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The distribution of lignin, 8-5′ and 8-8′ linked lignin substructure, and noncellulosic polysaccharides in hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) phloem fibers were explored based on histochemical and immunological methods. Ultraviolet absorption and potassium permanganate staining were observed mainly in the compound middle lamella (CML) and S1 layers, and rarely in the G-layer of phloem fibers, suggesting that lignin concentration is high at the CML and S1 layers, and very low at the G-layer of hemp fibers. Acriflavine staining, uniform KM1 labeling (8-5′ linked lignin substructure), and no KM2 labeling (8-8′ linked structure) were observed in the G-layer, suggesting that there is a small amount of lignin-like compound with 8-5′ linked structure in the G-layer. In addition, some fiber cells showed a multilayered structure. Uniform arabinogalactan protein (AGP) labeling was observed on the S1 layers and G-layers using JIM14, but little appeared in the CML of hemp fibers, indicating that these layers of the phloem fibers contain AGP. Immunogold labeling of xylan (LM11) and glucomannan (LM21) showed that xylan and glucomannan were mainly present in the S1 layers and the G-layers, respectively. In some phloem fibers, LM21 immunofluorescence labeling showed multilayered structure, suggesting the heterogeneous distribution of glucomannan.

In recent years, a considerable amount of effort has been devoted, both in industry and academia, towards the recycling and reuse of materials. Most nations are now trying to reduce the amount of waste materials, through the proper recycling of materials. Re-Use and Recycling of Materials will help readers to understand the current status in the field of waste management, as well as what research is taking place to deal with such issues. Technical topics discussed in the book include: • Municipal solid waste management • Recycling of WEEE • Waste to industrially important product like lignin and cellulose • Recycling of agriculture waste • Polymer and plastic recycling

Physical, chemical, and biological properties of wood depend largely on the properties of cellulose, noncellulosic polysaccharides, and lignin, and their assembly mode in the cell wall. Information on the assembly mode in the main part of the ginkgo tracheid wall (middle layer of secondary wall, S2) was drawn from the combined results obtained by physical and chemical analyses of the mechanically isolated S2 and by observation under scanning electron microscopy. A schematic model was tentatively proposed as a basic assembly mode of cell wall polymers in the softwood tracheid as follows: a bundle of cellulose microfibrils (CMFs) consisting of about 430 cellulose chains is surrounded by bead-like tubular hemicellulose-lignin modules (HLM), which keep the CMF bundles equidistant from each other. The length of one tubular module along the CMF bundle is about 16 +- 2 nm, and the thickness at its side is about 3 - 4 nm. In S2, hemicelluloses are distributed in a longitudinal direction along the CMF bundle and in tangential and radial directions perpendicular to the CMF bundle so that they are aligned in the lamellae of tangential and radial directions with regard to the cell wall. One HLM contains about 7000 Csub(6)-Csub(3) units of lignin, and 4000 hexose and 2000 pentose units of hemicellulose.

Primary pyrolysis reactions and relative reactivities for depolymerization and condensation/carbonization were evaluated for various lignin model dimers with α-O-4, β-O-4, β-1, and biphenyl substructures by characterizing the tetrahydrofuran (THF)-soluble and THF-insoluble fractions obtained after pyrolysis at 400°C. Reactivity was quite different depending on the model structure: depolymerization: α-O-4 [phenolic (ph), nonphenolic (nonph)], β-O-4 (ph) > β-O-4 (nonph), β-1 (ph, nonph) > biphenyl (ph, nonph); condensation/carbonization: β-1 (ph) > β-O-4 (ph) > α-O-4 (ph) > β-O-4 (nonph), biphenyl (ph, nonph), α-O-4 (nonph), β-1 (nonph). Major degradation pathways were also identified for β-O-4 and β-1 model dimers: β-O-4 types: Cβ-O cleavage to form cinnamyl alcohols and phenols and Cγ-elimination yielding vinyl ethers; β-1 types: Cα-Cβ cleavage yielding benzaldehydes and styrenes and Cγ-elimination yielding stilbenes. Relative reactivities of these pathways were also quite different between phenolic and nonphenolic forms even in the same types; Cβ-O cleavage (β-O-4) and Cγ-elimination (β-1) were substantially enhanced in phenolic forms.

Over the past four decades, there has been immense progress in every area of lignin science. This volume provides an up-to-date compendium of research on selected topics. The book discusses commonly used chemical degradation methods, spectroscopic methods, studies of isolated lignins and lignin in situ, polymer properties related to thermal stability and molecular motion of lignin in the solid state, and applications of electronic structure calculations to the chemistry of lignin. Also discussed are lignin reactions that occur during the chemical pulping of wood, bleaching, lignin biodegradation, biopulping and biobleaching, the photochemistry of lignin, and pharmacological properties of lignans.

A new approach is proposed for the evaluation of the brittleness of heat-treated Styrax tonkinensis wood. Heat treatment made wood more brittle when wood was heated at a higher temperature or for a longer time. The brittleness increased to four times that of the control when wood was heated at 200°C for 12 h. For treatment at 160°C, the increase in brittleness without any change in weight is thought to be possibly caused by the relocation of lignin molecules. At higher temperatures, loss of amorphous polysaccharides due to degradation is thought to become the main factor affecting brittleness. The crystallites that were newly formed after 2 h of treatment showed brittleness that was different from that of the inherent crystallites remaining after 12 h of heat treatment. This inherent crystalline cellulose possibly plays a role in brittleness. There is also the possibility of using color to predict the brittleness of heat-treated wood.

Effects of side chain hydroxyl groups on pyrolytic β-ether cleavage of phenolic model dimers were studied with various deoxygenated dimers under pyrolysis conditions of N₂/400°C/1 min. Although phenolic dimer with hydroxyl groups at the C α - and C γ -positions was much more reactive than the corresponding nonphenolic type, deoxygenation at the C γ -position substantially reduced the reactivity up to the level of the nonphenolic type. These results are discussed with the cleavage mechanism via quinone methide intermediate formation, which is activated through intramolecular hydrogen bonds between C α - and C γ - hydroxyl groups.

The phenylpropanoid pathway provides precursors for the biosynthesis of soluble secondary metabolites and lignin in plants. Ferulate-5-hydroxylase (F5H) catalyzes an irreversible hydroxylation step in this pathway that diverts ferulic acid away from guaiacyl lignin biosynthesis and toward sinapic acid and syringyl lignin. This fact led us to postulate that F5H was a potential regulatory step in the determination of lignin monomer composition. To test this hypothesis, we have used Arabidopsis to examine the impact of F5H overexpression. Arabidopsis is a useful model system in which to study lignification because in wild-type plants, guaiacyl and syringyl lignins are deposited in a tissue-specific fashion, while the F5H-deficient fah1 mutant accumulates only guaiacyl lignin. Here we show that ectopic overexpression of F5H in Arabidopsis abolishes tissue-specific lignin monomer accumulation. Surprisingly, overexpression of F5H under the control of the lignification-associated cinnamate-4-hydroxylase promoter, but not the commonly employed cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter, generates a lignin that is almost entirely comprised of syringylpropane units. These experiments demonstrate that modification of F5H expression may enable engineering of lignin monomer composition in agronomically important plant species.

The Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas Coal Research Group has been working with lignin extraction from peat and low rank coal and using the obtained extract for synthetic wood industry. Sosa, sulfate and bisulfite methods [1] were applied in the first research step and later they were modified with the lignine extraction process from pine and cedar. Among these, Sosa method showed asthe more efficient method, so, it was used to extract lignine from low rank coal. The extracted lignin was used to prepare lignin-phenol-formaldehide resin and it works as natural fiber binder [2].In the second research step, standarization Sosa method was made [3], were pressure was modified using an pressure reactor (autoclave) for a peat sample. Efficiency was improved. The obtained lignine was used to prepare resins such as phenolformaldehide- lignin, resorcinol-formaldehydelignin and polypropilen-lignin. All of them were utilized using sugar cane bagasse as natural fiber. Currently, a third research step is being developed using Sosa method and working with a peat sample.The main purpose, is to modificate the extracted lignin structure by UV radiation (physical methot) and with NaOH (Chemical method) so the lignin reactivity is improved in the resins production [4] and as result, to get a better quality synthetic wood.