BACKGROUND The aim of the study was to rank conventionally used fibre rich feeds for their physicochemical properties and detect possible correlation between analytical fibre determinations. A total of 22 samples were analysed for proximate fibre values, soluble dietary fibre (SDF), insoluble dietary fibre (IDF), crude protein (CP) and crude ash (CA). Physicochemical properties were determined in vitro by hydration capacity (HC) [water holding capacity (WHC), water binding capacity (WBC), swelling property (SwP)] and buffering capacity [linear buffering rate (LBR)]. RESULTS Fibre content and physicochemical properties varied markedly between the samples. HC was highest for beet pulp and lowest for rice and millet bran. Buffering capacity expressed minimum values for lignocelluloses and maximum values for rape seed hulls. The correlation of methods was positively between WBC, WHC and SwP (r ≤ 0.89; P ≤ 0.003) but not significant for HC and buffering capacity. SwP negatively correlated with crude fibre (CF), neutral detergent fibre (aNDFOM) and IDF (r ≤ −0.48; P ≤ 0.05). WBC and SwP positively correlated with SDF (r ≤ 0.63; P ≤ 0.04). LBR was negatively correlated with CF, aNDFOM, IDF and total dietary fibre (r ≤ −0.55; P ≤ 0.02), but positively with CP (r = 0.53; P = 0.01). CONCLUSION The determination of physicochemical properties is applicable to rank fibre rich feeds, some correlations between fibre analytical measurements and physicochemical properties were detected. © 2019 The Authors. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry

In technical lignins, functionality is strongly related to molar mass. Hence, any technical lignin exhibits concurrent functionality-type distribution (FTD) along its molar mass distribution (MMD). This study combined preparative size-exclusion chromatography with offline characterizations to acquire highly resolved profiles of the functional heterogeneity of technical lignins, which represent crucial information for their material use. The shape of these profiles showed considerable dissimilarity between different technical lignins and followed sigmoid trends. Determining the dispersity in functionality ( Đ F ) of lignins via their FTD revealed a rather homogeneous distribution of their functionalities ( Đ F of 1.00–1.21). The high resolution of the acquired profiles of functional heterogeneity facilitated the development of a robust calculation method for the estimation of functional group contents of lignin fractions based simply on their MMD, an invaluable tool to simulate the effects of intended purification processes. Moreover, a more thorough evaluation of separations based on functionality becomes accessible.

The new solvent system [emim]Cl/DMF/pyridine enables the quantitative determination of hydroxy groups of previously insoluble lignosulfonates by means of 31P-NMR.

Lignosulfonates (LSs) are by-products of the pulp and paper industry from pulping of lignocellulosic biomass according to the sulfite process. This renewable material already plays a role in low-value applications, such as binding agents for fuel, pellets, as a feed additive, or as a dispersant. Another possible field of application of this technical lignin type is agriculture. It is known that this eco-friendly and cheap material can improve soil quality, fertilizer efficacy and replace or decrease the use of potentially (eco)toxic organic or inorganic substances. The use of LS in agriculture and five main strategies for the implementation of LS in soil are discussed in this review: LS as a complexing agent with micronutrients, co-pelleting of LS with (macro)nutrients, capsule formation with LS for coating of fertilizers or pesticides, LS as a biostimulant, and ammonoxidation of LS. All five ways can be beneficial in fertilizer-related applications, either to slow down the release of nutrients or pesticides, to substitute harmful chemicals, or to inhibit nitrification and modify fertilizer behaviour. Nevertheless, application and long-time studies are often missing, and more research is required for generating products that are economically competitive to commercial bulk products.

An alternative ammonoxidation protocol was developed. With this new approach in “solid-state” mode, one single solid reagent is sufficient to equip lignin with different N-functionalities.