The structure of biomass at different length scales has great impact on accessibility and diffusivity of different reactants. The structure varies among biological origin and processing history but there is no single method that provides a clear picture of the overall structure. X-ray and neutron scattering are techniques that give information directly related to the spatial arrangement of molecules inside a material. We are developing methods to interpret two-dimensional scattering data from oriented specimens to exploit full information from these measurements. A series of biomass samples were subjected to typical pretreatments for bio-ethanol production and were then analyzed by neutron and X-ray small angle and wide-angle scattering. The result confirms coarsening of both fibrillar component and isotropic component during typical pretreatments corroborating coalescence of microfibrils and lignin droplet formation leading to the segregation of the two components.

Monitoring structural modification of biomass by small and wide scattering of X-ray and neutrons on oriented specimens

245th National Meeting (2013)

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