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Anaerobic Biodegradation of Cellulose–Xylan–Lignin Nanocomposites as Model Assemblies of Lignocellulosic Biomass

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Abstract

In order to determine the parameters influencing lignocellulosic biomass biodegradability, binary and ternary model systems were constructed, consisting of cellulose nanowhiskers gel, xylan matrix derived from lignocellulosic plants and synthetic lignin. The adsorption of two xylan polymers with different arabinose/xylose ratios (Ara/Xyl) on the cellulose nanowhiskers resulted in the synthesis of nanocomposites each of different Ara/Xyl ratios and crystallinity indexes. Organized and associated cellulose–xylan–lignin nanocomposites were formed following the polymerization of guaïacyl (G) and syringyl (S) lignin monomers using a peroxidase/H2O2 system in cellulose nanowhiskers-xylan gel. The anaerobic digestion of cellulose nanowhiskers, xylans and cellulose–xylan nanocomposites indicated that the biomethane production depended strongly on the xylan Ara/Xyl ratio and on the cellulose crystallinity. However, the anaerobic digestion of cellulose–xylan–lignin nanocomposites showed that the digestion rate decreased significantly in the presence of lignin. Moreover, there was an even more considerable decrease in digestion rate in the presence of GS-type lignin compared to G-type lignin.

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Abbreviations

Ara:

Arabinose

BMP:

Biomethane potential

Carb:

Carbohydrates

CrI:

Crystallinity Index

L:

Lignin

LG:

Guiacyl lignin

LGS:

Guiacyl-syringyl lignin

Lm:

Lignin monomers

XY:

Xylan

Xyl:

Xylose

XYm:

Xylan polymer with Ara/Xyl = 0.32

XYs:

Xylan polymer with Ara/Xyl = 0.12

VFA:

Volatile fatty acids

WS:

Cellulose whiskers

WS-XY:

Whiskers-xylans assemblies

WS-XY-L:

Whiskers-xylans-lignin assemblies

WS-XY-LG:

Whiskers-xylans-lignin assemblies with guiacyl lignin

WS-XY-LGS:

Whiskers-xylans-lignin assemblies with guiacyl and syringyl lignin

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Dr Kim Milferstedt for his help in microscopy analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. INRA, UR0050, Laboratoire de Biotechnologie de l’Environnement, Avenue des Etangs, 11100, Narbonne, France

    Abdellatif Barakat, Jean-Philippe Steyer & Hélène Carrere

  2. INRA, UMR 1208 Ingénierie des Agropolymères et Technologies Emergentes (UMR IATE), 2, place Pierre Viala, 34060, Montpellier cedex 1, France

    Abdellatif Barakat

  3. INRA, UR 1268 BIA, Laboratoire de Microscopies, Plateforme BIBS, rue de la Géraudière B.P. 71627, 44316, Nantes Cedex 03, France

    Cédric Gaillard

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  1. Abdellatif Barakat
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Correspondence to Hélène Carrere.

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Barakat, A., Gaillard, C., Steyer, JP. et al. Anaerobic Biodegradation of Cellulose–Xylan–Lignin Nanocomposites as Model Assemblies of Lignocellulosic Biomass. Waste Biomass Valor 5, 293–304 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-013-9245-8

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