Thermo-Mechanical and Fungi Treatment as an Alternative Lignin Degradation Method for Bambusa oldhamii and Guadua angustifolia Fibers

Different strategies have been used to degrade the molecular structure of lignins in natural fibers. Both chemical and biological processes can obtain different types of lignins for industrial use. In this study, a variation of the spectral intensity of the thermo-mechanical and fungi-modified Bambusa oldhamii (giant bamboo) and Guadua angustifolia Kunt fibers were examined via Fouriertransform infrared spectroscopy. The giant bamboo and Guadua angustifolia Kunt specimens were modified using a non-chemical alternative steam pressure method for degrading lignins, followed by mechanical sieving to obtain fibers of different lengths. The obtained fibers were treated with the Fusarium incarnatum-equiseti MF18MH45591 strain in a 21 d degradation process. The samples were subjected to Fouriertransform infrared spectroscopy before and after the strain treatment. The intensity variation was found to be in the spectral range of 1200 cm^-1 to 1800 cm^-1, in which lignin components are commonly found in most plant species. A multivariate analysis of the principal components of the treated and untreated control samples confirmed the changes in the spectral region of interest, which were associated with the thermo-mechanical and fungal treatment.