• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.22-28
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• 2009

The rice hull could be the one of the most abundant agricultural waste in Korea. Since the efficient utilization of agricultural waste or byproducts of food industry would be critical for the sustainable growth, this study conducted the investigation of the chemical composition and the morphological properties of rice hull and rice hull fiber. It was found that there was big difference between the outer surface and the inner surface in the chemical composition and the morphological properties. Expecially, the outer surface showed the rugged patterns in which most of silica of rice hull existed. Little or no silica was found in the inner surface and rice hull fiber. The average fiber length of rice hull fiber was 0.45mm which was shorter than that of hardwood fiber. Rice hull fiber showed a round long shape which is typical shape of non-wood fibers

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.22 no.12
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• pp.2197-2204
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• 2000

Lignin is a major component of wastewater generated in the chemical processing of wood. Because it is recalcitrant, it inhibits biological treatment of wastewater of pulp manufacturing, especially high concentration of lignin may inhibit the anaerobic digestion. The objective of this study was to evaluate the toxicity of high molecular hardwood lignin (lignosulfonate, MW $\geq$ 20,000) on aceticlastic methanogens in the batch reactors at different temperatures with different sludge concentrations, using anaerobic serum bottles. The hardwood lignin was found to inhibit anaerobic conversion of acetate to methane and carbon dioxide, shown with a long lag-phase before methanogenesis started. The methanogens assumed not to be able to acclimate to the lignin were found to be acclimated slowly in the batch experiments, finally reaching non-toxic levels in which methane production could start. The hardwood lignin was found not to be bacteriocidal but bacteriostatic to aceticlastic methanogens. Hardwood lignin(lignosulfonate) at 1.3, 2.6, and 3.9%(w/w) inhibited the acetateutilizing methanogens of anaerobic digester sludge by 14.5, 17.8, 21.1 days(in noninhibitory condition it took 10 days) to produce the same amount of methane. The inhibitory effect of lignin was examined at temperature ranges of $30^{\circ}C$ to $50^{\circ}C$. When 2.6% of lignin was contained in wastewater, methane production was highest at $30^{\circ}C$ during initial 8 days. At $4^{\circ}C$, methane production rapidly increased after 12 days of digestion, the value became higher than that at $30^{\circ}C$ after 14 days. However, the methane production was completely inhibited during whole digestion period at $50^{\circ}C$. High ratio of lignin concentration to initial anaerobic sludge concentration gave tolerance to the inhibition. In this experiment, high molecular hardwood lignin was not degraded and decolorized.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.123-132
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• 2012

Pre-pulping extracts were found to contain a dilute amount of xylo-oligosaccharides and acetic acid as the major components, and many minor components including other organic acids, lignin-derived phenolics, and sugar degradation products. Once separated from the pulp, a secondary hydrolysis step was required to hydrolyze oligomeric hemicellulose sugars into monomeric sugars before fermentation. The following study detailed the extent of hemicellulose recovery by pre-pulping using hot water extraction and characterized the hydrolysis of the extract with respect to comparing acid and enzymatic hydrolysis. The secondaryhydrolysis of hot water extracts made at an H-Factor of 800 was tested for a variety of acid and enzyme loading levels using the sulfuric acid and xylanases. The maximum fermentable sugar yield from acid and enzyme hydrolysis of the extract was 18.7 g/${\ell}$ and 17.7 g/${\ell}$ representing 84.6% and 80.1% of the maximum possible yield, respectively.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.561-567
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• 2013

Mixed hardwood chips were pre-pulping extracted with green liquor prior to kraft pulping in order to recover hemicelluloses for use as biofuels. This green liquor solution containing mainly sodium sulfide and sodium carbonate was applied at different alkali charges (expressed as $Na_2O$) of 0, 1, 3, and 5% on dry wood weight. The extractions were performed at $160^{\circ}C$ for residence times ranging from about 1-2 h to determine the effect of extraction severity on composition of the pre-pulping extract. The severity of hemicellulose extraction time and green liquor charge controls the concentration of acetic acid and monosaccharide sugars available for downstream processing, the accumulation of degradation products such as organic acids and furans in the extract. As the alkali charge was increased, the amount of acetate side chains on the hemicelluloses and the dissolved lignin in the extract increased but the carbohydrate and sugars in the extract decreased appreciably. Hot water extraction (0% alkali addition) released the greatest amount of carbohydrates, up to 29.80 g/L measured as component sugars, but resulted in the greatest decrease in pulp yield. Meanwhile, pre-pulping extraction with 3% green liquor increased the pulp yield while greatly reducing the component sugars to 7.08 g/L. Fundamental data obtained in this study will allow selection of optimum hemicellulose extraction conditions for integrating the extraction operation into the Kraft pulping process.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.194-195
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• 1982

Recommendaton: These are the highlights of the findings of the Timber Consumption Survey carried out by the Project in 1966, and covering consumption for the period from 1961 to 1965. The survey was oriented towards consumption for structural, commercial and industrial purposes and existing estimates for local (village-level) consumption as fuel and the like were adopted. A full report on the survey was submitted to the Bureau of Forestry in 1966. Long-term Trends: After allowance for anticipated population increase, this ten year's increase in industrial wood consumption represents a gain of about 30% in per capita consumption (from 0.0913 cu.m. per capita to 0.118 cu.m. per capita). This is only about half the expected general economic growth of about 75% (7% per annum). It is therefore likely (a) that the 1975 estimate is conservative, (b) that the consumption demand beyond 1975 may be expected to build up at a greatly increased rate. Estimated income elasticity coefficients are high, and with expected ir,creases in prosperity and population, the consumption is expected to rise to 10 million cu. meters by the year 2,000. Consumption Pattern: The breakdown of industrial consumption (1965) is given in Table 4-2, showing sawnwood consumption as the most important in 1965. The upward trend in all sectors over the 1961-65 period is expected to continue. The general consumption pattern is expected to change through 1975 with a sharp increase in the relative importance of pulp products (to 30% of total consumption) offset by declining relative importance of sawlogs. The following recommendations follow from the study: (i) Industrial forests. - A programme of establishment of consolidated industrial forests should be initiated as a matter of urgency. (ii) Fuelwood forests - Properly sited, protected and managed fuelwood forest, worked on a 20-year rotation, should be established as a nation wide basis. (iii) Hardwood utilization - Detailed investigations are required into the use of indigenous hardwoods for the pulp, particle board and hardboard industries. (iv) Mining timber - Preservation treatment of all mining timber should be enforced by law. (v) Sawmills - Licencing restrictions should be enforced to reduce the number of small, inefficient sawmills. b. Extension work should be undertaken bv government to improve sawmilling practices.

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.42-51
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• 2013

In this study, oil palm biomass such as empty fruit bunch (EFB) and palm kernel shell (PKS) was used as raw materials for making pellets. Hardwood sawdusts were also mixed with EFB and PKS for making pellets. For improving a bad forming behavior in a pelletizer, 1 to 3 per cent of corn starch based on oven-dried weight biomass was added. The starch contributed to the decrease of dust generation in addition to the improvement of forming capability during pellet forming. Heating values of every pellets made of EFB and PKS were higher than 4,300 kcal/kg for the first grade pellet, irrespective of addition of sawdusts. However, the pellets made of EFB and PKS had ash contents over 3 per cent, which made it impossible to be applied for home use. Instead, they could be applied for industrial use. For studying their combustion characteristics, the pellets from the mixtures of EFB, PKS and sawdusts were analyzed using thermal gravimetric analyzer (TGA). From the TGA results, thermal decomposition of EFB and PKS occurred following three including endothermic reaction and dehydration, devolatilization of the major chemical components, and finally combustion of residual lignin and char.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.71-77
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• 2012

Cellulose nanowhisker (CNW) isolated from hardwood bleached kraft pulp (HW-BKP) using sulfuric acid hydrolysis was suspended in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and electrospun into composites nanofibers. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed the CNW to be rod-like, approximately of $16.1{\pm}4.6$ nm wide and $194{\pm}61$ nm long, providing an aspect ratio of about 12, with a particle size distribution range of $662.2{\pm}301.2$ nm. Uniform and high quality CNW/PVA composite nanofibers were successfully manufactured by the electrospinning method. As the CNW loading increases, the viscosity of CNW/PVA solutions shows a minimum at 1% CNW level which subsequently results in the smallest diameter (193 nm) of electrospun nanofibers. The average diameter of the nanofibers increased up to 284 nm with increasing CNW loading. These results suggest that the electrospinning method provides a great potential of manufacturing consistent and reliable nanofibers from CNW/PVA solution for the formation of scaffolds with potentials in future application.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.613-627
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• 2015

Simple methods of conductometric titration and infrared spectroscopy were used to quantify the surface carboxyl content of cellulose fibrils isolated by 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl radical (TEMPO)-mediated oxidation. The effects of different cellulose sources, post or assisted-sonication oxidation treatment, and the amount of sodium hypochlorite addition on the carboxyl content of cellulose were reported. This study showed that post sonication treatment had no influence on the improvement of surface carboxyl charge of cellulose macrofibrils (CMFs). However, the carboxyl content increased for the isolated cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs). Thus the carboxyl content of CNFs is different from those of their corresponding bulk oxidized cellulose and CMFs. Filter paper as a CNF source imparted a higher surface charge than did hardwood bleached kraft pulp (HWBKP) and microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). It was considered that the crystallinity and microstructure of the initial cellulose affected oxidation efficiency. In addition, the carboxyl content of cellulose was successfully controlled by applying sonication treatment during the oxidation reaction and adjusting the amount of sodium hypochlorite.

• Current Research on Agriculture and Life Sciences
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.250-255
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• 2013

As a renewable nanomaterial, cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) isolated from wood grants excellent mechanical properties in developing high performance nanocomposites. This study was undertaken to compare the reinforcing efficiency of two different CNCs, i.e., cellulose nanowhiskers (CNWs) and cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) from hardwood bleached kraft pulp (HW-BKP) as reinforcing agent in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-based nanocomposite. The CNWs were isolated by sulfuric acid hydrolysis while the CNFs were isolated by 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl radical (TEMPO)-mediated oxidation. Based on measurements using transmission electron microscopy, the individual CNWs were about $6.96{\pm}0.87nm$ wide and $178{\pm}55nm$ long, while CNFs were $7.07{\pm}0.99nm$ wide. The incorporation of CNWs and CNFs into the PVA matrix at 5% and 1% levels, respectively, resulted in the maximum tensile strength, indicating different efficiencies of these CNCs in the nanocomposites. Therefore, these results suggest a relationship between the reinforcing potential of CNCs and their physical characteristics, such as their morphology, dimensions, and aspect ratio.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.119-129
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• 2014

This work undertook to prepare nanofibers of cellulose nanofibrils (CNF)/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) composite by electrospinning, and characterize the electrospun composite nanofibers. Different contents of CNFs isolated from hardwood bleached kraft pulp (HW-BKP) by 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxy radical (TEMPO)-mediated oxidation were suspended in aqueous polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) solution, and then electrospun into CNF/PVA composite nanofibers. The morphology and dimension of CNFs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), which revealed that CNFs were fibrillated form with the diameter of about $7.07{\pm}0.99$ nm. Morphology of the electrospun nanofiber observed by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) showed that uniform CNF/PVA composite nanofibers were manufactured at 1~3% CNF contents while many beads were observed at 5% CNF level. Both the viscosity of CNF/PVA solution and diameter of the electrospun nanofiber decreased with an increase in CNF content. The diameter and its distribution of the electrospun nanofibers helped explain the differences observed in their morphology. These results show that the electrospinning method was successful in preparing uniform CNF/PVA nanofibers, indicating a great potential for manufacturing consistent and reliable cellulose-based nanofibrils for scaffolds in future applications.