Physical Effects of Pre-Hydrolysis and Alkali Treatment of Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) Fibers

Abstract

This study focused on the physical effects of pre-hydrolysis and alkali treatment of empty fruit bunch (EFB) fibers collected from one of oil palm industry in Penang Malaysia. The pre-hydrolysis times used were 20 min, 40 min, 60 min, and 80 min. While for alkali treatment, duration of 2 hours was applied by using 17%, 22%, 27% and 32% of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) treatment. From this study it was found that the amount of extractives being removed was increased with the increasing of time, while the hemicellulose content was decreased. In addition, lignin content was reduced when high concentration of alkali charge was used. Moreover, the longer the pre-hydrolysis time, the greater the loss of hemicellulose, which subsequently increased the size of capillary. Also, gradual removal of lignin during the pulping process caused reduction of fiber length and pore structures in the fibers. Thus it can be said, from this study continuous treatment (pre-hydrolysis and alkali treatment) was found to increase the performance of the fibers up to a certain limit before declining.