Reutilization of waste biomass from sugarcane bagasse and orange peel to obtain carbon foams: Applications in the metal ions removal.

The high levels of heavy metals contained in residual water and the pollution generated by a large amount of unexploited agro-industrial waste are a serious problem for the environment and mankind. Therefore, in the present work, with the aim of treating and reducing the pollution caused by heavy metal ions (Pb, Cd, Zn and Cu), activated carbons (ACs) were synthesized from sugarcane bagasse (SCB) and orange peel (OP) by means of physical - chemical activation method in an acid medium (H3PO4, 85 wt%) followed by an activation at high temperature (500 and 700 °C). Thereafter, these materials were used to produce carbon foams (CF) by the replica method and to evaluate their adsorbent capacity for the removal of heavy metals from synthetic water. XRD, FTIR, DLS, BET, Zeta Potential (ζ), SEM-EDS and AAS were used to investigate their structures, surface area, pore size, morphology, and adsorption capacity. The results show that as-prepared CF have a second level mesoporous structure and AC present a micro-mesoporous structure with a pore diameter between 3 and 4 nm. The experimental adsorption capacities of heavy metals showed that the CF from OP present a better elimination of heavy metals compared to the AC; exhibiting a removal capacity of 95.2 ± 3.96% (Pb) and 94.7 ± 4.88% (Cu) at pH = 5. The adsorption values showed that the optimal parameters to reach a high metal removal are pH values above 5. In the best of cases, the minimum remaining concentration of lead and copper were 2.4 and 2.6 mg L-1, respectively. The experimental data for carbon adsorbents are in accordance with the Langmuir and BET isotherms, with R2 = 0.99 and the maximum homogenous biosorption capacity for lead and copper was Qmax = 968.72 and 754.14 mg g-1, respectively. This study showed that agro-industrial wastes can be effectively retrieved to produce adsorbents materials for wastewater treatment applications.

Influence of operating conditions on proton conductivity of nanocellulose films using two agroindustrial wastes: Sugarcane bagasse and pinewood sawdust.

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were isolated from two-agroindustrial wastes: sugarcane bagasse (SCB) and pinewood sawdust (PWS), to analyze their chemical, structural, morphological, and proton conduction properties in dependence of the synthesis parameters. In both sources, the isolated CNCs correspond to the monoclinic phase of cellulose type I and II. For SCB, the smallest CNCs were isolated, in a range of 3-10 nm, with 5 wt.% of NaOH and 60 °C of acid hydrolysis. PWS displayed the smallest sizes at 75 °C and 10 wt.% NaOH (40-110 nm). Membrane characterization suggests that isolated CNCs, between 75 and 90 °C of acid hydrolysis and 10 wt.% NaOH from both SCB and PWS sources, displayed an important increase in the proton conductivity, 1.23(±0.61)×10-5 and 9.26 (±0.24)×10-5 S-m-1, respectively. Thus, with proper synthesis conditions, CNCs can be potentially used as based element to obtain other proton conductor materials to fabricate PEMs.

Data supporting the production of dietary fibers from sugarcane bagasse and sugarcane tops using microwave - assisted alkaline treatments.

The treatment of agroindustrial residues is an alternative to waste management and obtain products with added value. In this article, we describe the confocal microscopy images, the microbiological data, policosanol content and color measurement linked to the paper "production of dietary fibers from sugarcane bagasse and sugarcane tops using microwave - assisted alkaline treatments". The data contain photographs after elaboration of noodles-type pasta and chapatti-type fermented bread; the confocal laser scanning micrographs, before and after including sugarcane bagasse and sugarcane tops fibers in foods. Microbiological analyses of total coliforms, molds and yeasts, and aerobic mesophiles were also presented according to Mexican Standard NOM- 247-SSA1-2008 which confirmed that the food is safe for human consumption. The data provided in this article have not been previously published and are available to enable critical or extended analyses.