THE STRUCTURAL CHARACTERIZATION OF CORN STALKS HEMICELLULOSES DURING ACTIVE OXYGEN COOKING AS A PRETREATMENT FOR BIOMASS CONVERSION

The structural characteristics of corn stalks hemicelluloses during the active oxygen cooking process as a pretreatment of biomass conversion were investigated in this work. The hemicelluloses obtained from the corn stalks, pulp, and yellow liquor were evaluated by high-performance anion-exchange chromatography (HPAEC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and 1H-13C 2D hetero-nuclear single quantum coherence (HSQC) spectroscopy. Based on the sugar and GPC analysis, FT-IR, and NMR spectroscopy, it could be concluded that the hemicelluloses were composed of backbones of (1→4)-β-D-xylopyranose substituted α-L-arabinofuranose and 4-O-methyl-α-D-glucuronic acid. During the cooking process, the hemicelluloses with more side chains were removed from raw material. The backbones were significantly damaged as well. Additionally, the ester linkages in the raw material were completely broken after the cooking.