Properties of Cellulose Extract from Different Types of Oil Palm Biomass

Abstract

This study focuses on the characteristics of cellulose extracts from different oil palm biomass namely oil palm mesocarp fiber (OPMF), oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) and oil palm frond (OPF). Cellulose was obtained from these biomass through soda pulping process followed by a totally chlorine free (TCF) bleaching step using peracetic acid solution. It was found that the cellulose extract for OPMF, OPEFB and OPF had 88.8%, 93.0% and 94.6% purity. Further analyses on the properties of cellulose in terms of morphology, thermal stability and crystallinity were conducted. The OPF cellulose obtained after pretreatment exhibited the highest crystallinity at 84.5%, followed by OPEFB (82.4%) and OPMF (69.2%). This directly affected the thermal stability of the celluloses, in which OPF cellulose was more thermally stable compared to celluloses from OPEFB and OPMF, as being recorded by a thermogravimetry analyzer (TGA). Results from this study provide new insight not only for fundamental understanding, but also to forecast the potential applications of cellulose extracts from different type of oil palm biomass, based on the performance of the celluloses reported herein.