[sisara]

hi all
I am trying to convert cellulose to glucose by using cotton, I want to know if I cut the cotton to very small pieces (to make it near powder size) is it possible to disturb cellulose structure or not?
by the way if you know any approach or if you have any experience to help the yield elevation, it would help a lot.
thanks in advance for your help

[Borek]

You are right in the basic idea that because solids react on the surface, powdering them speeds up reactions (by making the surface larger). However, cotton has already quite large surface per mass unit, so the effect will be relatively small (for example much smaller than for a piece of wood).

[sisara]

You are right in the basic idea that because solids react on the surface, powdering them speeds up reactions (by making the surface larger). However, cotton has already quite large surface per mass unit, so the effect will be relatively small (for example much smaller than for a piece of wood).

you are right, but my main reason for cutting cotton to small pieces is because of my protocol has written that I should mix cotton and NaOH with glass rode, I think that if I chop the cottons I can mix it with a magnet, then I can have a reflux and perform the reaction in higher temperature and thus the yield is expected to elevate. by the way I am not sure that it work or not, as the way you mentioned too.

[Borek]

I think that if I chop the cottons I can mix it with a magnet

Sounds reasonable.

[hokilvo1]

Right, I’m aware of that, however, there are some limitations. I’ve spent some time growing oyster mushrooms on sawdust and learned that not all cellulose is created equal for mushroom growing. For example, if you use coffee grounds you generally need to add some sawdust as well. Not sure about straw’s nutrient profile for mushrooms.

[Corribus]

It shouldn't be surprising that different biowaste have different carbohydrate profiles. Most biowaste is a combination of cellulose, lignin, and hemicellulose (plus other stuff) but the weight fractions of these components can vary considerably from plant to plant and plant part to plant part.

 A very quick look suggests that coffee grounds contain much less cellulose by weight than sawdust. Given that coffee grounds come from the pit/seed of the coffee fruit, and the protective function of the seed coat, this breakdown makes sense since lignins are tougher cross-linked polymers than linear, straight chain cellulose polymers. I would expect to find more lignin and less cellulose in tough protective plant structures like nut shells, seed coats, tree bark, etc.