
El creciente interés en generar y/o consumir productos obtenidos con tecnologías respetuosas con el medio ambiente, utilizando materias primas procedentes de recursos renovables, está impulsando la concentración de biomasa residual y sin explotar en la producción de materiales lignocelulósicos. Megathyrsus maximus, una biomasa abundante y subutilizada, ampliamente distribuida en nuestro país, es el foco central de esta investigación, cuyo objetivo es establecer su potencial para la producción de materiales lignocelulósicos a gran escala. Para ello, la biomasa se sometió a diversas etapas físicas y químicas, incluyendo corte, secado, molienda, tamizado, deslipidización, deslignificación y blanqueo, para obtener finalmente celulosa. Se observó que el proceso de secado a 60 °C durante 4 horas equivale a un mes de secado al aire en condiciones ambientales. Tras el proceso de refinación, se obtuvo un 13,8 % de celulosa en base húmeda a partir de la biomasa alimentada. La celulosa obtenida se caracterizó mediante espectroscopia infrarroja en comparación con la celulosa comercial, lo que demuestra la calidad del tratamiento realizado. Además, se caracterizó mediante análisis termogravimétrico y microscopía óptica de luz polarizada, lo que reveló la naturaleza cristalina de las fibras de celulosa obtenidas. En el área de estudio, se pueden cosechar entre 13,9 y 26,9 toneladas/ha de Megathyrsus maximus (MM) fresco, de lo cual se proyecta obtener entre 1,7 y 3,3 toneladas/ha de celulosa a partir del MM plantado, lo que demuestra el potencial de Megathyrsus maximus para su procesamiento en sustratos lignocelulósicos.
The growing interest in generating and/or consuming products obtained with environmentally friendly technologies, using raw materials from renewable resources, is leading to a focus on residual and untapped biomass sources in the production of lignocellulosic materials. Megathyrsus maximus, an abundant and underutilized biomass widely distributed in our country, is the central focus of this research, which aims to establish its potential for large-scale lignocellulosic material production. To this end, the biomass was subjected to various physical and chemical stages, including cutting, drying, grinding, sieving, delipidation, delignification, and bleaching, to ultimately obtain cellulose. It was found that the drying process at 60°C for 4 hours is equivalent to one month of air drying under ambient conditions. After the refining process, 13.8% cellulose was obtained on a wet basis from the fed biomass. The cellulose obtained was characterized by infrared spectroscopy in comparison with commercial cellulose, demonstrating the quality of the treatment carried out. Furthermore, it was characterized by thermogravimetric analysis and polarized light optical microscopy, which revealed the crystalline nature of the cellulose fibers obtained. In the studied area, between 13.9 tons/ha and 26.9 tons/ha of fresh Megathyrsus maximus (MM) can be harvested, from which it is projected to obtain between 1.7 tons/ha and 3.3 tons/ha of cellulose from the planted MM, demonstrating the potential of Megathyrsus maximus for processing into lignocellulosic substrates.
biorefinery, Megathyrsus maximus, cellulose, lignocellulosic biomass
biorefinery, Megathyrsus maximus, cellulose, lignocellulosic biomass
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