Whiteness Index of Nanocrystalline Cellulose Isolated from Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch Ika Atsari Dewi*, Ezra Ambarita, Ardhina Sevi Agselina, Dewi Zharfaningsih, Arie Febrianto Mulyadi, Hendrix Yulis Setyawan
Department of Agroindustrial Technology, Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Universitas Brawijaya, Jl. Veteran, Malang 65145, Indonesia
*ikaatsaridewi[at]ub.ac.id
Abstract
Oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB) are a waste product from palm oil processing and contain 45.95% cellulose. Nanocrystalline cellulose (CNC) is a cellulose derivative product isolated from cellulose crystalline zones with good physical properties. CNC isolation can generally be carried out by the strong acid hydrolysis method, but it tends to damage the environment,low yield, and cause corrosion. Therefore, the ammonium persulfate (APS) oxidation method was developed because it has low toxicity, high solubility, and low operating costs. The CNC isolation process is affected by process conditions, which include reagent concentration, reaction temperature, and reaction time. In this study, CNC was obtained through the APS oxidation method with a combination of APS concentration (1M-1.5M-2M) and oxidation temperature (60C, 70C, 80C) for 16 hours. The highest yield (42.42%) was obtained in a treatment with an APS concentration of 1M and an oxidation temperature of 80C. CNC with the highest whiteness index (81.94%) was obtained in treatment with 2M APS concentration at 80C.
