STRUCTURAL ALTERATİONS İN HEMP CELLULOSE VİA VARİOUS PRETREATMENT TECHNİQUES


Korkmaz N., Hammid A., Karadağ A., Dinçer O.

14th International ZEUGMA CONGRESS ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH, Gaziantep, Turkey, 9 September - 10 October 2025, pp.1-1434, (Summary Text)

  • Publication Type: Conference Paper / Summary Text
  • City: Gaziantep
  • Country: Turkey
  • Page Numbers: pp.1-1434
  • Yozgat Bozok University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Industrial hemp is an annual herbaceous plant belonging to the Cannabinaceae family and has a variety of applications, including food, construction, healthcare, textiles, paper, and energy. Hemp's ability to be grown with less water, its near-free use of pesticides, its carbon dioxide-neutral nature, its renewable and sustainable nature, its lack of post-consumer waste, and its rapid biomass production have significantly increased interest in hemp. The hemp plant's cell wall is composed of structures such as cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, and pectin. One of the most challenging processes in utilizing lignocellulosic biomass, particularly hemp, for many industrial applications is removing the difficult lignin structure, which is cross-linked to cellulose. Cellulose, with its long macromolecular chains, is preferred in many sectors. Numerous pretreatment techniques exist in the literature for the removal of lignin from biomass. In this study, the moisture content of industrial hemp plants (Cannabis Sativa L.) from the Narlısaray population was determined as 10.25%, ash content as 3.45%, and lignin as 39%. Raw hemp fibers were subjected to physical, chemical, and physicochemical pretreatments. In this study, mechanical shredding and microwave methods were applied for physical treatment of hemp fibers. For chemical treatment, in the alkaline pretreatment stage, the fibers were pretreated separately with 2% concentrations of NaOH, KOH, Ca(OH)2, and CaO. Acid pretreatment stages were carried out using different concentrations of HCl, H2SO4, and HNO3. In the physicochemical pretreatment method, hot water pretreatment was performed at different temperatures and durations. To determine lignin removal by the applied pretreatments, FTIR spectrum analysis, scanning electron microscope SEM analysis, and EDX analysis were performed on the biomass before and after the pretreatment. As a result, lignin removal was achieved in all applied pretreatments. The most effective lignin removal was observed in the acid pretreatment with 2% HCI, in the alkaline pretreatment with 2% Ca(OH)2, and in the liquid hot water pretreatment at 120°C for 30 minutes. This study was supported by the Scientific Research Projects Unit of Yozgat Bozok University under project ID 1153, number FKA-2023-1153. We thank the Scientific Research Projects Unit.