The present study aimed to extract hemicellulose from different agricultural waste (Fenugreek stems (FNS), Chickpea stems (CPS), Fennel stems (FS), and Cumin stems (CS)) and incorporated with sodium alginate to prepare beads for the moisture adsorption study. Hemicelluloses in the cell wall are naturally substituted with diverse sugar monomers such as D-xylose, D-mannose, D-glucose, D-galactose, and other glycosyls. For the current work, the alkali treatment was performed using different concentrations of sodium hydroxide (1%, 3%, 5%, and 7%). With different soaking times 1hr, 2hr, 3hr, and 4hr at different temperatures of 35oC, 45o C, 55o C, and 65o C respectively for the optimization of the hemicellulose extraction process. The chemical composition of extracted hemicellulose was analyzed using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, and 13C Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (13C-NMR). The prepared Hemicellulose-Sodium alginate beads were also examined by FTIR and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The novelty of this study is to use of extracted hemicelluloses in the production of biodegradable beads for moisture adsorption.
Hapani et al. (Wed,) studied this question.