High-performance arabinoglucuronoxylan-based biosurfactants for oily sludge separation

Arabinoglucuronoxylan (AGX), an important carbohydrate polymer in lignocellulosic biomass, contains many functional groups. It has excellent amphiphilic modification properties and has potential application in the separation of oily sludge. In this study, a simple strategy for producing high-performance AGX-based biosurfactants was studied and the raw AGX was extracted from bamboo by hydrothermal treatment. AGX-based biosurfactants with amphiphilic structure were produced by AGX and dodecanal succinic anhydride (DDSA) using rapid homogeneous esterification reactions in deep eutectic solvents (DES). This resulted in a significant reduction in the surface tension of the water from 72.32 to 29.76 mN·m−1. These parameters are similar to those achieved using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), a widely employed synthetic surfactant. Other physicochemical properties, including foamability, emulsification activity, stability, solubilization, and detergency were significantly improved compared to the unmodified AGX, demonstrate that AGX-based biosurfactants are promising detergents for oily sludge remediation and oil recovery. The results provide a new pathway for high value utilization of arabinoglucuronoxylan.