Extraction of Microcrystalline Cellulose from Oil Palm Trunk

抄録

Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) was extracted from two types of oil palm trunks (OPT) fibers. The first sample was the leftover of OPT fibers after the sap was being squeezed out while the second sample was the leftover OPT fibers after the starch was being extracted. The chemical compositions of the two types of OPT fibers were analyzed using TAPPI standards for their extractives, holocellulose, α-cellulose, and lignin contents. Several analyses were carried out including scanning electron microscope (SEM), zeta potential, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) to determine the morphological, dispersion stability, crystallinity and thermal stability of the OPT fibers, respectively. Some changes were observed on the surface of oil palm trunk fibers and intensities in the sample spectra after acid hydrolysis. The XRD results showed an increase in crystallinity value and reached 65% after acid hydrolysis for both MCC compared to their raw OPT fibers. The TGA results of both samples MCC exhibited lower thermal stability after acid hydrolysis compared to the raw OPT fibers. The obtained MCC has a potential to be used in high composite material processing.