Agricultural residues represent an abundant renewable resource for sustainable lignocellulosic biorefineries, offering opportunities to produce value-added biopolymers while mitigating the environmental impacts associated with conventional disposal. This study evaluated the technical feasibility of using sorghum stubble as a feedstock for the recovery of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin through an ethanol–water organosolv process. Specifically, the study aimed to separate the main structural polymers of sorghum stubble and evaluate the performance of the proposed fractionation system. The biomass was treated at 180 °C and approximately 30 bar, followed by chlorine-free peroxide bleaching. The hemicellulose fraction was obtained by extracting the holocellulose (Wise method) and precipitating the dissolved hemicellulose using a 3:1 (v/v) ethanol-to-liquor ratio. The lignin fraction was isolated from the black liquor through vacuum distillation and drying. This approach yielded a cellulose fraction (23.66 wt%), a hemicellulose fraction (36.22 wt%), and a lignin fraction (30.35 wt%), corresponding to an overall polymer recovery of approximately 90 wt%. Structural and physicochemical characterization (FTIR, SEM, XRD, and TGA) supported the fractionation of the lignocellulosic matrix and identified characteristic structural and physicochemical features of the recovered cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin fractions. SEM revealed substantial structural breakdown following the organosolv treatment, while TGA demonstrated distinct degradation behaviors among the components. Notably, the crystallinity index increased from 38% in the raw material to 71% in the cellulose fraction, indicating effective removal of amorphous components. A preliminary mass–energy analysis showed that approximately 96% of the initial energetic content of the biomass was retained in the polymers. Furthermore, approximately 70% of the ethanol used was recycled, highlighting the potential for solvent reintegration under the evaluated laboratory conditions. Overall, these findings demonstrate the potential of sorghum stubble as a renewable feedstock for the recovery of lignocellulosic polymers and provide a technical basis for the future optimization of organosolv-based biorefineries.

Este trabajo documenta la implementación de tecnologías de energías renovables en la comunidad de San Francisco Pichátaro, Michoacán en el periodo 2023-2024, como parte de una estrategia para mejorar el acceso a servicios básicos y reducir impactos ambientales en contextos rurales. La metodología consistió en conocer la perspectiva global y local para la implementación participativa de sistemas fotovoltaicos en escuelas y casetas de vigilancia, luminarias solares en espacios comunitarios, estufas de leña mejoradas, un biodigestor educativo y un sistema de captación de agua de lluvia, integrando además la capacitación técnica de estudiantes y habitantes. Los resultados muestran beneficios tangibles en electrificación, manejo de residuos, seguridad, salud y educación ambiental. Sin embargo, se identificaron barreras importantes como la falta de conocimientos técnicos, la resistencia al cambio de prácticas tradicionales de cocción, los picos de demanda eléctrica derivados de la carpintería local, y desigualdades de género en el acceso a la formación. Se concluye que la eficacia de estas tecnologías no depende únicamente de su desempeño técnico, sino de su apropiación cultural, social y organizativa, lo cual requiere enfoques de implementación sensibles al contexto comunitario y sostenidos en el tiempo.

As water scarcity and pollution increase in rural communities in some parts of developing countries, there is a need to find simple ways to improve the quality of contaminated water. In this research, bagasse-based cellulose membranes were prepared and evaluated in a simple filtration system and compared with polycaprolactone membranes (PCL) and bagasse-based cellulose/PCL membranes for the removal of total coliform bacteria, Escherichia coli and other physical and chemical contaminants from contaminated water. Cellulose offers many opportunities in filtration technology due to its physical and chemical characteristics that allow its use in the design of membranes with flexible capabilities and specific applications. The membranes were characterized physically, chemically and mechanically, finding similarity in mechanical properties and differences in porosity. The membranes were tested in a filtration system and PCL membranes were more effective in removing turbidity (94.5%), color removal (70%) and phosphorus removal (50%), while cellulose membranes were better at retaining fecal coliforms (84.5%) and E. coli (90.8%). Statistical analysis (one-way ANOVA, p < 0.05) confirmed significant differences among the three membrane types for turbidity, apparent color, and nitrate, while no significant differences were observed for pH, conductivity, and phosphorus. These results suggest that the use of the membranes could help to improve the quality of polluted water and more studies are needed in order to improve their efficiencies.

Ediciones Comunicación Científica se especializa en la publicación de libros dictaminados, digitales e impresos, mediante el sistema de pares ciegos académicos, acceso abierto al texto completo, métricas, DOI, Epub, indización internacional, ética editorial, comités editoriales, campaña de comunicación en las áreas de humanidades, sociales y ciencias.