Evaluation of defiberation by organosolv ethanolamine pulping for integral utilization of oil palm EFB

Abstract

Organosolv ethanolamine pulping for oil palm empty fruit bunches(EFB) were evaluated in this study. The screen yield by the ethanolamine pulping were higher than that by the soda pulping at the same operation conditions. The higher concentration of ethanolamine solvent resulted in the higher yield and the lower contents of residual lignin. The EFB pulp fibers were the narrower in fiber width but the higher in coarseness than those of the hardwood pulp fiber, while the fiber length of the EFB pulp fiber were similar to that of the hardwood fiber. The intrinsic zero span tensile testing showed the EFB pulp fiber by the 80% ethanolamine pulping were the stronger than the fiber by the soda pulping. The results of this study supported that the ethanolamine pulping could be used as an alternative pulping method for the EFB.