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 |
5 / 5 (4) |
0
|
Could a paper transistor offer an alternative to silicon?
(PhysOrg.com) -- As technology advances, scientists look for ways to enhance electronic applications and devices. Indeed, electronics are getting smaller and more diverse. And as this happens, there is an increased requirement ...
Sep 22, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (15) |
6
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) |
1
|
Researchers create rollerball-pen ink to draw circuits
(PhysOrg.com) -- Two professors from the University of Illinois; one specializing in materials science, the other in electrical engineering, have combined their talents to take the idea of printing circuits ...
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Jun 28, 2011 |
4.8 / 5 (15) |
9
|
Company that transforms garbage into ethanol attracts big investors
(PhysOrg.com) -- For the past several years, Montreal-based company Enerkem has been working on a way to make ethanol from old utility poles and household garbage. Earlier this week, the company announced ...
Technology / Energy & Green Tech
Jun 03, 2011 |
4.9 / 5 (13) |
15
|
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 |
5 / 5 (10) |
4
|
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 |
4.8 / 5 (33) |
21
|
Scientists overcome major obstacles to cellulosic biofuel production
A newly engineered yeast strain can simultaneously consume two types of sugar from plants to produce ethanol, researchers report. The sugars are glucose, a six-carbon sugar that is relatively easy to ferment; ...
Dec 27, 2010 |
4.6 / 5 (21) |
13
|
Salt and Paper Battery May One Day Replace Lithium Batteries
(PhysOrg.com) -- Salt and paper battery can be used in many low-power devices, such as medical implants, RFID tags, wireless sensors and smart cards. This battery uses a thin-film which makes it an attractive ...
Technology / Energy & Green Tech
Sep 15, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (18) |
6
Troublesome green algae serve as coating substrate in record-setting battery
(PhysOrg.com) -- Unwanted blooms of Cladophora algae throughout the Baltic and in other parts of the world are not entirely without a positive side. A group of researchers at the Angstrom Laboratory at Uppsala University have d ...
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Sep 10, 2009 |
3.7 / 5 (10) |
9
'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 |
4.3 / 5 (4) |
0
|
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 |
5 / 5 (8) |
1
|
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) |
0
|
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 |
1 / 5 (1) |
0
|
Researchers create iridescent glass that can reflect UV or infrared light
(PhysOrg.com) -- Using nanocrystals of cellulose, the main component of pulp and paper, chemistry researchers at the University of British Columbia have created glass films that have applications for energy ...
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Nov 17, 2010 |
4.7 / 5 (22) |
0
|
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.
