IN THIS WORK, THE IMPREGNATION QUALITY AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF PINUS RADIATA D.DON TREATED WITH DIFFERENT COPPER NANOPARTICLES (CUNP) SOLUTIONS (NAMED K1 AND K2) AND A COMMERCIAL PRESERVATIVE (M) WERE STUDIED. THE IMPREGNATION QUALITY OF RADIATA PINE WOOD WAS ANALYZED BY TWO INDICATORS, PENETRATION AND RETENTION. THE MICRO-DISTRIBUTION OF PRESERVATIVE IN THE TREATED WOOD WAS QUALITATIVELY EVALUATED BY SEM-EDS, BOTH IN THE SAMPLES CONTAINING CUNP AND IN THOSE TREATED WITH THE COMMERCIAL PRESERVATIVE. IN ADDITION, SOME MECHANICAL PROPERTIES WERE STUDIED IN THE PRESERVED WOOD INCLUDING MOE, MOR AND HARDNESS. THE RESULTS INDICATED VALUES BY ED XRF RETENTION OF 0.96 KG/M3 AND 0.86 KG/M3 FOR K1 AND K2, RESPECTIVELY, AND 1.01 KG/M3 FOR M WOOD IMPREGNATED. IN THE PENETRATION DETERMINED BY COLORIMETRIC TEST, THE WOOD SAMPLES IMPREGNATED (WITH K1, K2 AND M) SHOWED 100% PENETRATION. THE DISTRIBUTION OF CUNP AND MICRONIZED COPPER WITHIN THE WOOD NSTRUCTURE WAS CONFIRMED BY SEM EDS MAPPING. IN MECHANICAL PROPERTIES, A REDUCTION IN MOE WAS REFLECTED IN ALL WOOD TREATED. THE CONTROL SAMPLES WERE FAR SUPERIOR TO THE K1 AND M TREATED SAMPLES AND SLIGHTLY SUPERIOR TO THE K2 SAMPLES, WITH NO STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES. ON THE OTHER HAND, SAMPLES IMPREGNATED WITH K1 AND K2 SHOWED THE HIGHEST VALUES IN HARDNESS PARALLEL AND PERPENDICULAR TO THE GRAIN, REVEALING THAT THESE PRESERVATIVE SOLUTIONS TEND TO INCREASE HARDNESS. OVERALL, WHEN IT COMES TO THE SAMPLES IMPREGNATED WITH MICRONIZED COPPER (M), THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES WERE CONSIDERABLY LOWER COMPARED TO THE CUNP TREATED AND CONTROL WOOD. THEREFORE, THE CUNP-BASED PRESERVATIVE DID NOT STRONGLY AFFECT THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF THE PRESERVED WOOD.

IN RECENT YEARS, MANY NON-COMMERCIAL NATIVE FRUIT HAVE BEEN CHARACTERIZED IN THE SEARCH FOR FUNCTIONAL INGREDIENTS; HOWEVER, THEIR CELL WALL AND SUGAR COMPOSITION ARE LESS WELL KNOWN. IN THIS RESEARCH, CHANGES IN CELL WALL COMPONENTS, PRINCIPALLY PECTIN AND MONOMERIC SUGAR COMPOSITION WERE EVALUATED IN THREE DIFFERENT DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES OF TWO CHILEAN NATIVE FRUITS, ARRAYAN (LUMA APICULATA) AND LLEUQUE (PRUMNOPITYS ANDINA), THAT OCCUR NATURALLY IN LOCATIONS FROM ANDES AND COASTAL RANGES OF SOUTH-CENTRAL CHILE. FRUIT QUALITY PARAMETERS, CELL WALL COMPONENTS, LIGNIN, AND MONOMERIC SUGAR COMPOSITION WERE ANALYZED. PARTICULARLY, LLEUQUE FRUIT HAVE REMARKABLE HIGH AND LOW LEVELS OF SOLUBLE SOLIDS AND ACIDITY. ACCORDING TO FIRMNESS REDUCTION, THE CELL WALL CONTENT AND LIGNIN DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY DURING FRUIT DEVELOPMENT CONCOMITANT WITH LOOSELY BOUND POLYMERS IN BOTH SPECIES AND LOCATIONS. THE ANALYSIS OF CELL WALL-ASSOCIATED MONOMERIC SUGARS INDICATED A REDUCTION DURING FRUIT DEVELOPMENT IN ARABINOSE (ARA), RHAMNOSE (RHA), AND GALACTOSE (GAL) IN BOTH SPECIES AND LOCATIONS SUGGESTING A LOSS OF THE PECTIN BRANCHING. MOREOVER, THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITION COULD IMPRINT DIFFERENCES IN CELL WALL DYNAMICS SINCE SUGAR CONTENTS WERE HIGHER IN FRUIT FROM THE ANDES THAN IN THE COASTAL RANGE. BESIDES, LLEUQUE FRUIT ACCUMULATES HIGH ARA, MAN, XYLOSE (XYL), GLUCOSE (GLC), AND RHA CONTENTS IN ALL STAGES AND LOCATIONS. THUS, LLEUQUE FRUIT COULD BE AN INTERESTING NATURAL SOURCE OF SUGARS. THESE FINDINGS CAN SERVE AS A BASIS TO DEEPEN IN CELL WALL-ASSOCIATED CARBOHYDRATE PROPERTIES OF NON-TRADITIONAL FLESHY FRUIT.

CHILE IS THE SECOND LARGEST GLOBAL PRODUCER OF BLUEBERRIES, WHICH ARE HARVESTED IN THE SOUTH-CENTRAL REGION. AS A RESULT OF THE EXPONENTIAL PRODUCTION GROWTH, A LARGE AMOUNT OF LIGNOCELLULOSIC BIOMASS IS GENERATED FROM PRUNING AND LEFT ON THE GROUND AS WASTE. AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE CURRENT INCINERATION PRACTICES AND THEIR NEGATIVE AIR POLLUTION EFFECTS, THIS STUDY PROPOSED VALUE-ADDED UTILIZATION OF THESE AGROINDUSTRY RESIDUES. THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITIONS (CELLULOSE, HEMICELLULOSE, LIGNIN, EXTRACTIVES, AND ASH) OF THE PRUNING RESIDUES FROM BLUEBERRY BRANCHES AND TRUNKS WERE ANALYZED. THE CELLULOSE CONTENTS FROM THE BRANCHES AND TRUNKS WERE SIMILAR AT 52% AND 51%, RESPECTIVELY. HOWEVER, THE X-RAY DIFFRACTION ANALYSIS INDICATED IMPORTANT DIFFERENCES IN THEIR CRYSTALLINITY INDEX, WITH 52% AND 84%, RESPECTIVELY. COMPARED WITH THE CELLULOSE OBTAINED FROM THE TRUNKS, CELLULOSE FROM THE BRANCHES WAS LESS THERMALLY STABLE, POSSIBLY DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF RESIDUAL LIGNIN AND HEMICELLULOSE. ACCORDING TO THE RESULTS, IT IS EXPECTED THAT THE AGRO-INDUSTRIAL RESIDUES FROM PRUNING OF THE CHILEAN BLUEBERRY BUSHES (BRANCHES AND TRUNKS) MIGHT BE OF USE AS A POTENTIAL PLATFORM FOR BIOPRODUCTS, SUCH AS CELLULOSE MATERIALS IN ORDER TO REPLACE SYNTHETIC OR UNSUSTAINABLE MATERIALS.

THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH WAS TO STUDY THE CHEMICAL AND NANOMECHANICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF NATIVE WOODS GROWN IN SOUTHERN CHILE REGION. THE SPECIES ANALYSED WERE DRIMYS WINTERI, LAURELIOPSIS PHILIPPIANA, AEXTOXICON PUCTATUM, NOTHOFAGUS ALPINA, NOTHOFAGUS DOMBEYI, LAURELIA SEMPERVIRENS, AUSTROCEDRUS CHILENSIS AND FITZROYA CUPRESSOIDES. THE SAMPLES WERE COLLECTED FROM THE REGIONS OF BIOBÍO (37° S, 73° W), ARAUCANÍA (37° S, 71° W) AND LOS LAGOS (40° S, 73° W). CHEMICAL ANALYSIS REPORTED THAT GLUCAN CONTENT OF NATIVE WOODS WAS BETWEEN 39% AND 44% AND LIGNIN CONTENT BETWEEN 28% AND 35%. THE NANOMECHANICAL PROPERTIES ANALYSED IN THE SECONDARY CELL WALL (S2 LAYER) AND MIDDLE LAMELLA (ML) WERE ELASTIC MODULUS (E), HARDNESS (H) AND DUCTILITY RATIO (E/H). VALUES FOR ES2 WERE BETWEEN 12.0 AND 15.4 GPA AND FOR EML BETWEEN 4.3 AND 6.6 GPA. HARDNESS VALUES WERE SIMILAR IN ML AND S2 (?0.3 GPA). THE COMPILATION OF RESULTS SHOWED HIGH CORRELATIONS BETWEEN ES2 AND CARBOHYDRATE CONTENT (R = 0.80), BETWEEN ES2 AND HEMICELLULOSE CONTENT (R = 0.89), AND BETWEEN HS2 AND LIGNIN CONTENT (R = 0.88).

FORESTRY INDUSTRIES IN CHILE ARE FACING AN IMPORTANT CHALLENGE-DIVERSIFYING THEIR PRODUCTS USING GREEN TECHNOLOGIES. IN THIS STUDY, THE POTENTIAL USE OF IONIC LIQUIDS (ILS) TO DISSOLVE AND HYDROLYZE EUCALYPTUS WOOD (MIX OF EUCALYPTUS NITENS AND EUCALYPTUS GLOBULUS) KRAFT PULP WAS STUDIED. THE BLEACHED HARDWOOD KRAFT PULP (BHKP) FROM A CHILEAN PULP MILL WAS USED TOGETHER WITH FIVE DIFFERENT ILS: 1-BUTYL-3-METHYLIMIDAZOLIUM CHLORIDE [BMIM][CL], 1-BUTYL-3-METHYLIMIDAZOLIUM ACETATE [BMIM][AC], 1-BUTYL-3-METHYLIMIDAZOLIUM HYDROGEN SULFATE [BMIM][HSO4], 1-ETHYL-3-METHYLIMIDAZOLIUM CHLORIDE [EMIM][CL], 1-ETHYL-3-METHYLIMIDAZOLIUM ACETATE [EMIM][AC]. EXPERIMENTALLY, ONE VACUUM REACTOR WAS DESIGNED TO STUDY THE DISSOLUTION/HYDROLYSIS PROCESS FOR EACH ILS; PARTICULARLY, THE CELLULOSE DISSOLUTION PROCESS USING [BMIM][CL] WAS STUDIED PROPOSING ONE MOLECULAR DYNAMIC MODEL. EXPERIMENTAL CHARACTERIZATION USING ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPY, CONDUCTOMETRIC TITRATION, AMONG OTHER TECHNIQUES SUGGEST THAT ALL ILS ARE CAPABLE OF CELLULOSE DISSOLUTION AT DIFFERENT LEVELS; IN SOME CASES, THE DISSOLUTION EVOLVED TO PARTIAL HYDROLYSIS APPEARING CELLULOSE NANOCRYSTALS (CNC) IN THE FORM OF SPHERICAL AGGREGATES WITH A DIAMETER OF 40-120 NM. MOLECULAR DYNAMICS SIMULATIONS SHOWED THAT THE [BMIM][CL] ANIONS TEND TO INTERACT ACTIVELY WITH CELLULOSE SITES AND WATER MOLECULES IN THE DISSOLUTION PROCESS. THE RESULTS SHOWED THE POTENTIAL OF SOME ILS TO DISSOLVE/HYDROLYZE THE CELLULOSE FROM CHILEAN EUCALYPTUS, MAINTAINING REACTIVE FORMS.

THE THERMO-HYGROMECHANICAL DENSIFICATION PROCESS CHANGES THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND THE PHYSICAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF WOOD. THE AIM OF THIS WORK WAS TO STUDY THE IMPACT OF THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF PINUS RADIATA WOOD ON ITS PHYSICAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES FOLLOWING THE THERMO-HYGROMECHANICAL DENSIFICATION PROCESS. THE SAMPLES WERE INITIALLY SEGREGATED BY LIGNIN CONTENT. DENSITY, HARDNESS, MODULUS OF ELASTICITY (MOE), AND MODULUS OF RUPTURE (MOR), IN ADDITION TO LIGNIN, ?-CELLULOSE, HEMICELLULOSE, AND EXTRACTIVE CONTENTS, WERE DETERMINED BEFORE AND AFTER THE DENSIFICATION PROCESS. THE RESULTS INDICATED THAT DENSIFIED WOOD WITH HIGH INITIAL LIGNIN CONTENT HAD GREATER RATE OF INCREASES IN DENSITY AND MOE THAN WOOD WITH LOWER INITIAL LIGNIN CONTENT. ADDITIONALLY, DENSIFIED WOOD WITH LOWER INITIAL LIGNIN CONTENT HAD GREATER RATE OF INCREASES IN HARDNESS. THE RATE OF INCREASE OF MOR DID NOT SHOW SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES WITHIN BOTH GROUPS. CARBOHYDRATES PRESENT IN THE CONTROL AND THE DENSIFIED WOOD PLAYED AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE MECHANICAL STRENGTH OF THE FINAL PRODUCT.

IN THE FINAL PROCESS OF THE BLEACHED KRAFT PULP THERE ARE SOME CELLULOSE FIBERS THAT ARE SEPARATED FROM THE MAIN FIBERS STREAM; THESE FIBERS ARE REJECTED AND CONSIDERED AS A LOW QUALITY FIBERS, THESE FIBERS ARE KNOWN AS REJECTED FIBER (RF). IN THE PRESENT WORK THE POTENTIAL USE OF THESE FIBERS FOR CELLULOSE NANOCRYSTALS (CNCS) SYNTHESIS WAS STUDIED. THE PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF SYNTHESIZED CNCS WERE CHARACTERIZED THROUGH DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES SUCH AS ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPY (AFM), SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY (SEM), X-RAY DIFFRACTION (XRD), FOURIER-TRANSFORM INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY (FTIR), AND THERMOGRAVIMETRIC ANALYSIS (TGA). RESULTS DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF CNCS SYNTHESIS WITH A YIELD OF 28.1% AND 36.9%, AND CRYSTALLINITY OF 73.5% AND 82.7%. FINALLY, THE MORPHOLOGY AND SYNTHESIS CONDITIONS SUGGEST THAT THIS INDUSTRIAL REJECT FIBER (RF) COULD BE USED AS A SOURCE FOR THE CNCS PRODUCTION, THUS ADDING VALUE TO THE KRAFT PROCESS AND OPENING NEW POSSIBILITIES FOR INNOVATION IN THE PULP INDUSTRY.

THIS STUDY FOCUSES ON THE UTILIZATION OF BOLAINA SAWDUST WASTE FROM THE PERUVIAN AMAZON FOR THE PRODUCTION OF CELLULOSE NANOFIBERS (CNFS). BOLAINA IS KNOWN FOR ITS RAPID GROWTH AND EXTENSIVE WOOD USAGE, WHICH GENERATE SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SAWDUST WASTE. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH WAS TO PHYSICOCHEMICALLY STUDY THIS BIOMASS SOURCE AND THE CONVERSION OF THIS WASTE INTO VALUABLE NANOCELLULOSIC MATERIALS. THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT CNF YIELDS FROM HOLOCELLULOSE (CNF-BH) AND ALPHA-CELLULOSE (CNF-B?) GAVE HIGH NANOFIBRILLATION YIELDS OF 80.6% AND 74.7%, RESPECTIVELY. ....

RADIATA PINE IS THE MAIN WOOD SPECIES USED IN THE CHILEAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY, BUT IT MUST BE PROTECTED DUE TO ITS LOW NATURAL DURABILITY. CHEMICAL PROTECTION OF WOOD BY IMPREGNATION ALLOWS FOR A MORE EFFICIENT UTILIZATION OF THE FOREST RESOURCES BY EXTENDING ITS USEFUL LIFE. THE USE OF NANOPARTICLES IN WOOD PROTECTION HAS GARNERED GREAT INTEREST DURING THE LAST DECADE, DUE TO THEIR UNIQUE PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES, DIFFERENT FROM THOSE OF LARGER SIZED MATERIALS. IN THIS RESEARCH, THE IMPREGNATION OF RADIATA PINE WOOD WITH COPPER NANOPARTICLES (CUNP) WAS STUDIED IN TERMS OF RETENTION, PENETRATION, LEACHING, AND ITS PROTECTIVE EFFECT AGAINST WOOD ROT FUNGI GROWTH ACCORDING TO EN 113, AWPA A3-91, A9-18, AND E11-16. PENETRATION ANALYSIS CONFIRMED A UNIFORM DISTRIBUTION ACROSS THE WOOD, WITH TOTAL PENETRATION IN THE IMPREGNATED SAMPLES WITH THE HIGHEST CONCENTRATION SOLUTION OF CUNP. RETENTION VALUES OF THE IMPREGNATED WOOD INCREASED PROPORTIONALLY WITH THE CONCENTRATION OF NANOPARTICLES EVALUATED BY EDXRF. LEACHING ANALYSIS SHOWED COPPER REMOVAL DURING THE FIRST HOURS OF THE TEST, WITH A CONSTANT LEACHING RATE UP TO 144 H. IMPREGNATED WOOD MASS LOSS (ML) DUE TO EXPOSURE TO GLOEOPHYLLUM TRABEUM AND RHODONIA PLACENTA FUNGI WERE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED REGARDLESS OF THE CUNP CONCENTRATION OR FUNGI TESTED, WITH AN ML SMALLER THAN 5% AND SMALLER THAN 14% FOR LEACHED SAMPLES.

KRAFT PULP CELLULOSE WAS HYDROLYZED USING SULFURIC ACID, UNDER DIFFERENT THERMOPHYSICAL CONDITIONS OF TEMPERATURE, TIME, PULP CONCENTRATION, AND SONICATION TIME. THE EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN REVEALED THE EFFECT OF THESE CONDITIONS AND THEIR INTERACTION ON THE HYDROLYSIS YIELD OBTAINED. IN ADDITION, THE TOP FIVE CELLULOSE NANOCRYSTALS (CNCS) YIELDS FROM THIS EXPERIMENT DESIGN WERE ANALYZED. THE RESULTS OBTAINED INDICATED THAT CNCS POSSESS A MORPHOLOGY THAT CAN BE DESCRIBED AS INDIVIDUALIZED ROD PARTICLES, WITH AVERAGE DIAMETERS LESS THAN 50 NM AND DIFFERENT SIZE DISTRIBUTION. IN THE ANALYSIS OF CNCS FEATURES, SIGNIFICANT PEARSON CORRELATIONS WERE ESTABLISHED BETWEEN THE CRYSTALLINITY OF THE CNC, CNC YIELD, AND INTERPLANAR CRYSTALLITES DISTANCE (?D/D). THE THERMOGRAVIMETRIC (DTG) PROFILES EXHIBITED TWO CNCS DEGRADATION STAGES, WHERE THE SECOND STAGE CNCS DEGRADATION SHOWED A SIGNIFICATIVE CORRELATION WITH CNC SULFUR CONTENT. IN OUR ANALYSIS, THE CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC PARAMETERS EXHIBITED A CORRELATION WITH THE MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR OF THE CNC, SINCE THE POTENTIAL VARIATION BETWEEN THE DISTANCES OF THE CRYSTALLINE PLANES IS RELATED TO THE STRESS AND DEFORMATION PRESENT IN THE CRYSTALLITES OF CNCS. THIS STUDY PROVIDES NEW KNOWLEDGE REGARDING CNCS, FURTHER ENHANCING INFORMATION FOR CNC-BASED INDUSTRIES AND THE PROCESSABILITY OF CNCS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW MATERIALS.

INDUSTRIALIZATION AND HUMAN ACTIVITIES HAVE EXACERBATED WATER POLLUTION, DEMANDING EFFECTIVE POLLUTANT REMOVAL METHODS. BIO-BASED HYDROGELS, WITH THEIR HIGH POROSITY AND EXTENSIVE SURFACE AREA, HOLD PROMISE FOR THIS PURPOSE. CELLULOSE IS A SUITABLE BIOPOLYMER FOR GEL FABRICATION; HOWEVER, THE ADSORPTION CAPACITY OF UNMODIFIED RAW CELLULOSE FIBERS OFTEN FALLS SHORT OF PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS DUE TO THE LACK OF STRONG BINDING SITES. THEREFORE, THIS STUDY INVESTIGATES HOW DIFFERENT CELLULOSE FIBER TYPES, CHEMICAL TREATMENTS, AND SOLVENT SYSTEMS INFLUENCE HYDROGEL PROPERTIES FOR ADSORPTION APPLICATIONS. HYDROGELS WERE PREPARED FROM PHOSPHORYLATED AND UNPHOSPHORYLATED UNBLEACHED KRAFT PULPS (UKP) DERIVED FROM EUCALYPTUS AND PINE USING NMMO AND IL SOLVENT SYSTEMS. PHOSPHORYLATION INCREASED THE SURFACE CHARGE OF UKP FROM SIMILAR TO 0.05 TO SIMILAR TO 2.3 MMOL/G. HOWEVER, THE SURFACE CHARGE OF PHOSPHORYLATED SAMPLES DECREASED TO 0.5-0.72 MMOL/G AFTER COAGULATION INTO HYDROGELS. HYDROGELS PREPARED FROM PHOSPHORYLATED UKP EXHIBITED SUPERIOR PROPERTIES COMPARED TO THE UNPHOSPHORYLATED COUNTERPARTS, INCLUDING INCREASED SPECIFIC SURFACE AREA (12-64 M(2)/G TO 53-95 M(2)/G), SWELLING CAPACITY (1930-2800% TO 3400-4800%), AND HIGHER MB ADSORPTION CAPACITY (13-30 MG/G TO 156-291 MG/G). WHEN COMPARING SOLVENT SYSTEMS, THE NMMO-BASED HYDROGEL SHOWED ENHANCED SURFACE AREA AND PORE CHARACTERISTICS, WHILE THE IL-BASED HYDROGEL EXHIBITED INCREASED MB ADSORPTION CAPACITY (291 MG/G VS. 233 MG/G). ALTHOUGH PINE-DERIVED HYDROGELS HAD LOWER MB ADSORPTION THAN EUCALYPTUS-DERIVED ONES (156 MG/G VS. 291 MG/G), BOTH SHOWED COMPARABLE ADSORPTION PERFORMANCE FOR CU2+ IONS (SIMILAR TO 40 MG/G). OVERALL, THE IL-DERIVED HYDROGEL FROM PHOSPHORYLATED EUCALYPTUS UKP PROVED MOST EFFECTIVE FOR REMOVING MB AND CU2+ FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS. THESE FINDINGS CONTRIBUTE TO ADVANCING CELLULOSE-BASED HYDROGELS FOR EFFICIENT ADSORPTION IN WASTEWATER TREATMENT.