I have attached herewith, the paper by Pirbazari et al., (2014) where the Foumanat tea waste was alkaline treated. The SEM images thus presented have clear differences between the treated and the untreated biomass. But one of the features that have not been discussed upon is the flaky material present in excess in the untreated biomass but absent/ present very little in the treated biomass.
I have made the similar observation in my study. My doubt is as to which component of the plant material is this? NaOH has removal effect over lignin and part of hemicellulose. Is it one among the two or something (some other plant component) else that I have missed considering?
I would be grateful to any suggestions that would make the discussion complete and clear.
PS. I have added a sticky note on the flaky material in the SEM image of the attached paper.
Thank you.
Dear Smruthi,
It is very difficult and risky to identify a compound from a simple photograph, especially in such a complex "soup". I think the best candidates should be among the extra polymeric substrates (EPS) that are part of the biofilms and flocs of the activated sludge.
This, of course, is merely a hypothesis to be verified.
Jacques
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