Synthesis of Carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC) from Cocoa Pod Husk

Abstract

Cocoa is among the main commodities in Malaysia. The industry of cocoa fruit processing discards an abundant quantity of pod husk, which is rich in cellulose. The cellulose can be modified into its derivative, such as carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). In this study, the cellulose was prepared through the extraction process of cocoa pod husk as raw material. The cocoa pod husk has undergone alkaline treatment to extract cellulose using 12% w/v sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and 6% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl). Then, the CMC was synthesized through the reaction of cellulose with various NaOH concentrations and monochloroacetate (NaMCA) amounts. The yield percentage and functional groups of cellulose were studied. The yield percentage of cellulose is 34.96%. The results from cellulose FTIR show peaks at wavelengths about 1056.27 and 847.39 cm-1, which are signals for the alcohol and ethers in the cellulose chain and the ȕ-glycosidic linkages of the glucose. While the yield of CMC ranges from 82.20 to 206.80. Synthesized CMC from the cellulose of agricultural waste can be applied to produce biopolymer film, an alternative to commercial CMC and other synthetic polymers. To conclude, this study was conducted to extract CMC from cellulose of agricultural waste among Malaysia’s main commodities, which is cocoa pod husk. Therefore, the findings from this study were beneficial to produce CMC derives from agricultural waste among the main commodities of Malaysia for useful applications.