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2025 Vol.57, Issue 6 Preview Page

Original Paper

Study on the Valorization of Oak Bark Biomass - Part I: Extraction and Characterization of Tannins
Sa Rang Choi1
,
Jung Myoung Lee2†
1Department of Wood and Paper Science, Kyungpook National University, Lecturer
2Department of Wood and Paper Science, Kyungpook National University, Professor
†Corresponding Author: E-mail: jmylee@knu.ac.kr (Address: Department of Wood and Paper Science, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, 41566, Republic of Korea)
30 December 2025. pp. 66-74
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Abstract

Oak bark, an abundant but underutilized biomass, is often combusted as fuel or discarded. This study aims to valorize this biomass by efficiently extracting tannins, a class of natural polyphenolic compounds. The effects of bark particle size, solvent type, and solvent concentration on the extraction yield and tannin composition were evaluated. The highest extraction yield (6.3%) was obtained from bark particles with a size range of 20–40 mesh. Despite their slightly lower extraction yields, finer particles (> 40 mesh) exhibited higher total polyphenol and tannin contents. Among the solvents tested, 90% ethanol provided the highest average yield (6.4%), whereas acetone resulted in lower yields but higher tannin purity. The recovery efficiency of condensed tannins was maximized when bark particles > 40 mesh were extracted using 90% ethanol. These findings demonstrate the crucial roles of particle size and solvent selection in determining the quantitative and qualitative efficiency of tannin extraction, confirming the potential of oak bark as a valuable biobased resource.

Keywords
Unused biomass
oak bark
tannin
polyphenols
valorization of bark
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Information
  • Publisher :Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
  • Publisher(Ko) :한국펄프종이공학회
  • Journal Title :Journal of Korea TAPPI
  • Journal Title(Ko) :펄프종이기술
  • Volume : 57
  • No :6
  • Pages :66-74
  • Received Date : 2025-10-28
  • Revised Date : 2025-11-19
  • Accepted Date : 2025-11-19
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.7584/JKTAPPI.2025.12.57.6.66
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