Synthesis and Compression Strength Properties of Composite Based on Sago Pulp Fiber Waste

Abstract

Sago palm starch produced not only wild or semi-wild plant and only as a staple food for local people, but sago palm has become a commercial crop and an important source of starch for food and non-food industries. Especially for people in Sulawesi, most of the sago in some areas as a traditional food and industries materials. As a local food likes kapurung, bagea, food flavoring, sago noodle, various of snacks, sago perals, and dried refining sago starch. The one of the waste generated from sago processing is sago pulp. Nowadays, the sago pulp is only used for animal feed and composite fertilizer for plants. Characteristics of waste sago waste that can be used as a renewable composite material because it has a requirement as a composite material caused the fibrous and porous material has a cellular networks with interconnected pores. The fibers of the sago pulp have strength and rigidity. Synthesis composites fiber and matrix are required. Furthermore, the gypsum on this research was needed. In this research has been made composite based on fiber of sago pulp waste in diameter variation and measured composite physical properties using loading test machine. In this research, the compression strength test using tube method. The highest water content was 13.46% indicated accordance with Indonesian National Standard and Japan International Standard (JIS). The compression strength is intended to determine the composite resistance to loading at the bending point. It was observed that compression strength test on the ratio of fiber: gypsum: water (1:2:1) for diameter 5.5 cm, 4.5 cm, 3.5 cm and 2.5 cm were 0.1221 MPa, 0.0671 MPa, 0.1067 MPa, and 0.1091 MPa, respectively. In this case of the sample which 5.5 cm has the highest compression strength in 0.1221 MPa. It's caused by density is poor when pressured process. The higher the density of the resulting composite board, the higher the fracture strength of the resulting particle.