Xylan is a major type of hemicellulose that is found widely in hardwood, cereals, cotton, sugar cane, corn, sorghum, and many other plants.  Despite its natural abundance, it is currently under-utilized as a raw material for product development.  We have carried out several modification reactions involving xylan and produced different types of derivatives. For example, we have reacted xylan with an alkyl ketene dimer and two alkenyl succinic anhydrides. The preparation of these hydrophobically modified AKD derivatives has involved high temperatures (90-120 °C) and dimethyl sulfoxide as solvent.  The strength of hydrophobicity has been found to increase with the length of the alkyl chain. In addition, we have prepared xylan esters using five metal halides and iodine as Lewis acid catalysts. All these catalysts are active for esterification, but their activities differ, particularly with respect to temperature. Through the choice of catalyst and temperature, xylan esters with different degrees of substitution can be made.   These various xylan derivatives increase the structural diversity of xylan and provide additional options for people seeking to produce value-added products from xylan and other hemicelluloses.

Modifications of xylan with different alkyl derivatives

ACS Fall 2021

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