Tissue-specific cell wall hydration in sugarcane stalks.

Plant cell walls contain water, especially under biological and wet processing conditions. The present work characterizes this water in tissues of sugarcane stalks. Environmental scanning electron microscopy shows tissue deformation upon drying.

Chemical and morphological characterization of sugarcane bagasse submitted to a delignification process for enhanced enzymatic digestibility.

Background: In recent years, biorefining of lignocellulosic biomass to produce multi-products such as ethanol and other biomaterials has become a dynamic research area. Pretreatment technologies that fractionate sugarcane bagasse are essential for the successful use of this feedstock in ethanol production. In this paper, we investigate modifications in the morphology and chemical composition of sugarcane bagasse submitted to a two-step treatment, using diluted acid followed by a delignification process with increasing sodium hydroxide concentrations.