Physicochemical Properties of Cellulose extracted From Hom Thong Banana Peels

Abstract

Bananas are one of the most popular fruits in the world, yet only around 12% of them are consumed, posing an environmental problem. The goal of this research is to extract Hom Thong banana cellulose, which is the major component of banana peels. Fat analysis was used to extract and bleach Hom Thong banana cellulose, followed by soaking in 15% hydrogen peroxide for 3 h. The Hom Thong banana peel cellulose was washed and dried at 60 °C for 10 h. The obtained Hom Thong banana cellulose was characterized in terms of fatty acid profile, intermolecular interactions, and thermal analysis by using gas chromatography, FT-IR, and DSC techniques, respectively. The results showed that the content of palmitic acid (C16:0) in the post-evaporated ethanolic extract is larger than in pre-evaporated ethanolic extract, with a ratio of 44.91% and 38.62%, respectively. At a ratio of 26.19% and 31.56%, the post-evaporation of the ethanolic extract contained less linoleic acid (18:2cis) than the pre-evaporation of ethanolic extract. Intra-molecular interactions between OH groups of cellulose were shown by FT-IR spectra. DSC thermograms revealed that the extracted cellulose had good thermal characteristics and was appropriate for the food and cosmetic industries.