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Extraction and Characterisation of Natural Cellulosic Husk Fibre Areca Catechu
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Arecaceae (Arecoideae), palm family betel nut palm, areca, areca-nut (English); pugua (Guam), poc (Pohnpei), pu (Chuuk), bu (Yap), bua (Palau), buai Distribution Widely distributed in East Af-rica, South Asia, and Pacific islands. Size Slender palm typically reaching 10–20 m (33–66 ft) tall; can reach 30 m (100 ft). Habitat Tropical everwet climates with evenly distributed rainfall of 1500–5000 mm (60–200 in); prefers elevations 0–900 m (0–2950 ft). Vegetation Generally found in cultivation to-gether with other cultivated species or semi-wild together with wet climate flora. Soils Adapted to a wide range of soil types, al-though thorough drainage and high moisture-holding capacity are required. Growth rate Moderate, about 0.5 m/yr (20 in/ yr). Main agroforestry uses Crop shade, homegar-den. Main products Seeds (masticant). Yields Kernel yield is estimated at 2.5–8 kg per palm (5.5–17.6 lb/palm) annually. Intercropping Frequently grown together with short- and long-term crops. Invasive potential Although it can spread by seed, it is not considered to be an invasive spe-cies.
The arecanut husk fibers are predominantly composed of cellulose and varying proportions of hemicellulose, lignin, pectin and protopectin. Microbes that selectively remove lignin without loss of appreciable amounts of cellulose and fiber strength properties are extremely attractive for the biosoftening of arecanut fiber. The fungal growth occurs during the first 72 h of incubation and by one week, enzyme production reaches the maximum level, thereby improving color and softness of the fiber. Maximum MnP production of 233.2 IU ml -1 was observed at pH 7.0 for Phanerochaete chrysosporium and a maximum activity of 221.8 IU ml-1 was observed at pH 5.0 for Phanerochaete strain. Maximum improvement of color (brightness) and softness and maximum MnP production of 321.3 IU ml-1 was achieved in a medium lacking both carbon and nitrogen for P. chrysosporium whereas maximum improvement in color and softness and MnP production of 341.2 IU ml-1 was achieved in a medium lacking only carbon for Phanerochaete sp. The fiber treated with P. chrysosporium showed 35.1% and Phanerochaete sp. showed 25.7% increase in strength when compared to the untreated fiber. Elongation of the fiber treated with P. chrysosporium was 5.0% and that treated with Phanerochaete sp. was 4.2% compared to the control fiber which had an elongation of 3.7%. The biosoftened arecanut fibers can be exploited commercially for the production of furnishing fabrics, textiles etc by blending with cotton, viscose and polyester.
Twenty-four different plant species belonging to 19 families were analyzed in the current investigation. Plants were ranked according to the felting power, suitability of fibers and strength of the fibers. Among monocots, Caryota urens (garden palm) and Eucalyptus camadulensis, in dicotyledonous plant species had the strongest fibers. Caryota urens (garden palm) in monocots while Terminalia arjuna in dicots had high felting power. Cluster analysis had separated out the Agave americana in monocot which was significantly apart from Saccharum spontaneum, on the basis of derived characters like Slenderness ratio, Runkle ratio and Coefficient of suppleness. Phoenix dactylifera was dominant due to its great fiber length and lowest Runkle ratio. In this investigation, it was concluded that different plant species can be used for different purposes and evolution does not necessarily involve all the qualities of fibers at the same time.
A bacterium capable of utilizing high concentrations of acetonitrile as the sole source of carbon and nitrogen was isolated from soil and identified as Pseudomonas putida. This bacterium could also utilize butyronitrile, glutaronitrile, isobutyronitrile, methacrylonitrile, propionitrile, succinonitrile, valeronitrile, and some of their corresponding amides, such as acetamide, butyramide, isobutyramide, methacrylamide, propionamide, and succinamide as growth substrates. Acetonitrile-grown cells oxidized acetonitrile with a K(m) of 40.61 mM. Mass balance studies with [C]acetonitrile indicated that nearly 66% of carbon of acetonitrile was released as CO(2) and 14% was associated with the biomass. Metabolites of acetonitrile in the culture medium were acetic acid and ammonia. The acetate formed in the early stages of growth completely disappeared in the later stages. Cell extracts of acetonitrile-grown cells contained activities corresponding to nitrile hydratase and amidase, which mediate the breakdown of actonitrile into acetic acid and ammonia. Both enzymes were intracellular and inducible and hydrolyzed a wide range of substrates. The specific activity of amidase was at least 150-fold higher than the activity of the enzyme nitrile hydratase.
A study of short areca fibre reinforced Phenol formaldehyde composites
- G C Mohankumar
Mohankumar, G.C. 2008. A study of short areca fibre reinforced Phenol formaldehyde composites. Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering., 2: 978988.