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allied
academies
Materials-Metals 2017
Page 46
November 16-17, 2017 Paris, France
13
th
Annual Conference on
Materials Science, Metal and Manufacturing
Journal of Materials Science and Nanotechnology
Volume 1 Issue 2
Effects of extraction methods on the morphology
and chemical properties of kahili ginger
(Hedychium gardnerianum) fibres
T Eleutério
1
, A Silva Pinto
1
, M J Pereira
2
and
H C Vasconcelos
2,3
1
University of the Azores, Ponta Delgada, Portugal
2
University of the Azores, Angra do Heroísmo, Portugal
3
Nova University of Lisbon, Portugal
H
edychium gardnerianum (kahili ginger) stems are the
most abundant invasive plant residues in the Azores
(Portuguese Isles of the North Atlantic) and has not yet been
adequately studied as source of vegetable fibres for different
kinds of applications, namely reinforcement materials for
composites. This study aims to investigate the extraction
method effect on the chemical composition and morphology
of those fibres. Three different extraction methods were
compared: mechanical, chemical and biological (enzymatic).
The fibres chemistry was characterized in terms of structural
carbohydrates (cellulose and hemicellulose content),
lignin, ash and moisture content. The results showed that
enzymatic extraction yielded fibres with higher cellulose
and hemicellulose contents than the other two methods; the
lignin content decreases if chemical and enzymatic methods
are used; the moisture and the water absorption on the fibres
were independent of the used method. This study concluded
that the enzymatic extraction has potential advantages
in comparison to other extractive processes, because it
significantly increases the number of possible reaction sites
(OH groups) at fibre surface, since the amount of cellulose in
those fibres is larger.
Figure:
a) Kahili ginger plants; b) fibres extracted from kahili
ginger stems.
Recent Publications
• Eleutério T, Pinto AS, Pereira MJ, Vasconcelos HC (2017)
Preliminary structural and thermal characterization of
Conteira's (Hedychium gardnerianum) fibers for further
functionalization with silica colloidal nanoparticles.
Procedia Engineering.
• Pereira MJ, Eleutério T, Canhoto J (2015) The influence
of cytokinin and auxin types and their concentration on
the proliferation and rooting of Viburnum treleasei Gand
seedling explants. Acta Horticulturae. 1083: 311-318.
Biography
T Eleutério graduated in Biology and Geology at Azores University (UAC) in
June 2013. In February 2016, he got a Master’s Degree in Biotechnology and
Biodiversity. Throughout his professional career, he has worked as a Volunteer
Researcher on three research projects in areas such as micropropagation and
biological control; organized four workshops in the field of biology; was the
author of five scientific publications in the area of biotechnology and was part
of the organizing committee of the third edition of the International Conference
on Natural Fibers and the twenty-second meeting of the Portuguese Society of
Electrochemistry. He was Speaker at five international conferences including
OCTA Innovation - Sustainable Islands' Growth. He is a member of the Center
of Biotechnology of the Azores (University of the Azores) since 2016.
telmo.mf.eleuterio@uac.ptT Eleutério et al., Mater Sci Nanotechnol 2017, 1:2