially degraded, eumelanin molecular structure. Our findings elucidate the complementary nature of AHPO and ToF-SIMS during chemical characterization of eumelanin traces in fossilized organismal remains.

In China, alkaline peroxide mechanical pulping performed with refiner-chemical preconditioning (P-RC APMP) is well known to produce fiber with high bulk, opacity, and light scattering coefficient but weak bonding and strength properties. In this study, the characteristics of different P-RC APMP fiber fractions were investigated, and their effects on bonding strength properties were determined. The results showed that there was only 5.8% R30 fiber fraction and 14.1% P100/R200 fiber fraction, and the specific surface area increased from R30 to P100/R200. The tensile index increased by 51.85% and the bonding index increased by 15.35%, when the fibers were changed from the R30 fraction to the P100/R200 fraction. The short fiber fraction (P100/R200 fraction) had smaller fiber length and coarseness but larger specific surface area and greater surface charge density than the long fiber fraction (R30 fraction). The fiber specific surface area and surface charge density made significant contributions to the bonding capacity, whereas fiber coarseness and length were negatively correlated with the tensile index.

In this study, the structural modification of Siam weed (Chromolaena odorata) was performed using NaOH–H2O2- and Ca(OH)2–H2O2-based oxidative pretreatment for the enzymatic conversion of the biomass to a biocommodity, reducing sugar (RS). Pretreatment of raw sample was evaluated at temperatures of 60°C, 70°C, 80°C, 90°C for different time intervals of 3, 6, 9, 12 h in alkaline medium (NaOH or Ca(OH)2). The effects of pretreatment time and temperature were considered in obtaining the optimum conditions. The optimum conditions for NaOH–H2O2 was obtained at 70°C and 3 h with a maximum cellulose content of 44.29%(w/w), lignin content reduced to 21.09% from the initial raw value of 24.2%. Pretreatment with Ca(OH)2–H2O2 resulted in the optimum conditions obtained to be 70°C for 3 h with a cellulose content of 47.18%. Enzymatic hydrolysis on the pretreated biomass at the optimum conditions showed NaOH–H2O2-treated sample yielded 424.35 mg equivalent glucose/g biomass of RS while Ca(OH)2–H2O2-treated sample yielded 335.81 mg equivalent glucose/g biomass of RS. The untreated raw sample yielded 68.75 mg equivalent glucose/g biomass of RS. Consequently, NaOH–H2O2 pretreatment displayed a higher efficiency than Ca(OH)2–H2O2 pretreatment. Stereomicroscopic and scanning electron microscopic imaging of the treated and untreated samples revealed morphological disruptions brought about by the treatments.

Purpose: To evaluate the color stability (ΔE), surface roughness (ΔRa), and flexural strength of denture base acrylic resin after short (20 minutes) and long-term (8 hours) immersions simulating a period of 5 years of use., Methods: 120 disk-shaped (16 mm x 4 mm) and 120 rectangular (65 mm x 10 mm x 3.3 mm) specimens were prepared (Lucitone 550) and distributed into three groups (n=20): distilled water (Control); Corega Tabs (CT) and Polident (Po), for immersions of 20 minutes and 8 hours. ΔE were determined by a colorimeter, ΔRa by a profilometer and the flexural strength by a universal testing machine. Data were evaluated by two-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's test and Bonferroni correction (α= 0.05)., Results: Short-term immersions for 20 minutes resulted in significant differences in ΔE, as CT values (1.46 ± 1.41) were higher than Po (0.55 ± 0.25) and Control (0.47 ± 0.21). Specimens immersed for 8 hours showed more extensive alterations overall than the control (ΔE [Po: 7.27 ± 0.53; CT: 5.58 ± 0.49; Control: 1.26 ± 0.23]; 916;Ra [Po: 0.16 ± 0.08; CT: 0.12 ± 0.11; Control: 0.07 ± 0.06]; flexural strength [Po: 42.99 ± 9.34; CT: 63.96 ± 12.98; Control: 64.59 ± 12.87]). The tested alkaline peroxide-based solutions promoted significant alteration on acrylic resin properties after overnight immersion. Therefore, short-term immersions seem to be more suitable for daily denture hygiene., Clinical Significance: Alkaline peroxides were able to alter color stability, surface roughness and flexural strength of acrylic resin after overnight immersions, in a 5-year-simulated period of use., Competing Interests: The authors declared no conflict of interest. Financial support: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo - FAPESP (grants no.2010/51543-6 and 2011/22898-3)., (Copyright©American Journal of Dentistry.)

Natural cellulose-based microfibers were obtained through an economical and environmentally sustainable process called alkaline-peroxide purification, from the waste products of oil palm mesocarp fibres (OPMF) and pineapple leaves (PL), with the intention of creating porous, biodegradable, biocompatible, and non-toxic solid supports for use in future processes. The extracted microfibres were then taken through microscopic, spectroscopic and thermal characterisation to establish their cellulosic nature. The scanning electron microscopic (SEM) images of the bleached microfibres (B-OPMF and B-PLF) were cleaner, smoother and porous as compared with that of the unrefined fibres (Ur-OPMF and Ur-PLF). The bleached fibres (B-OPMF and B-PLF) exhibited peaks of C and O, which are indicative of pure cellulose, in the energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis. The FTIR spectral analysis of the extracted cellulose-based fibres (B-OPMF and B-PLF) exhibited peaks that were similar in composition to the reference cellulose (P-GB). For the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) analysis, the maximum weight degradation in the reference cellulose (P-GB), occurred at 363.11 °C, in the bleached palm fibres (B-OPMF) at 334.55 °C and in the bleached pineapple leaf fibres (B-PLF) at 375.68 °C which, corresponds to cellulose decomposition. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) test verified the microfibers' thermally induced transitions. Therefore, these cellulose-based microfibres could be applied as functionalised microfibre supports for future applications.

In recent years, the alkaline peroxide mechanical pulping performed with refiner-chemical preconditioning (P-RC APMP) has obtained a wide application in many paper grades in China. This is due to such desirable pulp characteristics as its high bulk, opacity, and light scattering coefficient. However, compared with its bleached chemical pulps, the poplar P-RC APMP has weak bonding strength, which limits its application in value-added products. Usually, the interfiber bonding abilities of different fiber fractions are quite different. In this study, the page bonding strength index (B) and the interfiber bonding abilities (shear bond strength per unit area (b) and relative bonding area (RBA)) of different P-RC APMP fiber fractions were extrapolated by the traditional Page Equation. The results show that the higher B could be obtained when the fiber fraction was shorter or smaller. The same trend was observed for b and RBA. Wet pressing was used to improve the bonding ability, and higher pressure of wet pressing or shorter fiber fraction can lead to obviously higher tensile strength.

The chemical compositions of cotton stalk and bast are similar to those of hardwood and superior to those of grass fiber. With respect to the morphological characteristics of their fibers, cotton stalk is similar to hardwood and cotton bast is similar to softwood. The average length of cotton bast fibers is nearly triple that of cotton stalk fibers, and the length-to-width ratio is almost quadruple. Traditionally, cotton stalk and cotton bast are pulped together, which affects the quality and homogeneity of the pulp and complicates bleaching, limiting its use to low-grade paper. In this study, cotton bast and cotton stalk were separated and pulped individually by alkaline peroxide extrusion pulping (APEP). The orthogonal analytical method was used to determine the optimal pulping parameters. Compared to those obtained via the kraft pulp (KP) of cotton stalk as a whole, far superior yield and whiteness were obtained in APEP. Further, with APEP, lower amounts of chemicals and less energy were consumed and there was little pollution. The physical performance of APEP was slightly lower than that of KP. With respect to bast alone, the physical performance of APEP was almost as good as that of KP.

Lignocellulose materials, essentially consisting of lignin, cellulose and hemicelluloses, are abundant sources of fermentable sugars. The bast fiber of Crotalaria juncea (Sunn hemp), a native cover crop of India, was used as feedstock for this study. The primary objective of this study was to add value to the waste C. juncea bast fiber. The same was achieved by pretreating the waste fiber using alkaline peroxide solution at various process conditions. The optimal process condition for alkaline peroxide pretreatment was identified for the fiber to pretreatment solution (S/S) ratio of 1/40 at 50°C for 5h with respect to all response variables (lignin removal, hemicellulose recovery, recovery of solid pretreated material, and crystallinity of lignocellulose). Three-way ANOVA results revealed that S/S ratio had no significant effect; whereas, both temperature and time, and the combination of parameters, exhibited significant effect on response variables. The characteristic peaks associated with lignin and cellulose demonstrated a higher amount of lignin removal and increased cellulose content with elevated treatment time. Autoclave assisted pretreatment proved to be inefficient due to removal of lower amount of lignin in addition to higher hemicellulose degradation. On the other hand, pretreatment using ultrasound was found to be most effective in removing lignin, liberating hemicelluloses along with diminition in cellulose crystallinity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Desired pulp-based product properties can be achieved by addition of filler in the pulp network. In exploring this, fines co-generated upon refining the alkaline peroxide treated oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB) were collected based on their passage and retention capacities when subjected to varying mesh-sizes stainless-steel square mesh wires. Pulp network incorporating fines produced from the synergy of low alkaline peroxide (AP) and low energy refining effects shows that blending 12% of the 400-mesh fines (P300/R400) with the normal 200-mesh pulp fraction enhanced paper tensile strength by 100% due to their favourable dimensions. This defines the usefulness of fibrillar particles whose cell wall collapsibility increases the web density by increasing bonding ability and thus, strength of pulp-based products. Fines produced from more extreme synergy between alkaline peroxide and degree of refining, exhibit unique submicron fibrils and ‘nano-CGF’ also responsible for further augmentation of EFB alkaline peroxide pulp network. Whether from the simple (low-AP and low energy refining) or the extreme synergy of AP and refining, the co-generated fines are apparently suitable materials for use as natural filler for augmentation of pulp network. Particularly for the simple AP and refining synergy, the introduced recovery and utilization of the co-generated filler (CGF) was found to reduce 74% turbidity and this improvement will help reduce the complexity of whitewater generation in the pulping system.