Sequential fractionation and characterization of lignin and cellulose fiber from waste rice bran

Cellulose and lignin were simultaneously isolated from rice bran is an interesting and alternative renewable materials synthesis for industrial application. In the present research, acid pre-treatment (AT) (85 % organic acid, 80 degrees C, 120 min) has been proposed for the fractionation of lignin from rice bran (RB). After end of the pretreatment, residual RB was further submitted to bleaching treatment (BT) (1.7 % sodium chlorite, 60 degrees C, 120 min) for fractionation of cellulose fibres. The isolated lignin structure was extensively characterized using UV-vis spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and matrix assisted laser desorption/ionisation-time of flight-mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). In addition, surface morphology and surface elemental composition of untreated rice bran (UT-RB), acid treated rice bran (AT-RB) and bleaching treatment rice bran (BT-RB) were performed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), SEM, XRD and FTIR. Fractionated lignin and cellulose fibres could be used as feedstock in the integrated biorefineries application.