The extraction of lignin from empty fruit bunch fiber via microwave-assisted acid hydrotrope solvent

Lignin is a sub-product from lignocellulose apart from cellulose and hemicellulose that produced from empty fruit bunch fiber (EFB). Lignin has low solubility and reactivity due to its bulky macromolecule structre. Being one of the wastes that being generated in massive amount, many alternatives has been taken to transform lignin into valuable products. To do so, many reactions are needed for the lignin to go through. In this study, lignin will be extracted from empty fruit bunch (EFB) with the aid of acid hydrotrope concentration of 30 % and microwave assisted with various extraction heating time and temperature. Characterization of lignin is done using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) while Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-ray Powder Diffraction (XRD) used to characterize residues. The highest percentage of lignin yield and its purity obtained are 19.47 % and 96.63 % with the reaction time and temperature of the microwave is 30 minutes and 90 °C. From Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), a wide band at 3430.09 cm-1 and 3413.45 cm-1 are observed due to O-H stretching vibration. As for peak at 1123.17 cm-1 and 1051.26 cm-1, it correspond to syringyl and guaicyl unit in both lignin and raw EFB. As for Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), it shows that lignin decomposes slowly compared to raw EFB due to the aromatic structure of lignin that is very stable, therefore leading to difficulty of decomposing while from Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), after removing cellulose and hemicellulose, glass transition temperature (Tg) obtained from lignin DSC spectroscopy is 193.05 °C at heat flow of 1.15 mW/mg. Next, from Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, the signals observed around 6.5 – 8.0 ppm indicate aromatic H in syringyl and guaiacyl unit only at lignin spectra while at 3.3 – 4.0 ppm, raw EFB has an intense peak compared to lignin which attribute to methoxyl group. When the residue of the lignin as well as the raw EFB powder is characterized using X-ray Powder Diffraction (XRD), the crystallinity index of the lignin with reaction time and temperature of the microwave 30 minutes and 90 °C is the highest, 69.28 %. As a conclusion, an admissible percent of lignin yield and purity is able to be obtained with addition of acid hydrotrope depending on the variables. From the spectroscopies characterization, it is proved that lignin characteristics and properties are compatible for the production of new and value added products

Physical and mechanical properties of kenaf/seaweed reinforced polypropylene composite

Wood plastics composites (WPCs) refer to any composites that consist of natural fibers combined with thermosets or thermoplastics polymers. Natural fibers are preferably used as reinforcement in WPCs due to their availability, low cost, and low density. Currently, kenaf fiber has been used widely in making composite while seaweed is more used in cosmetics and food. In this study, kenaf fiber and seaweed fiber is mixed with different ratio. This study aims to investigate the potential of kenaf/seaweed to be converted into WPCs and the physical and mechanical properties of kenaf/seaweed reinforced polypropylene composite were figured out. The techniques used for making this composite are using extrusion and hot-pressing techniques. Kenaf reinforced composite and seaweed reinforced composite are prepared as a control sample in the research. The result shows that the tensile and impact strength of kenaf/seaweed reinforced composite is low compared to kenaf reinforced composite but higher than seaweed reinforced composite with a value of 0.1098 MPa and 49.53 J/m respectively. Melt flow index (MFI) result was displayed through the rate of flow of composite under two different loads at 120 kg and 216 kg at temperature 1900C. The rate of flow was affected by the increment of viscosity. It is shown that adding fiber into composite results in an increase in MFI index. The amount of water absorption of kenaf/seaweed reinforced polypropylene composite was lower than kenaf composite but higher than seaweed composite. It is shown that seaweed improved the properties of kenaf/polypropylene reinforced composite in terms of water absorption properties but lower in mechanical properties

The extraction of lignin from empty fruit bunch fiber via microwave-assisted deep-eutectic solvent heating

This work study about the extraction of lignin from Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB). It is a type of lignocellulosic waste produced during the palm oil extraction process. There are three main components of lignocellulosic, which is one of them is lignin. A deep eutectic solvent (DES) with microwave-assisted heating has been used as a process to extract the lignin from EFB and turn it into a value-product. This convenient method was started with the mixing of EFB and DES. After that, the mixture was heated via microwave synthesis reactor at different temperature and time parameters. The extracted lignin yield was dried and ground into a powder form. The highest lignin yield recovered is 30 % by the highest time and temperature. Interestingly, the purity of all lignin yields are above than 80 %. The highest yield of lignin was characterized. According to Fourier-Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectra, there was a significant functional group of phenolic and aliphatic hydroxyl in lignin. Besides, the methoxy group was also configured in lignin spectra. The presence of conjugated alkene also conveyed the characteristic of lignin. The FTIR spectra were intensified with 1H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectra where there was a chemical shift in lignin and raw EFB which was designated to aliphatic and aromatic protons bonded to a carbon atom. Three regions of decomposition occur in the Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) spectra. The initial decompose temperature of lignin was lower compare to raw EFB. Next, second-stage lignin decomposed at 434.14 ℃ with weight loss of 36.21 %. Lastly, for the final stage, lignin decomposes at 552.54 ℃. Moreover, Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) spectra demonstrate that the Tg value of lignin managed to be identified. However, the Tg value of raw EFB cannot be well defined. As for the characterization in residual fractions of EFB, the lowest crystallinity index (CrI) value of raw EFB has proven the presence of lignocellulosic in its structure. The residual fractions that reacted at higher temperatures have an inflated value of CrI as they contain abundant left out cellulose

Characterization of fluoroacrylate palm oil polyurethane (FPOPU) with different synthesis methods using fourier-transform infra-red (FTIR)

In this study, fluoroacrylate palm oil polyurethane (FPOPU) was synthesized with different synthesis methods. FPOPU was synthesized stepwise starting with the synthesis of acrylated epoxidized palm oil (AEPO) by a reaction of acrylic acid (AA) and triethylamine (TEA) as the catalyst. Then, palm oil polyurethane (POPU) was formed by the reaction of AEPO with isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) and hydroxyethyl acrylate (HEA) as an end cap agent. POPU was further added with 1,6 hexanediol diacrylate (HDDA), trimethyloltripropane triacrylate (TMPTA), and heptafluorodecyl methyl-metacrylate (HDFDMA) monomers to form FPOPU. FPOPU synthesis methods were studied by manipulating the sequence of chemicals added, temperature, and mixing time of POPU. The FPOPU mixture was finally cast onto a silicone mold with 1 mm thickness and cured under UV radiation at 120 seconds. Based on the analysis, pre-mixed IPDI with HEA at 60°C for 15 min followed by the addition of AEPO at 60°C and further mixed for 3 hours (Method 2) shows the complete formation of the urethane chain. It is proven by the existence of NH peak at 3500 cm-1 and the disappearance of NCO peak at the range of 2200-2500 cm-1 indicating the NCO functional group has completely reacted with OH group in AEPO. The addition of fluorination also can be proved by the existence of CF stretching at 1012 cm-1. This study provides information regarding comparison between the synthesis method of FPOPU

Investigation of hydrophobic properties and mechanical stability of hydrophobic compressed oil palm trunk (OPT) panel

Oil palm trunk (OPT) panel has high potential of being the substitution of wood due to the abundant of its availability in Malaysia and correspondingly resulted an increase in the export of palm oil in recent years. The properties of OPT has widely been studied including improvement on their strength and stability properties. In the present work, a hydrophobic coating was applied on compressed OPT panel prior to improve its surface quality. The hydrophobic properties were determined by water contact angle (WCA) and water sliding angle (WSA). The addition of SiO2 and chlorotrymethylsilane (CTMS) as a hydrophobic agent plays a critical role in enhancing the panel surface by generate roughness at nanoscales and lower its surface free energy which turn to higher WCA and smaller WSA values. Based on mechanical stability of hydrophobic compressed OPT, it shows that the WCAs of the surface panel remained almost constant and the coated surface remain non-wettable with the nanoscales features remain intact after performing scratch test

Modification of diutan gum to enhance rheological properties for oil and gas application

A favorable gelling fluid for oil and gas industry is the one that have good rheological, thermally stable properties and environmental friendly. In the present study, a gelling agent, diutan gum (DG) was modified with N-(3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl) trimethyl ammonium chloride (CHPTAC) to enhance the rheological properties. The modified-diutan gum (MDG) were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and rheometer. FTIR result shows a significant decreasing of hydroxyl group intensity and the appearance of new peak at 1250 cm-1 attributed to the substitution of CHPTAC on the DG backbone. In addition, the rheological properties of the MDG fluid showed remarkable increases in apparent viscosity. The elastic modulus (G′) and viscous modulus (G″) also increases showing that the MDG have good viscoelastic properties which due to the strong electrostatic interaction between the chains after the modification. This finding showed that, with simple modification using CHPTAC, the rheological properties of MDG gelling agent can be tailored and expected to increase the thermal properties

Lignin extractions from oil palm empty fruit bunch under pressurized and inert conditions

In this study, for the first time, lignin was extracted from palm oil empty fruit bunch (EFB) by using a pressurized reactor in the presence of deep eutectic solvents (DES). DES is prepared by mixing choline chloride and oxalic acid at a ratio of 1:1, successfully extracting around 30 wt.% of lignin under a relatively mild temperature. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) are used in order to analyse lignin, whereas X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) is used to investigate the solid residues. FTIR analysis revealed the characteristics of lignin with a major functional group composed of phenolic, aliphatic hydroxyl and conjugated alkene in the FTIR spectra. This was further confirmed with thermal stability data using DSC. The crystallinity of the solid residue consisting of cellulose was observed to be affected by different temperatures, with the highest value (43.5 %) at 80 oC. The yield of lignin extracted under a pressurized and inert environment shows more than double the value of lignin as compared to the analogue process under atmospheric pressure and also shows comparable lignin yield with microwave assisted extraction systems. Thus, it provides a new, facile, and efficient approach to the delignification of lignocellulosic biomass

Structural and thermal behavior of lignin-based formaldehyde-free phenolic resin

Phenolic resin has been widely used in various field applications and is a crucial resin in daily life. However, the raw materials used for producing phenolic resin are quite costly and harmful to the consumer. Therefore, the production of bio-based phenolic resins has attracted considerable scientific and industrial interest. The utilization of bio-based substituents for phenol and formaldehyde as phenolic resin raw materials is described in this paper. The structural properties of the prepared bio-based phenolic resin are established by FTIR and NMR, and the thermal stability is determined by DSC and TGA. The presence of the methylene bridge functional group at around 1460 cm1 confirms the formation of phenolic resins. The resins have a decomposition temperature of about 300 °C and exhibit good thermal stability. This confirmed structure and thermally stable resins could be used to substitute the current commercialized phenolic resins

The effect of power intensity properties of microwave modified oil palm trunk lumber

In the decade, oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) in Malaysia is one of the conventional sources that will be rising, and the rate of biomass will considerably increase in yet to come. Presently, oil palm biomass is going through research and development and appears to be the most sustainable alternative. Investigations on oil palm biomass have been conducted to support in draw out waste of oil palm and in the meantime can help economic yield to the country. This study was expected to estimate the effect of power intensity properties of microwave modified oil palm trunk lumber. Microwave treatment of oil palm trunk samples was set of connections by using a microwave operating at 2.45 GHz with the liberated process input power intensity (600-1000W) were studied under the given condition. Impact and compression of the samples were tested. The analysis of properties of the fresh material and dry samples was employed by scanning electron microscopy. Oven drying technique also was involved as a comparison of the conventional drying process in this research. Based on the outcomes of this study, both drying methods improved the characteristics of the specimens

As-spun bio-novolac fibre morphological study based on resin’s physico-chemical properties

Bio-novolac fibre made from phenol-formaldehyde derived oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) was produced using electrospinning method. The bio-novolac phenol-formaldehyde was prepared via liquefaction and resinification at two different molar ratios of formaldehyde to liquefied EFB (LEFB) (F:LEFB = 0.5:1 and 0.8:1). Electrospinning was applied to the bio-novolac phenol-formaldehyde (BPF) in order to form smooth and thin as-spun fibre. The BPF was electrospun at 15 kV and 15 cm distance between needle and collector at a flow rate of 0.5 mL/h. At lower molecular weight of BPF resin, beads formation was observed. The addition of poly(vinyl) butyral (Mw = 175,000 - 250,000) has improved the fibre formation with lesser beads hence produced more fibre. Polymer solution with higher molecular weight produced better quality fibre