Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 2018, 6, 101-117 http://www.scirp.org/journal/gep ISSN Online: 2327-4344 ISSN Print: 2327-4336 DOI: 10.4236/gep.2018.65009 May 23, 2018 101 Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection Vapour and Solution Uptake Properties of Starch and Cellulose Biopolymers Leila Dehabadi 1 , Mohsen Shakouri 2 , Carey J. Simonson 2 , Mohammad Arjmand 3 , Uttandaraman Sundararaj 3 , Lee D. Wilson 1* 1 Department of Chemistry, University of Saskatchewan, 110 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, Canada 2 Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, 57 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada 3 Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Calgary 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, Canada Abstract This study was aimed at gaining further insight on the role of hydration in adsorption processes of biopolymer/adsorbate systems using complementary methods (electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, calorimetry, and sol- vent/vapour adsorption isotherms). Cellulose and starch-based materials were used as the adsorbents, whereas water (liquid and vapour), ethanol and p-nitrophenol (PNP) in aqueous solution were the adsorbate systems. The biopolymer/water systems had higher uptake capacity overall, where starch materials showed higher uptake capacity than cellulose among the various solvents. The secondary and tertiary structure of the biopolymers was a key factor affecting their uptake capacity, as evidenced by the enhanced adsorp- tion properties of starch over cellulose, along with higher uptake of amylose (AM) versus amylopectin (AP) in starch biopolymers. EMI results also con- firmed that AM starch had higher adsorption toward water than ethanol. The textural properties and surface chemistry of the biopolymers were probed us- ing dye adsorption (PNP at pH 8.5) in aqueous solution that showed parallel trends with water vapour adsorption isotherms. Isothermal Titration Calori- metry (ITC) revealed that the heat of adsorption in AP differed from that of AM since the biopolymer tertiary structure governs the accessibility of biopo- lymer adsorption sites. The role of branching in AP and amorphous domains in AM/AP composites are inferred to play a key role in hydration-driven al- losterism known for such biopolymer/water vapour adsorption processes. Keywords Biopolymers, Water Vapour Adsorption, Electromagnetic Interference (EMI), Textural Properties, P-Nitrophenol (PNP), Isothermal Titration Calorimetry (ITC) How to cite this paper: Dehabadi, L., Shakouri, M., Simonson, C.J., Arjmand, M., Sundararaj, U. and Wilson, L.D. (2018) Vapour and Solution Uptake Properties of Starch and Cellulose Biopolymers. Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 6, 101-117. https://doi.org/10.4236/gep.2018.65009 Received: May 4, 2018 Accepted: May 20, 2018 Published: May 23, 2018