Lignin extraction from oil palm Ttrunk by microwave-alkali technique

Abstract

The Klason’s lignin content in oil palm tree (Elaeis guineensis) particularly, oil palm trunk (OPT) was intensively investigated in this study. The Microwave-Alkali (Mw-A) pretreatment experiment was designed using Design Expert 7.0 software. The design of experiment (DOE) for this research was established and conducted based on the two-level factorial design with total of eleven runs which included three centre points. All the experimental runs were randomly performed. The independent variables or factors studied were as microwave power, temperature and heating duration and these were coded by high level (+1) and low level (-1) and their corresponding natural variable range were 500-900 watt, 80-100°C and 40-80 min, respectively. The dependent variable or response investigated was the amount of lignin, YL. Prior to Mw-A treatment, the OPT biomass with less than 1.0 mm (mesh size