IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i2p575-d1315852.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Novel Sustainable Alternatives for the Study of the Chemical Composition of Cork

Author

Listed:
  • María Verdum

    (Fundació Institut Català del Suro (Catalan Cork Institute Foundation), Miquel Vincke I Meyer, 13, 17200 Palafrugell, Spain)

  • Patricia Jové

    (Fundació Institut Català del Suro (Catalan Cork Institute Foundation), Miquel Vincke I Meyer, 13, 17200 Palafrugell, Spain)

Abstract

Cork is a natural and renewable material extracted from the cork oak Quercus suber L. (1) Background: The cellular structure and chemical composition of the plant wall give cork its physical and mechanical properties. Chemically, the composition of cork is principally dominated by the presence of suberin as the main structural cell wall component and affected by its close association with other components. The usual chemical analysis of cork has been partially adapted from wood and other lignocellulosic analytical methods and it is a method with extensive procedures. This study aims to (i) find quicker and more sustainable methods for testing the cork chemical composition, (ii) conduct extraction tests using alternative techniques, (iii) optimize alternative methodologies, and (iv) validate the proposed sustainable methodologies. (2) Methods: Microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) are explored as alternative systems to the traditional method. The percentages of the extractives obtained via MAE are lower than the percentages obtained by means of the classical composition. (3) Results: However, the percentages of suberin are very similar in both methods: 46.39% in the case of the classical composition and 45.11% in the case of microwave-assisted extraction. No significant differences are observed between the content of the extractives in the dichloromethane, ethanol, and water obtained via ASE and the results obtained with the classical methodology. (4) Conclusions: MAE and ASE are faster methods; they use less solvents and provide more reproducible results than the classical chemical composition methodology. These data pave the way for novel sustainable alternatives relative to the studies of the chemical composition of cork.

Suggested Citation

  • María Verdum & Patricia Jové, 2024. "Novel Sustainable Alternatives for the Study of the Chemical Composition of Cork," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-11, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:2:p:575-:d:1315852
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/2/575/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/2/575/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:2:p:575-:d:1315852. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.