Disruption of oil palm trunks and fronds by microwave-alkali pretreatment

• Main Authors: Long, Wee Lai, Idris, Ani
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: North Carolina State University 2013
• Subjects: TP Chemical technology
• Online Access: http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/49244/1/AniIdris2013_Disruptionofoilpalmtrunks.pdf; http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/49244/; http://dx.doi.org/10.15376/biores.8.2.2792-2804

In this study, lignocellulosic biomass from oil palm trunk (OPT) and oil palm frond (OPF) of oil palm tree, Elaeis guineensis, were treated using the microwave-alkali (Mw-A) method, and their chemical constituents, namely cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, were analyzed. A number of instruments, i.e. FESEM, FT-IR, and XRD, were employed to analyze the morphology and structural changes of biomass. After the Mw-A pretreatment, it was revealed that the amount of cellulose released was up to 41.55% for OPT and 64.42% for OPF. There was also a huge degree of reduction in hemicellulose, up to 64%, but lignin removal saw a fair reduction with only 15.33% for OPT and 17.97% for OPF. The results revealed that the Mw-A pretreatment is capable of disrupting the OPT and OPF