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The effect of alkaline pretreatment on the thermal decomposition of hemp

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Abstract

The goal of this study was to clarify the effect of alkaline pretreatments on the thermal decomposition and composition of industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) samples. Thermogravimetric/mass spectrometric measurements (TG/MS) have been performed, on untreated, hot water washed, and alkali-treated hemp samples. The main differences between the thermal decomposition of the samples are interpreted in terms of the different alkali ion contents which have been determined using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) method. Principal component analysis (PCA) has been used to find statistical correlations between the data. Correlations have been obtained between the parameters of the thermal decomposition and the alkali ion content as well as the altered chemical structure of the samples. The differences in the thermal behavior of the samples are explained by the different K+ and Na+ contents and the changed structure of the hemicellulose component of the samples due to the pretreatments. The more alkali ions remain in the hemp samples after the alkali treatment, the more ash, char and lower molecular products are formed during thermal decomposition.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Hungarian National Research Fund (OTKA K61504, K81959, K72710, and PD75740). The authors are grateful to Dr. Gábor Várhegyi for data analysis programs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Chemical Research Center, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 17, Budapest, 1525, Hungary

    Zoltán Sebestyén, Zoltán May & Emma Jakab

  2. Department of Applied Biotechnology and Food Science, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Szent Gellért tér 4, Budapest, 1111, Hungary

    Kati Réczey

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  1. Zoltán Sebestyén
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  2. Zoltán May
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  4. Emma Jakab
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Correspondence to Zoltán Sebestyén.

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Sebestyén, Z., May, Z., Réczey, K. et al. The effect of alkaline pretreatment on the thermal decomposition of hemp. J Therm Anal Calorim 105, 1061–1069 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-010-1056-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-010-1056-6

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