CRYSTALLINE XYLANS FROM STRAWS

Abstract

Hemicelluloses, extracted from barley, flax, oat, rye, and wheat straw holo-celluloses, were composed predominantly of anhydro-D-xylose units, with small amounts of L-arabinose and D-glucuronic acid. The hemicelluloses had degrees of polymerization ranging from 55 for oat to 185 for rye and were shown to be linear polysaccharides. Autoclaving in distilled water at 120 °C. yielded crystalline xylans from barley, rye, and wheat straw hemicelluloses. The basic structure of the hemicellulose was maintained in the crystalline xylans, which gave identical X-ray diffraction patterns and had similar, linear structures. The crystallization procedure was found to degrade the hemicellulose, removing D-xylose, L-arabinose, and D-glucuronic acid as components of hydrolytic fragments and leaving a pure xylan one sixth to one third the length of its parent hemicellulose. Depending on uronic acid content, the five hemicelluloses in water gave pH values ranging from 2–5 with consequent variations in resistance to hydrolysis during autoclaving