Production of fiberboard using corn stalk pretreated with white-rot fungus Trametes hirsute by hot pressing without adhesive

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2011.09.097

Bioresource Technology

Volume 102, Issue 24, December 2011, Pages 11258-11261

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2011.09.097 Get rights and content

Abstract

Corn stalk pretreated with white-rot fungus Trametes hirsute was used to produce fiberboard by hot pressing without adhesive. The moduli of rupture and elasticity of the corn-stalk-based fiberboard were increased 3.40- and 8.87-fold when bio-pretreated rather than untreated corn stalk was used. Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and chemical analysis showed that bio-pretreated corn stalk increased the mechanical properties of the fiberboard because it had more than twice the number of hydroxyl group, an 18% higher crystallinity, and twice the polysaccharide content of untreated corn stalk. Its laccase content was 4.65 ± 0.38 U/g. Corn stalk-based fiberboard production did not require adhesives, thus eliminating a potential source of toxic emissions such as formaldehyde gas.

Highlights

► MOR and MOE of fiberboard were significantly increased by bio-pretreatment. ► Mechanical property increasing reasons were investigated by instrumental analysis. ► Bio-pretreatment could make the fiberboard product more environmentally friendly.

Introduction

Field crop residues like cereal straw, corn stalk, flax straw, corn cob, rice husk, represent a potentially valuable source of fiber which can be used as a supplement or substitute for wood fiber in the manufacture of composites such as fiberboard (Hornsby et al., 1997, Panthapulakkal et al., 2006, Yang et al., 2004). Currently, such composites are produced with formaldehyde-based adhesives regardless of the fiber source. These adhesives are made from non-renewable resources, can cause formaldehyde emissions, and make it difficult to recycle the final product (Gonzalez-Garcia et al., 2011).

White-rot fungi efficiently degrade and mineralize lignin into CO₂ and H₂O, as they are able to secrete lignin-degrading enzymes including laccase (EC 1.10.3.2), lignin peroxidase (EC 1.11.1.14), and manganese peroxidase (EC 1.11.1.13). Since laccase catalyzes one-electron oxidations that generate free radicals that can react with other phenolic components, cross-linking can occur (Sakaguchi et al., 2007), and laccase can be used to produce lignin-based adhesives or fiberboards made with laccase-oxidized wood fibers (Felby et al., 2002, Gonzalez-Garcia et al., 2011). However, laccase is expensive and it remains to be determined if fiberboards made with laccase-treated fibers achieve a hardness required by national standards.

In this study, white-rot fungus Trametes hirsute was used to pre-treat corn stalk to investigate the relationship between bio-pretreatment and mechanical properties of the fiberboard by hot pressing without adhesive. For studying how bio-pretreatment influenced the mechanical properties of the fiberboard, the changes of bio-pretreated corn stalk were analyzed by Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction.

Section snippets

Strain and the cultivation

T. hirsute was isolated at the Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of MOE, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and identified at the China General Microbiological Culture Collection Center in Beijing, China. The organism was maintained on potato extract agar at 5 °C. Two discs cut from actively growing cultures on potato extract agar plates were used to inoculate 100 ml of 20% potato extract and 2% glucose medium in a 250-ml round flask, and the culture was grown at 25 °C for 2 days

Mechanical properties of fiberboard

Modulus of rupture (MOR) and modulus of elasticity (MOE) are key mechanical properties of fiberboard (Teixeira and Moslemi, 2001). As shown in Fig. 1, the MOR and MOE of un-pretreated fiberboard (0 d in Fig. 1) were only 0.77 ± 0.10 MPa and 46.57 ± 11 MPa, respectively. With increasing bio-pretreatment time, the MOR and MOE of the fiberboard increased and reached the highest when corn stalk was pretreated for 21 days (3.40- and 8.87-fold increase, respectively over untreated corn stalk) with T. hirsute

Conclusions

The mechanical properties of the corn-stalk-based fiberboard without adhesive were improved by pretreatment with the white-rot fungus T. hirsute. Pretreatment increased the mechanical properties of the fiberboard since it increased the number of hydroxyl groups, crystallinity, and polysaccharide and laccase contents of the corn stalks. Large-scale product the fiberboard without adhesive will require optimization of hot pressing, fermentation, and post-processing.

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the valuable assistance of the Analytical and Testing Center in Huazhong University of Science and Technology for the technology of FTIR and X-ray diffraction analysis.

References (15)

C. Eggert et al.
Laccase is essential for lignin degradation by the white-rot fungus Pycnoporus cinnabarinus
FEBS Lett.
(1997)
C. Felby et al.
Pilot-scale production of fiberboards made by laccase oxidized wood fibers: board properties and evidence for cross-linking of lignin
Enzyme Microb. Technol.
(2002)
S. Gonzalez-Garcia et al.
Environmental assessment of green hardboard production coupled with a laccase activated system
J. Clean. Prod.
(2011)
S. Kim et al.
Effect of structural features on enzyme digestibility of corn stover
Bioresour. Technol.
(2006)
S. Panthapulakkal et al.
Preparation and characterization of wheat straw fibers for reinforcing application in injection molded thermoplastic composites
Bioresour. Technol.
(2006)
B. Schrader et al.
Non-destructive NIR FT Raman analysis of plants
J. Mol. Struct.
(1999)
D.E. Teixeira et al.
Assessing modulus of elasticity of wood-fiber cement (WFC) sheets using nondestructive evaluation (NDE)
Bioresour. Technol.
(2001)

There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (56)

Sugarcane bagasse and cow dung pelletization in varied food-to-microorganism ratios for biogas generation
2024, Industrial Crops and Products
Sugarcane bagasse (SB) is abundantly available in India and has the potential to be harnessed for the production of biogas. However, SB's lignocellulosic nature hinders biogas conversion, and its low bulk density nature increases the cost of storage and transportation. This limitation can be addressed through pretreatment and biomass pelletization. In this study, pretreatment techniques (at various temperatures and times) were carried out to enhance the biomethane production of SB. Additionally, a mixture of sugarcane bagasse and cow dung pellets (SCP) was made with various food-to-microorganism (F/M) ratios (0.5 to 2.5). To assess the physical attributes of SCP, tests for bulk density, moisture absorption, and drop shattering were performed. Finally, a biochemical methane potential (BMP) test of the SCP (i.e., best physical behavior) with a range of total solids (TS: 4–12%) content was also conducted. Among all pretreatment methods, the highest solubilization was observed when sugarcane bagasse was kept in a hot-air oven (for 90 min at 110 °C). The SCP pellets with an F/M ratio of 2.0 were optimal in terms of physical qualities; they were found to have a bulk density of 429 kg/m³, which is approximately 14 times higher than that of raw materials. Additionally, it was discovered that TS at 8% yielded the highest amount of biomethane (241 mL/g-VS) when compared with other TS contents. Overall, the findings of this study will propel the development of bioenergy generation while simultaneously tackling pressing issues related to the management of agricultural waste.
Hybridizations and reinforcements in mycelium composites: A review
2023, Bioresource Technology Reports
Mycelium composites have gained attention in recent years for its environmental credentials and low-cost manufacturing. This emerging material has shown comparable strength to polystyrene foams and particle boards, resulting in its consideration as a sustainable alternative for many applications. Researchers have worked to improve many of mycelium composites properties; however, its strength has seen particular focus. The subject of this review is the methods of hybridization and reinforcement explored to strengthen mycelium composite boards and foams. The result of these methods is highly varied, with most having little effect on improving mycelium composites beyond control samples. Methods which did improve strength were often impractical and/or weaker than samples in which no hybridization or reinforcement was used. While mycelium composites remain an interesting solution for more sustainable materials, methods of hybridization and reinforcement do not appear to be contributing to viable improvements which could be applied to new applications.
Pulping and papermaking of cornstalk
2023, Pulping and Papermaking of Nonwood Plant Fibers
Corn or maize is one of the important cereal crops of the world. Different parts of corn plant are utilized to produce a variety of nonfood and food products. The fibrous parts of corn plant like stalks, husks, and leaves are used to produce different types of paper since the 17–18th century. The fiber length of cornstalk pulp is comparable with wheat straw and bagasse pulps, longer than rice straw pulp and smaller than bamboo pulp. Different pulping processes like thermomechanical, soda, soda–anthraquinone, sulfate/kraft, alkaline sulfite and organosolv, and bleaching sequences like conventional, elemental chlorine free, and total chlorine free were adopted for producing paper and pulp from cornstalk. The physical strength properties of paper produced from unbleached and bleached cornstalk pulps are superior to other nonwood pulps. This chapter covers the developments in the area of making paper and pulp from cornstalk.
Fungal and enzymatic pretreatments in hot-pressed lignocellulosic bio-composites: A critical review
2022, Journal of Cleaner Production
Citation Excerpt :
This difference is also revealed through measurements of the physical properties of the bio-composites produced using Trametes (Coriolus) versicolor pretreatment. Some studies reported direct positive correlations between the activity of a specific enzyme (laccase) and improved mechanical properties (Wu et al., 2011; Zhu et al., 2017), while Wu et al. (2020) revealed positive correlations between MnP and bending strength but with a 7-day lag. Directly treating the substrate with specific lignin-degrading enzymes is more favored than growing fungi as it can help avoid potential damage to carbohydrates.
Fungal and enzymatic pre-treatments have long been used to activate the surface of lignocellulosic biomass particles or fibers to promote adhesion or develop novel composite materials and other products. Research into mycelium-based bio-composites, i.e. products in which constituents are bonded by fungal mycelium, is quite new and still growing. There has also been a significant amount of attention given to these materials by the industry and private sector. These bio-composites can be produced by enzymatically or fungally treating lignoicellulosic substrates and then either molding them into a shape and letting the fungus grow or, alternatively, by hot-pressing the substrate into a panel product. This review article focuses on hot-pressed, higher density lignocellulosic bio-composites produced following enzymatic or fungal pretreatment. The definitions, raw materials, processing procedures, material properties, factors governing product properties, and potential adhesion mechanisms are summarized and discussed. Finally, current commercial products are introduced and roadblocks in the way of further development are presented along with the identification of knowledge gaps.
Fungal lignocellulolytic enzymes and lignocellulose: A critical review on their contribution to multiproduct biorefinery and global biofuel research
2021, International Journal of Biological Macromolecules
Citation Excerpt :
Several bacterial and fungal strains have been isolated and identified as laccase producers, but basidiomycetes fungi is preferred for industrial-scale production under solid state conditions [64,75,189,190]. Numerous basidiomycetes fungi namely Pleurotus djamor [191], Lentinus squarrosulus [192], Pycnoporus cinnabarinus [193], Trametes versicolor [194], Ganoderma lucidum [195,196], Trametes hirsute [197], and Trametes maxima [198] are the potent producers of laccases (Table 3). Generally, laccases are used for the delignification and detoxification of lignocellulosic biomass; further, their low substrate specificity favours the degradation of a wide range of lignocellulosic materials with a phenolic structure [199].
The continuous increase in the global energy demand has diminished fossil fuel reserves and elevated the risk of environmental deterioration and human health. Biorefinery processes involved in producing bio-based energy-enriched chemicals have paved way to meet the energy demands. Compared to the thermochemical processes, fungal system biorefinery processes seems to be a promising approach for lignocellulose conversion. It also offers an eco-friendly and energy-efficient route for biofuel generation. Essentially, ligninolytic white-rot fungi and their enzyme arsenals degrade the plant biomass into structural constituents with minimal by-products generation. Hemi- or cellulolytic enzymes from certain soft and brown-rot fungi are always favoured to hydrolyze complex polysaccharides into fermentable sugars and other value-added products. However, the cost of saccharifying enzymes remains the major limitation, which hinders their application in lignocellulosic biorefinery. In the past, research has been focused on the role of lignocellulolytic fungi in biofuel production; however, a cumulative study comprising the contribution of the lignocellulolytic enzymes in biorefinery technologies is still lagging. Therefore, the overarching goal of this review article is to discuss the major contribution of lignocellulolytic fungi and their enzyme arsenal in global biofuel research and multiproduct biorefinery.
Binderless fiberboards for sustainable construction. Materials, production methods and applications
2021, Journal of Building Engineering
Fiberboards are readily available components which can be used in construction for various functions such as furniture, insulation, or soundproofing. Research in the field of fiberboards has developed considerably in trying to match the practical needs of the construction element together with the new environmental challenges, that favour the production of panels in using by-products without adhesives. This review article presents an overview on fiberboard production and may offer a way to establish all the necessary steps to make binderless fiberboards attractive on the market, by considering economic and sustainable issues. Feedstock procurement is analysed, considering the effect of chemical composition of raw material on fiberboard quality. Lignin represents the most important component for bonding ability. However, at the same time, the need to use a by-product, which may result in choosing a material with less lignin and more hemicelluloses, will worsen dimensional stability, and therefore, a pre-treatment of lignocellulosic material may be necessary. Many pre-treatments have been studied and optimised in recent years. This paper analyses mechanical, chemical, hydrothermal and biological ones, and considers the pros and cons of each one of them. The choice of pre-treatment depends on which result is to be achieved. Some applications are considered to conclude the production chain. What emerges is that the application phase is not yet fully developed and scaling up from laboratory to the industrial stage is not yet achieved.

View all citing articles on Scopus

View full text

Article preview

Bioresource Technology

Abstract

Highlights

Introduction

Section snippets

Strain and the cultivation

Mechanical properties of fiberboard

Conclusions

Acknowledgements

References (15)

Laccase is essential for lignin degradation by the white-rot fungus Pycnoporus cinnabarinus

FEBS Lett.

Pilot-scale production of fiberboards made by laccase oxidized wood fibers: board properties and evidence for cross-linking of lignin

Enzyme Microb. Technol.

Environmental assessment of green hardboard production coupled with a laccase activated system

J. Clean. Prod.

Effect of structural features on enzyme digestibility of corn stover

Bioresour. Technol.

Preparation and characterization of wheat straw fibers for reinforcing application in injection molded thermoplastic composites

Bioresour. Technol.

Non-destructive NIR FT Raman analysis of plants

J. Mol. Struct.

Assessing modulus of elasticity of wood-fiber cement (WFC) sheets using nondestructive evaluation (NDE)

Bioresour. Technol.

Cited by (56)

Sugarcane bagasse and cow dung pelletization in varied food-to-microorganism ratios for biogas generation

Hybridizations and reinforcements in mycelium composites: A review

Pulping and papermaking of cornstalk

Fungal and enzymatic pretreatments in hot-pressed lignocellulosic bio-composites: A critical review

Fungal lignocellulolytic enzymes and lignocellulose: A critical review on their contribution to multiproduct biorefinery and global biofuel research

Binderless fiberboards for sustainable construction. Materials, production methods and applications

Short CommunicationProduction of fiberboard using corn stalk pretreated with white-rot fungus Trametes hirsute by hot pressing without adhesive

Abstract

Highlights

Introduction

Section snippets

Strain and the cultivation

Mechanical properties of fiberboard

Conclusions

Acknowledgements

FEBS Lett.

Enzyme Microb. Technol.

J. Clean. Prod.

Bioresour. Technol.

Bioresour. Technol.

J. Mol. Struct.

Bioresour. Technol.

Short Communication
Production of fiberboard using corn stalk pretreated with white-rot fungus Trametes hirsute by hot pressing without adhesive