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This study presents the chemical compositional analysis of cow manure in terms of holocellulose (35.97%), lignin (19.02%), and ash (17.47%). Activated carbons (of specific surface area 114 to 893 m2/g, iodine value 219 to 718 mg/g, methylene blue adsorption value 40.5 to 501 mg/g, and ash 16.17% to 22.3%) were prepared from cow manure by using various activator compounds such as potassium carbonate. The results showed that the activation effect of potassium carbonate and zinc chloride was better under the given conditions. The main ash found in the activated carbons was silica, which was reduced to about 3% by washing with sodium hydroxide solution. The prepared activated carbons were used to treat the wastewater from the cow farm and for the pollutant removal that effectively met the discharge standard requirements. These results indicated that the production of activated carbons from cow manure is a promising method for the cleaner production in intensive dairy farms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical constituents of naturally decayed Qinghai spruce branches were analyzed in terms of holocellulose, lignin, and pentosan. The holocellulose content declined from 57.98% to 35.29% in one year. The rate of change may be related to weather conditions, i.e., the rate of variation was higher when the temperature was high and rainfall was abundant. The changes in lignin and pentosan relative content were completely different from holocellulose; they increased first and then decreased during the decay period. Compared with fresh raw materials, pentosan content (from 14.44% to 25.9%) was increased by 79.4% after four months decay. The highest yield of furfural (10.2%) prepared by a two-stage method from decayed Qinghai spruce branches was similar to the reported yield from corncobs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cellulosic pulps were prepared from Stellera chamaejasme roots using soda, soda-anthraquinone (soda-AQ), and kraft pulping processes. S. chamaejasme is composed of 73.5% holocellulose, 39.7% α-cellulose, and 17.6% lignin, similar to wheat straw and other non-wood plant materials. The ethanol-benzene extractives content of 9.2% is higher than other non-woods. The conditions used for all pulping experiments were as follows: a liquid/solid ratio of 5:1; a time-to-maximum temperature of 100 min; a maximum temperature of 160 °C; and a timeat-maximum temperature of 50 min. The results showed that the pulp yield was 31.27 to 36.83%, the kappa number was 16.32 to 19.42, and the pulps' intrinsic viscosity was 854 to 976 mL/g. Tear index, tensile index, burst index, and brightness of the papers made from the above unbleached pulps were 12.60 to 13.62 mN•m²/g, 20.57 to 22.56 mN/g, 2.16 to 2.38 kPa•m²/g, and 15.3 to 18.3%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]