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Millisecond Pulsed Films Unify the Mechanisms of Cellulose Fragmentation

Journal Article · · Chemistry of Materials
 [1];  [2];  [3]
  1. Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States); University of Minnesota
  2. Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States)
  3. Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States)

The mechanism of crystalline cellulose fragmentation has been debated between classical models proposing end-chain or intrachain scission to form short-chain (molten) anhydro-oligomer mixtures and volatile organic compounds. Models developed over the last few decades suggest global kinetics consistent with either mechanism, but validation of the chain-scission mechanism via measured reaction rates of cellulose has remained elusive. To resolve these differences, we introduce a new thermal-pulsing reactor four orders of magnitude faster than conventional thermogravimetic analysis (106 vs 102 °C/min) to measure the millisecond-resolved evolution of cellulose and its volatile products at 400–550 °C. By comparison of cellulose conversion and furan product formation kinetics, both mechanisms are shown to occur with the transition from chain-end scission to intrachain scission above 467 °C concurrent with liquid formation comprised of short-chain cellulose fragments.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0012659
OSTI ID:
1865816
Journal Information:
Chemistry of Materials, Journal Name: Chemistry of Materials Journal Issue: 9 Vol. 28; ISSN 0897-4756
Publisher:
American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Lignin as a Wood‐Inspired Binder Enabled Strong, Water Stable, and Biodegradable Paper for Plastic Replacement journal October 2019
Advancing catalytic fast pyrolysis through integrated multiscale modeling and experimentation: Challenges, progress, and perspectives
  • Ciesielski, Peter N.; Pecha, M. Brennan; Bharadwaj, Vivek S.
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Measuring biomass fast pyrolysis kinetics: State of the art
  • SriBala, Gorugantu; Carstensen, Hans-Heinrich; Van Geem, Kevin M.
  • Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Vol. 8, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1002/wene.326
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Applications of cellulose and chitin/chitosan derivatives and composites as antibacterial materials: current state and perspectives journal January 2019
Coconut oil-cellulose beaded microfibers by coaxial electrospinning: An eco-model system to study thermoregulation of confined phase change materials journal December 2018
Room-temperature dissolution and chemical modification of cellulose in aqueous tetraethylammonium hydroxide–carbamide solutions journal December 2019
Thermal properties of silica-coated cellulose fibers for increased fire-resistance journal June 2017
Energetics of cellulose and cyclodextrin glycosidic bond cleavage journal January 2017
Competing reactions limit levoglucosan yield during fast pyrolysis of cellulose journal January 2019
Biomimetic cellulose/calcium-deficient-hydroxyapatite composite scaffolds fabricated using an electric field for bone tissue engineering journal January 2018

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