News tagged with cellulose
Emerging theoretical framework may guide researchers through the complex world of multiblock polymers
(Phys.org) -- Thanks to advances in polymer chemistry and a wide variety of monomer constituents to choose from, the world of multiblock polymers is wide open. These polymers can result in an astonishing array ...
Apr 26, 2012 |
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Research team uses nanoparticles to make paper waterproof and magnetic
(Phys.org) -- Researchers at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia in Genoa, led by Roberto Cingolani, have devised a means for connecting cellulose fibers in ordinary paper with nanoparticles resulting in new desired properties, ...
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Apr 20, 2012 |
4.4 / 5 (8) |
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Materials inspired by Mother Nature: A 1-pound boat that could float 1,000 pounds
Combining the secrets that enable water striders to walk on water and give wood its lightness and great strength has yielded an amazing new material so buoyant that, in everyday terms, a boat made from 1 pound of the substance ...
Mar 25, 2012 |
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Pulp NonFiction: Fungal analysis reveals clues for targeted biomass deconstruction
Without fungi and microbes to break down dead trees and leaf litter in nature, the forest floor might look like a scene from TV's "Hoarders."
Mar 22, 2012 |
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Chemists study mutated plants that may be better for biofuels
Genetic mutations to cellulose in plants could improve the conversion of cellulosic biomass into biofuels, according to a research team that included two Iowa State University chemists.
Feb 28, 2012 |
3 / 5 (4) |
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Plant toughness: Key to cracking biofuels?
Along with photosynthesis, the plant cell wall is one of the features that most set plants apart from animals. A structural molecule called cellulose is necessary for the manufacture of these walls. Cellulose is synthesized ...
Feb 21, 2012 |
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Nanostructure of cellulose microfibrils in spruce wood
Scientists at Institut Laue-Langevin in Europe recently described in PNAS the first detailed structure of cellulose fibres from any higher plant.
Feb 17, 2012 |
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'Mini-cellulose' molecule unlocks biofuel chemistry
A team of chemical engineers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has discovered a small molecule that behaves the same as cellulose when it is converted to biofuel. Studying this 'mini-cellulose' molecule reveals for ...
Feb 16, 2012 |
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Light but stable: novel cellulose-silica gel composite aerogels
(PhysOrg.com) -- Delicate and translucent as a puff of air, yet mechanically stable, flexible, and possessing amazing heat-insulation properties—these are the properties of a new aerogel made of cellulose ...
Jan 27, 2012 |
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Chile brings fires under control as probe expands
Firefighters reported progress Wednesday in bringing under control wildfires in southern Chile that have destroyed about 45,000 hectares (112,000 acres) as a special prosecutor began investigating the source ...
Jan 04, 2012 |
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Go to work on a Christmas card
If all the UK's discarded wrapping paper and Christmas cards were collected and fermented, they could make enough biofuel to run a double-decker bus to the moon and back more than 20 times, according to the researchers behind ...
Technology / Energy & Green Tech
Dec 23, 2011 |
5 / 5 (1) |
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Chemicals and biofuel from wood biomass
(PhysOrg.com) -- A method developed at Aalto University in Finland makes it possible to use microbes to produce butanol suitable for biofuel and other industrial chemicals from wood biomass. Butanol is particularly ...
Dec 19, 2011 |
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Bacterial filters reduce stink from big pig factories
Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) on industrial animal factories can stink up an entire county, due to ammonia, and a smorgasbord of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Jeppe Lund Nielsen of Aalborg University, ...
Dec 16, 2011 |
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Japan's Sony generates power from paper
Japanese electronics giant Sony on Thursday revealed technology that generates electricity from shredded paper.
Technology / Energy & Green Tech
Dec 15, 2011 |
4.4 / 5 (7) |
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E. coli bacteria engineered to eat switchgrass and make transportation fuels
A milestone has been reached on the road to developing advanced biofuels that can replace gasoline, diesel and jet fuels with a domestically-produced clean, green, renewable alternative.
Nov 29, 2011 |
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Cellulose
Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula (C6H10O5)n, a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to over ten thousand β(1→4) linked D-glucose units.
Cellulose is the structural component of the primary cell wall of green plants, many forms of algae and the oomycetes. Some species of bacteria secrete it to form biofilms. Cellulose is the most common organic compound on Earth. About 33 percent of all plant matter is cellulose (the cellulose content of cotton is 90 percent and that of wood is 50 percent).
For industrial use, cellulose is mainly obtained from wood pulp and cotton. It is mainly used to produce cardboard and paper; to a smaller extent it is converted into a wide variety of derivative products such as cellophane and rayon. Converting cellulose from energy crops into biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol is under investigation as an alternative fuel source.
Some animals, particularly ruminants and termites, can digest cellulose with the help of symbiotic micro-organisms that live in their guts. Cellulose is not digestible by humans and is often referred to as 'dietary fiber' or 'roughage', acting as a hydrophilic bulking agent for feces.
For more information about Cellulose, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
