Preparation and characterization of a newly water soluble lignin graft copolymer from oil palm lignocellulosic waste

• Main Authors: Mohamad Nasir Mohamad Ibrahim, Mohamed Rashid Ahmed-Haras, Coswald Stephen Sipaut @ Mohd Nasri, Hassan Y. Aboul-Enein, Abdullahi Ali Mohamed
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2010
• Subjects: TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
• Online Access: https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/21559/1/Preparation%20and%20characterization%20of%20a%20newly%20water%20soluble%20lignin%20graft%20copolymer%20from%20oil%20palm%20lignocellulosic%20waste.pdf; https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/21559/; https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2010.01.030

Water soluble lignin graft copolymer (LGC) was synthesized using oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) fibre as a renewable biomass source. Initially, Kraft lignin (KL) was extracted by exploiting the OPEFB fibre Kraft pulping residue. KL was grafted with acrylic acid (AA) by using p-toluenesulfonic acid (PTS) as a catalyst in the condensation process via the bulk technique. The resulting copolymer was characterized by a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetry-Fourier transform infrared (TG-FTIR) and carbon–hydrogen–nitrogen analyzer (CHN). The FTIR spectrum of the product showed absorption due to the presence of ester bonds as a proof of grafting. The DSC and TG-FTIR results showed significant improvements in the KL thermal properties at least 27.261% as well as a thermal degradation resistance. The elements percentages of KL compositions were changed as shown by the CHN data. SEM micrographs illustrated the grafting reaction homogenizing the KL morphological structure