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Background. Nanocellulose-based biomaterials are of interest for biomedical applications due to their physical and biological properties. Attention is paid to modified forms of nanocellulose having structural features. Purpose: to study the structural features of the bioactive nanocellulose ester - cellulose glycidyl methacrylate. Methodology. Samples of nanocellulose and its modified form with glycidyl methacrylate were studied, the degree of substitution was evaluated by UV (Specord 210 UV-Vis (AnalytikJena, Germany)) and Fourier IR (Inventio-S (Bruker, Germany)) spectroscopy, the amorphous-crystalline structure was studied by X-ray diffraction analysis ( Miniflex600 (Rigaku, Japan)), morphology and sizes by AFM methods (Agilent 5500 (Agilent, USA)). Originality. Structural features of a nanocellulose derivative, cellulose glycidyl methacrylate, have been revealed. Findings. X-ray diffraction, UV, IR spectroscopic methods proved the structure of a new derivative of nanocellulose - cellulose glycidyl methacrylate, calculated the degree of substitution, showed changes in the parameters of the crystal structure, shapes and sizes of particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to evaluate the suitability of biochar produced by pyrolysis from recovered wastewater cellulose and activated biologically as an admixture in Constructed Wetlands (CWs) when applied as a post-treatment step to remove micropollutants (MPs) from municipal wastewater effluent. Two planted vertical flow mesocosm CWs with cellulose-based admixtures of different origins (plant residue and recovered toilet paper) were fed with a municipal wastewater effluent representative for rural catchments. The results showed an average MPs elimination of 89.1 % for the activated biochar produced from recovered cellulose when 15 relevant compounds are considered and a reduction of the risk from compounds cocktail below the maximum acceptable level having diclofenac, carbamazepine, PFOS, ciprofloxacin and clarithromycin as main risk drivers (Risk Quotient > 1). The implementation of a circular approach to reduce MPs was finally conducted for the Blies catchment (Saarland region in Germany) characterized by low population density and small, sensitive water bodies. This approach demonstrates the feasibility of combining cellulose recovery with a fine sieve in large wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and providing biochar produced from recovered cellulose as an admixture to small WWTP where CW is an affordable solution for MP mitigation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

In this study a tiered hybrid life cycle assessment (LCA) multi‐objective optimization model is developed and applied to determine the optimal choice of new biorefinery technologies in Germany. Thereby, several aspects can be explicitly addressed, including a regionally differentiated accountability of sustainable feedstock availability, identification of environmental impacts along global value chains, and identification of trade‐offs between different sustainability goals. The model is applied to assess the optimal choice between two lignocellulosic biorefinery concepts. Two optimization objectives are taken into account: maximizing the investor's profit and minimizing global impacts on climate change related to a specified demand for products. In terms of environmental impacts, the model also takes into account the comparison of new biorefineries with current available technologies producing the specified final demand. The results of the case study show that the biorefinery concept including the ethylene production is more beneficial in terms of reducing climate impacts, while on the other hand the biorefinery including the ethanol production is more cost‐effective. Depending on the decision‐maker's preference on weighting the two objectives, different capacities of biorefineries and optimal locations in Germany are identified. Furthermore, regions in Germany providing the necessary biomass feedstock can be identified on a county level. Finally, we argue that the extension of LCA by multi‐objective optimization is well suited guiding the way toward well‐informed decision‐making in the field of technological choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1935-36, at Stellmoor, near Hamburg, the archaeologist Alfred Rust recovered over 100 wooden arrow shafts and thousands of reindeer bones and antlers, from a gyttja layer attributed to the Younger Dryas. The arrow shafts were - and still are - the oldest direct evidence of bow-and-arrow hunting in the world. Rust described them in detail in his 1943 monograph on Stellmoor, but all the recorded wooden artefacts were lost in an air-raid in 1944. However, several small pieces of wood, resembling fragments of arrow shafts in the 1943 publication, were discovered in 2013 among Rust's personal effects. Two fragments were dated, to test their proposed attribution to Stellmoor. Both had clearly been treated with unknown compounds, which Rust may have applied in an early experiment in waterlogged wood conservation. Infrared spectroscopy and biomolecular analysis suggest that these consolidants consisted of plant oils mixed with rosin, which should be removed by solvent extraction. While solvent-extracted samples gave older radiocarbon ages than samples extracted by a normal acid-base-acid protocol, however, the results were still somewhat younger than expected, in one case significantly more recent. Extraction to a-cellulose finally yielded a date consistent with those of reindeer bones and antlers from Stellmoor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the sustainability of mass deacidification of books from the German National Library (DNB) and Berlin State Library (SBB) in Germany. It says that both libraries use mass deacidification treatment through Papersave™, CSC Book Saver™, and Libertec™ processes. It states the investigation of surface pH, alkaline reserve, and molecular structure of cellulose to determine the effectiveness of deacidification of books and the stability of paper.

This paper presents a high resolution reconstruction of local growing season temperature (GST) anomalies at Dürres Maar, Germany, spanning the last two millennia. The GST anomalies were derived from a stable carbon isotope time series of cellulose chemically extracted from Sphagnum leaves (δ13Ccellulose) separated from a kettle-hole peat deposit of several metres thickness. The temperature reconstruction is based on the Sphagnum δ13Ccellulose/temperature dependency observed in calibration studies. Reconstructed GST anomalies show considerable centennial and decadal scale variability. A cold and presumably wet phase with below-average temperature is reconstructed between the 4th and 7th century AD which is in accordance with the so called European Migration Period, marking the transition from the Late Roman Period to the Early Middle Ages. At High Medieval Times, the amplitude in the reconstructed temperature variability is most likely overestimated; nevertheless, above-average temperatures are obvious during this time span, which are followed by a temperature decrease. On the contrary, a pronounced Late Roman Climate Optimum, often described as similarly warm or even warmer as medieval times, could not be detected. The temperature signal of the Little Ice Age (LIA) is not preserved in Dürres Maar due to considerable peat cutting that takes place in the first half of the 19th century. The local GST anomalies show a remarkable agreement to northern hemispheric temperature reconstructions based on tree-ring datasets and are also in accordance with climate reconstructions on the basis of lake sediments, glacier advances and retreats, and historical datasets. Most notably, e.g., during the Early Middle Ages and at High Medieval Times, temperatures were neither low nor high in general. Rather high frequency temperature variability with multiple narrow intervals of below- and above-average temperatures at maximum lasting a few decades are reconstructed. Especially the agreements between our estimated GST anomalies and temperature reconstructions derived from tree-ring chronologies indicate the great potential of Sphagnum δ13Ccellulose time series from peat deposits for palaeoclimate research. This is particularly the case, given that a quantitative δ13Ccellulose/temperature relationship has been found for several Sphagnum species. Although the time resolution of Sphagnum δ13Ccellulose datasets certainly wouldn't reach the annual resolution of tree-ring data, reconstructions of past temperature variability on the basis of this proxy hold one particular advantage: often due to relatively high peat accumulation rates, especially in kettle-hole bogs accumulated on temperate latitudes over periods of up to several millennia, they allow extending temperature reconstructions based on tree-ring series into the past to enhance our knowledge of natural climate variability during the Holocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Q 0 and k 0 factors for 75Se were determined by means of the Cd-ratio and Cd-subtraction methods at the carousel facility of the TRIGA Mark II reactor. For their determination, certified Se standard solution (no. 70350, p.a., Merck, Darmstadt, Germany) containing 988±3mgkg−1 was added on cellulose in low amounts, to avoid self-shielding effects of the matrix element. The difference between Q 0 value obtained in this study differed from the literature value by −9.2%, while the k 0-factors for five recommended gamma lines differed from −3.3% for the 400.7keV line up to +13.1% for the 121.1keV line. Taking this into account, the differences in the Se content of a sample differed from −9.1% for the 121.1keV line up to +6.3% for the 400.7keV line. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: To investigate the potential of stable isotopes of Sphagnum peat deposits for palaeoclimate research and to inform sampling strategies, we present results from a study of selected Sphagnum plant constituents. We report a combined stable carbon and oxygen isotope record of cellulose separately extracted from Sphagnum branches and stem sections manually sampled from a ∼4000 year old peat, deposited in a small dry maar crater located in the Westeifel Volcanic Field, Germany. We have determined the species composition of each individual sample of Sphagnum branches to address the sensitivity of the stable isotope records to potential changes in Sphagnum assemblages. The youngest approximately 3000 years old peat section consists of scarcely decomposed Sphagnum plant material. From the bog''s surface to a depth of ∼60 cm the predominant species is Sphagnum magellanicum. Between ∼60 and ∼550 cm the peat predominantly consists of Sphagnum capillifolium var. rubellum. At greater depths the decomposition status increases, species identification is, however, solely achievable if the record under examination consists of moderately decomposed peat. The stable carbon and oxygen isotope values of cellulose from Sphagnum stem sections are significantly lighter than those of the branches. Both isotopic offsets between the different plant compounds exhibit a strong degree of correlation, are statistically highly significant and observable down-core. The stable carbon isotope offset averages to 1.5‰, however, presumably decreases with increasing age of the plant material. In contrast, the averaged oxygen isotope offset of 0.9‰ is consistent in time. Our results imply that if no differentiation into Sphagnum branches and stem sections prior to stable isotope analyses is possible, erroneous interpretations of the isotope records are likely, since down-core changes in the ratio of branches to stem sections in the peat profile are most likely. This also implies that the removal of all non-Sphagnum plants or plant fragments is insufficient to retrieve stable isotope signals from peat deposits exclusively reflecting palaeo-environmental conditions. Even isotopic records from bulk Sphagnum cellulose comprise of two different signals: firstly, an environmental signal based on the plant response to external controls. This signal is, however, masked by a second plant physiological signal originating from the isotopic offset between branches and stem sections. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article describes various patents of different countries. It cites the patent of China's homogeneous cellulose/titania composite microsphere and its preparation and microencapsulated powders containing vitamins and polymers for sustained-release. Patent of France for microparticles, useful as contrast agents for ultrasonic imaging and systems for microencapsulation and their applications are given. Moreover the patent of Germany for chewing gum composition with chitosan-microencapsulated active substances is given.

Rigid polyurethane foams were obtained using two types of renewable raw materials: bio-polyols and a cellulose filler (ARBOCEL® P 4000 X, JRS Rettenmaier, Rosenberg, Germany). A polyurethane system containing 40 wt.% of rapeseed oil-based polyols was modified with the cellulose filler in amounts of 1, 2, and 3 php (per hundred polyols). The cellulose was incorporated into the polyol premix as filler dispersion in a petrochemical polyol made using calenders. The cellulose filler was examined in terms of the degree of crystallinity using the powder X-ray diffraction PXRD -and the presence of bonds by means of the fourier transform infrared spectroscopy FT-IR. It was found that the addition of the cellulose filler increased the number of cells in the foams in both cross-sections—parallel and perpendicular to the direction of the foam growth—while reducing the sizes of those cells. Additionally, the foams had closed cell contents of more than 90% and initial thermal conductivity coefficients of 24.8 mW/m∙K. The insulation materials were dimensionally stable, especially at temperatures close to 0 °C, which qualifies them for use as insulation at low temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research Highlights: Our results provide novel perspectives on the effectiveness and collapse of compensatory mechanisms of tracheid development of Norway spruce during intra-seasonal drought and the environmental control of intra-annual density fluctuations. Background and Objectives: This study aimed to compare and integrate complementary methods for investigating intra-annual wood formation dynamics to gain a better understanding of the endogenous and environmental control of tree-ring development and the impact of anticipated climatic changes on forest growth and productivity. Materials and Methods: We performed an integrated analysis of xylogenesis observations, quantitative wood anatomy, and point-dendrometer measurements of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) trees growing along an elevational gradient in South-western Germany during a growing season with an anomalous dry June followed by an extraordinary humid July. Results: Strong endogenous control of tree-ring formation was suggested at the highest elevation where the decreasing rates of tracheid enlargement and wall thickening during drought were effectively compensated by increased cell differentiation duration. A shift to environmental control of tree-ring formation during drought was indicated at the lowest elevation, where we detected absence of compensatory mechanisms, eventually stimulating the formation of an intra-annual density fluctuation. Transient drought stress in June also led to bimodal patterns and decreasing daily rates of stem radial displacement, radial xylem growth, and woody biomass production. Comparing xylogenesis data with dendrometer measurements showed ambivalent results and it appears that, with decreasing daily rates of radial xylem growth, the signal-to-noise ratio in dendrometer time series between growth and fluctuations of tree water status becomes increasingly detrimental. Conclusions: Our study provides new perspectives into the complex interplay between rates and durations of tracheid development during dry-wet cycles, and, thereby, contributes to an improved and mechanistic understanding of the environmental control of wood formation processes, leading to the formation of intra-annual density fluctuations in tree-rings of Norway spruce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]