Characterization of Lignocellulosic Materials

authors	Oliveira L, Evtuguin DV, Cordeiro N, Silvestre AJD, Silva MAS
editors	Thomas Q. Hu, Blackwell
chapter title	Chemical composition and lignin structural features of banana plant leaf sheaths and rachis
nationality	International
abstract	Lignocellulosic materials are a natural, abundant and renewable resource essential to the functioning of industrial societies and critical to the development of a sustainable global economy. As wood and paper products, they have played an important role in the evolution of civilization. Improvement of the quality and manufacturing efficiency of such products has often been hampered by the lack of understanding of the complex structures and chemical compositions of the materials. Due to increasing economic and environmental issues concerning the use of petrochemicals, lignocellulosic materials will be relied upon as feedstock for the production of chemicals, fuels and biocompatible materials. Significant progress has been made to use lignocellulosic materials for the production of fuel ethanol and as a reinforcing component in polymer composites. Effective and economical methods for such uses, however, remain underdeveloped, partly due to the difficulties encountered in the characterization of the structures of native lignocelluloses and lignocelluloses-based materials. Improved methods for the characterization of lignocellulosic materials are needed.
publisher	Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
isbn	9781405158800
year published	2008
beginning page	171
ending page	188
book digital object identifier (doi)	10.1002/9781444305425.ch10