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Effects of hot water extraction and fungal decay on wood crystalline cellulose structure

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Abstract

The effect of hot-water extraction and two types of fungal decay, brown rot and white rot, on wood crystalline cellulose structure was examined using a combination of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and 13C solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Although having opposite effects on the overall crystallinity of the wood, the XRD results revealed that both extraction and brown-rot decay caused a significant decrease in the 200 crystal plane spacing (d-spacing) not seen for the white-rotted samples. This effect was found to be additive, as samples that were first extracted, then decayed showed a double decrease in d-spacing compared to that caused by extraction alone. This suggested that, despite having a similarly directed effect on the spacing of the crystalline planes, the two treatment methods facilitate a decrease in d-spacing in different ways. NMR results support the conclusion of differing structural effects, suggesting that the hot-water extraction procedure was causing a co-crystallization of existing crystalline domains, while the brown rot decay was depolymerizing the cellulose chains of the crystals, possibly allowing the remaining crystalline material the freedom to relax into a more energetically favorable, tightly packed state. These findings could have important implications for those seeking to understand the effects of modification treatments or biodegradation of crystalline cellulose nanostructures in their native states.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank J. J. Paredes for providing extracted material, J. Perkins for technical support, Annelise Kjøller, PhD, for technical editing, and Dr. D. Frankel of LASST at the University of Maine for XRD assistance. CH acknowledges support from a US NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. ACSH acknowledges support from the University of Copenhagen PhD Scholarship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine, 311 Hitchner Hall, Orono, ME, 04469, USA

    Caitlin Howell & Jody Jellison

  2. Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Sølvgade 83H, 1307, Copenhagen K, Denmark

    Anne Christine Steenkjær Hastrup

  3. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Maine, 5737 Jenness Hall, Orono, ME, 04469, USA

    Rory Jara

  4. Department of Food Science, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 30, 1958, Frederiksberg C, Denmark

    Flemming Hofmann Larsen

  5. Department of Wood Science and Forest Products, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 230 Cheatham Hall, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA

    Barry Goodell

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  1. Caitlin Howell
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  2. Anne Christine Steenkjær Hastrup
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  3. Rory Jara
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  4. Flemming Hofmann Larsen
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  5. Barry Goodell
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  6. Jody Jellison
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Correspondence to Caitlin Howell.

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Howell, C., Hastrup, A.C.S., Jara, R. et al. Effects of hot water extraction and fungal decay on wood crystalline cellulose structure. Cellulose 18, 1179–1190 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-011-9569-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-011-9569-0

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