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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
False banana /Ensete ventricosum [Welw.] Cheesman/ is exploited as a food crop in
Ethiopia where it represents an important staple food. The plant is harvested and large
amounts of biomass residues are originated, mainly from the pseudo stem (i.e., fiber bundles
obtained from the leaf sheaths after being scrapped to produce starchy food) and the
inflorescence stalk. These materials were studied in relation to their summative chemical
composition, composition of lignin, lipophilic and polar extracts. Moreover, their structural
characteristics, in view of their valorization, were scrutinized. The analytical studies were
performed with the aid of FTIR, GC/MS, Py-GC/MS and SEM. The fiber bundles are aggregates
of mainly long and slender fibers with low ash, extractives and lignin contents (3.8%.
4.4% and 10.5% respectively) and high holocellulose and α-cellulose contents (87.5% and
59.6% respectively). The hemicelluloses in the fibers are mostly highly acetylated xylans
and the lignin is of the H-type (H:G:S, 1:0.7:0.8). This lignin composition is in line with the
FTIR peaks at 1670 cm-1 and 1250 cm-1.The inflorescence stalk has high ash content
(12.3% in the main stalk and 24.6% in fines) with a major proportion of potassium, high
extractives (25.9%), and low lignin and α-cellulose contents (5.8% and 17.9% respectively).
The stalk includes numerous starch granules in the cellular structure with the predominant
presence of parenchyma. The potential valorization routes for these materials are clearly different.
The fiber bundles could be used as a fiber source for paper pulp production with the
possibility of a prior hemicelluloses removal while the inflorescence stalk has nutritional
value for food and fodder. Furthermore, it can also be used for sugar fermentation products
Description
Research Article
Keywords
crop residues ensete ventricosum valorization Ethiopia
Pedagogical Context
Citation
Berhanu H, Kiflie Z, Miranda I, LourencËo A, Ferreira J, Feleke S, et al. (2018) Characterization of crop residues from false banana /Ensete ventricosum/ in Ethiopia in view of a full-resource valorization. PLoS ONE 13(7): e0199422
Publisher
Warren Batchlor