Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Eur. J. Wood Prod. DOI 10.1007/s00107-017-1237-0 ORIGINAL Exploring an oxidative bleaching treatment for Chilean bamboo: a source of cellulose for biofuel generation and the nanotech industry Patricia E. Oliveira 1,4  · Hector Pesenti 2,4  · Ana Gisela Cunha 3  · William Gacitúa 1  · Ximena Petit‑Breuilh 4   Received: 24 December 2016 © Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany 2017 nanotech industry. Carbohydrate analysis revealed 86% glu- cose and 14% xylose, which makes quila a promising candi- date as a precursor for biofuel generation. 1 Introduction Bamboo is a naturally occurring composite material which grows abundantly in most tropical countries and has been used widely for household products and industrial appli- cations, thanks to advances in processing technology and increased market demand. In Asian countries, bamboo has been used for a multitude of household utilities such as con- tainers, chopsticks, woven mats, fshing poles, cricket boxes, handicrafts, chairs, etc. It also fnds a role in a variety of building applications, such as fooring, ceiling, walls, win- dows, doors, fences, roofs and trusses (Banga et al. 2015). Bamboo is considered a composite material because it consists mainly of cellulose fbres imbedded in a lignin matrix. Apart from these two constituents, hemicelluloses and other minor components are also present. In this com- posite system, cellulose fbres are aligned along the length of the bamboo, providing maximum tensile and fexural strength and rigidity in that direction (Wang and Shen 1987). So far, over 1200 bamboo species have been identifed globally (Banga et al. 2015). Bamboo ofers several advan- tages as a promising alternative feedstock to substitute for wood: fast growth and development, high productivity per hectare, low management costs and capital investment, and minimal energy expenditure in processing (Canilha et al. 2012). Based on these advantages, it is already being used in more than 4000 diferent areas. Bamboo does not sufer from cracks or knots, which leads to far more evenly distributed stresses throughout the length of pieces. Moreover, bam- boos, like most species of the Poaceae family, are among the Abstract Quila (Chusquea quila) is a very abundant native Chilean bamboo species. This work reports on a delignifca- tion process which can be applied to quila to produce crys- talline cellulose, an important resource for obtaining cellu- lose nanofbres or nanocrystals. Alternatively, the crystalline cellulose can then be subjected to fermentation processes, making it a useful raw material for biofuel production. The treatment studied is an oxidative treatment at low concen- tration (15% v/v), for short time periods (10, 20 min) and at temperatures between 100 and 140 °C, which produces alpha-cellulose fbres with high crystallinity (over 70%) and low residual lignin content (< 2%). The morphology of the cellulose fbres was analysed by scanning electron microscope, revealing a smooth surface containing many fbrils. Infrared spectroscopy was used to identify functional groups, showing that almost 99% of the lignin was removed. The crystallinity index of the cellulose fbres after the reac- tion was up to 79%, making it an excellent raw material for processing cellulose nanofbres required by the emerging * Patricia E. Oliveira emannuelly@gmail.com * Ximena Petit-Breuilh xpetit@uct.cl 1 Postgrado del Departamento de Ingeniería en Maderas, Centro de Biomateriales y Nanotecnología, Universidad del Bío-Bío, Concepción, Chile 2 Facultad de Ciencia de la Ingeniería, Instituto de Materiales y Procesos Termomecánicos, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile 3 Department of Forest Products Technology, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland 4 Escuela de Procesos Industriales, Núcleo de Investigación en Bioproductos y Materiales Avanzados, Universidad Católica de Temuco, Temuco, Chile