Characterization of Delignified Oil Palm Decanter Cake (OPDC) for Polymer Composite Development

For decades agricultural waste materials have been a subject of study for the production of sustainable bioproducts such as biodegradable composite. In Malaysia millions of tonnes of palm oil biomass are produced annually including Oil Palm Decanter Cake (OPDC). In this study, the objective was to characterize the delignified OPDC for potential biodegradable composite development. Chemical delignification is a process of removing the lignin from the plant biomass by using chemicals. Delignification process was performed by treating the raw OPDC with 10% NaOH (alkaline treatment) followed by 25% H 2 SO 4 (acid treatment) and finally 10% H 2 O 2 (bleaching). The result of the treated OPDC showed that cellulose content had increased from 29.4 to 87.6%, while hemicellulose had decreased from 11.2 to 3.1% and finally lignin had decreased from 25.3 to 9.3%. TGA, FTIR and XRD analysis of the raw and treated OPDC samples supported the findings as well. Through morphological analysis of the treated OPDC using FESEM, it showed that the chemical treatment had caused the raw OPDC fibre surface to break-up and open its structure. At the end of this study, the treated OPDC was also exposed to lauric acid for hydrophilic properties study and the result showed that the hydrophobic properties had been developed in the treated OPDC and thus made it suitable for biodegradable composite development

Visible light induced photocatalytic activity of Nb2O5/carbon cluster/Cr2O3 composite materials

Nano-sized Nb2O5/carbon cluster/Cr2O3 composite material was prepared by the calcination of NbCl5/chromium acetylacetonate/epoxy resin complex under an argon atmosphere. The Pt-loaded Nb2O5/carbon cluster/Cr2O3 composite material shows the photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation. The composite material successfully decomposed the water into H2 and O2 in the [H2]/[O2] ratio of 2. Electron spin resonance spectral examination suggests a two-step electron transfer in the process of Nb2O5 → carbon cluster → Cr2O3 → Pt

Efficient photocatalytic activity of MnO2-loaded ZrO2/carbon cluster nanocomposite materials under visible light irradiation

Nano-sized ZrO2/carbon cluster nanocomposite material was successfully prepared by the calcination of Zr(acac)4/epoxy resin complex in air. The composite material obtained by calcining at 200 °C was treated with hydrogen hexachloroplatinate hexahydrate (H2PtCl6) to obtain Pt-loaded materials denoted as Ic200Pt'sH's. The Pt-loaded material modified with MnO2 particles efficiently decompose water into H2 and O2 with a [H2]/[O2] ratio of 2 under the irradiation of visible light (λ > 460 nm) through the electron transfer process of MnO2 → carbon clusters → ZrO2 → Pt

Visible light induced electron transfer behavior of a CeO2-loaded HfO2/carbon cluster nanocomposite material

The microwave-irradiated calcination of HfOCl2/starch complex I under an air atmosphere produced the HfO2/carbon cluster composite material which is denoted as Ic. The obtained composite material could decompose methylene blue under the irradiation of light (λ > 460 nm). The surface of Ic was loaded with CeO2 particles to obtain CeO2-loaded composite material, which can decompose the aqueous silver nitrate solution and produce O2 and Ag in the ratio of 1:4.2. Water photo-decomposition experiment was also carried out using Pt-modified composite materials

Thermo-mechanical properties of palm fiber plastic (PFP) composites

The oil palm Empty Fruit Bunch fibers (size in the range from 75 to 400 μm) have been prepared by wet and dry grinding methods. The prepared fibers were blended with polypropylene to achieve EFB-Polypropylene plastic composite denoted as EFB-PP plastic composite. Various weight contents (20, 35 and 50%) of the fibers were reinforced in the polypropylene matrix. The effect of the fiber weight contents on thermal and mechanical properties of the obtained EFB-PP plastic composite was investigated. The wet disk milled fiber reinforced EFB-plastic composite shows the superior mechanical properties

The Effects of MAPP and OPDC on Physical and Mechanical Properties of OPDC-RPC / Muhammad Aqif Adam...[et al.]

Oil palm decanter cake reinforced with polypropylene composite (OPDC-RPC) was developed by varying the percentages of oil palm decanter cake (OPDC) and maleic anhydride polypropylene (MAPP). By adding MAPP, the mechanical properties (tensile, flexural and impact strength) had improved and the optimum mechanical strength was obtained at 30% OPDC due to strong internal bonding of OPDC and polymer. This evidence was captured using SEM where OPDC had a better bonding with MAPP. Water absorption test also confirmed the nature of hydrophilic properties of OPDC. To reduce the water absorption, MAPP was added and able to reduce the void inside OPDC-RPC material, hence reduced water penetration and water absorption rate

Presence of Residual Oil in Relation to Solid Particle Distribution in Palm Oil Mill Effluent

The production of palm oil requires a large amount of water, which subsequently turns into wastewater known as palm oil mill effluent (POME). Because of its high organic content, there has been debate over how to utilize POME for oil recovery. POME is usually mainly comprised of water (95 to 96%), total solids (4 to 5%), suspended solids (2 to 4%), and oil (0.6 to 0.7%). The lignocellulosic particles in POME are highly oleophilic and capable of absorbing oil. Therefore, the objective of this study was to understand the presence of residual oil and try to relate with the oil loss in POME and to identify the solid particles in POME and their correlations. Microscopic observations showed that most of the oil droplets available in POME were less than 100 µm in size. If given the opportunity to settle, the highest quantity of oil droplets and solid particles was in the bottom layer, followed by the middle layer, and lastly the upper layer. In cases where the contact angle of water was less than 45° on POME solids, the absorption rate was 0.11 ± 0.03 µL/s and 0.09 ± 0.01 µL/s, respectively. This study concluded that the oil losses in POME were partly due to the absorption of oil by the fibers