Amino‐functionalized glucuronoxylan as an efficient bio‐based emulsifier

Hemicelluloses account for 15–30 % of the lignocellulosic biomass and are considered as abundant renewable biopolymers. They are the major byproducts from pulping and other biorefinery industries, but are highly underutilized and usually burned as low value fuel. In this study, glucuronoxylan recovered from dissolving pulp mill were used to produce a high-quality bio-based emulsifier. Octylamine, dodecylamine and hexadecylamine were used to modify oxidized glucuronoxylan in order to improve the amphipathic properties of glucuronoxylan. Alkyl aminated glucuronoxylan emulsions showed smaller droplet size, higher emulsion activity and lower zeta potential compared to that of unmodified glucuronoxylan emulsions. With the increasing of alkyl contents, the emulsifying properties were improved. However, when the contents of alkyl groups increased beyond a certain value, the emulsifying properties were not changed significantly. Furthermore, the alkyl chain length also had a positive impact on emulsifying properties of alkylamine aminated glucuronoxylans. These results suggest that alkyl aminated glucuronoxylans have the potential to substitute for petroleum-based emulsifiers in many applications.