Title
Preparation and characterization of benzylated products from ricestraw
Authors
JAMSHID MOHAMMADI-ROVSHANDEH BABAK KAFFASHI SEYED MOHAMMAD DAVACHI PEYMAN POURESMAEEL-SELAKJANI MONA GHORBANI CHABOKI and FATEMEH DIRINI2

Received August 6, 2015
Published Volume 51 Issue 3-4 March-April
Keywords rice straw, benzylation, pulping, chemical modification, lignocellulosic resources, thermoplastic

Abstract
In the present study, the pulping process was employed to prepare chemically modified thermoplastics from natural resources. Rice straw is a natural source and the products from this material (pulp and pulping liquor) were separated in this work. The benzylation reaction with benzyl chloride chemically modified the structure of rice straw and its pulping products (pulping liquor and pulp). The final products, except the benzylated pulp, showed thermoplastic behavior. The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, tensile and thermal properties analyses, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA), rheological analysis, contact angle measurement and SEM were carried out to evaluate the modified rice straw. The FTIR spectra confirmed the benzylation reaction as H groups were substituted by benzyl groups. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) showed only a Tg and no Tm was detected for the prepared samples. The benzylated rice straw pulping liquor (BRSPL), which was the main objective of this research, showed the highest tensile strength, maximum elongation at break, maximum thermal stability, continuous morphology, minimum activation energy and the highest hydrophilicity.