ABSTRAK PENGARUH PROSES PEMUTIHAN MULTI TAHAP SERAT SELULOSA DARI LIMBAH TANDAN KOSONG KELAPA SAWIT. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk meningkatkan kandungan selulosa limbah tandan kosong kelapa sawit melalui proses bertahap delignifikasi NaOH dilanjutkan dengan pemutihan menggunakan NaClO2. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa kandungan selulosa limbah tandan kosong kelapa sawit berhasil ditingkatkan hingga hampir dua kali dari 37,6 ± 0,3% menjadi 84,2 ± 0,3%. Lebih lanjut, proses pemutihan multi tahap menggunakan NaClO2 dapat menurunkan kandungan lignin tandan kosong kelapa sawit menjadi sebesar 3,1 ± 0,2% hampir sama dengan standar selulosa, yaitu 2,6%. Penggunaan NaClO2 juga mampu menurunkan kadar hemiselulosa hingga 12,6%, lebih rendah dibandingkan standar selulosa, yaitu 16,6%. Dari hasil FTIR, gugus puncak serapan selulosa meningkat secara signifikan, sedangkan hemiselulosa dan lignin mengalami penurunan intensitas. Analisa SEM menunjukkan bahwa proses delignifikasi basa dan pemutihan menyebabkan permukaan serat TKS berpori dan bersih yang mengindikasikan berkurangnya lignin dan hemiselulosa. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian ini, proses delignifikasi NaOH dan pemutihan NaClO2 memiliki selektivitas tinggi yang dapat secara simultan mengurangi kadar hemiselulosa dan lignin tanpa merusak struktur selulosa.Kata kunci : Tandan kosong kelapa sawit, Delignifikasi, Pemutihan, Selulosa ABSTRACT THE EFFECT OF MULTI STAGE BLEACHING PROCESS ON CELLULOSIC FIBRE BASED ON OIL PALM EMPTY FRUIT BUNCHES.This study aims to increase the cellulose content of oil palm empty fruit bunch by sequential delignification using NaOH followed by bleaching process using NaClO2. Results showed that the cellulose content increased twice than the initial content, from 37.6 ± 0.3% to 84.2 ± 0.3%. Moreover, after the bleaching process using NaClO2 and two times of washing, the lignin content can be reduced to 3.1 ± 0.2 %, which was almost similar with cellulose standard (2.6%). Correspondingly, the utilization of NaClO2 also reduced the hemicellulose content to 12.6%, even lower than the cellulose standard (16.6%). FTIR spectrum showed that the peak absorption of cellulose increased significantly after the sequential process of delignification-bleaching. SEM analysis showed an increased in the porosity of the fiber. The bleached OPEFB was cleaner which indicated the removal of lignin and hemicellulose along with other extractives. From this result, it can be concluded that delignification using NaOH and bleaching using NaClO2 offered high selectivity which simultaneously reduced the hemicellulose and lignin content without disrupting the structure of cellulose.

Nanocellulose has been known as promising reinforcing material in various polymer based product resulted to remarkable improvement in mechanical and thermal properties. Hence, studies to date have developed and explored various sources of biomass to produce nanocellulose. The aims of this study are to synthesize and fully characterize nanocellulose obtained from abundantly available oil palm empty fruit bunches via two different methods which are strong (H2SO4) and mild acid (H3PO4) hydrolysis at 50 °C for 3.5 hours. Based on the morphological study using Transmission Electron Microscopy, rod like nanocellulose was obtained using strong acid hydrolysis while mild acid hydrolysis produced long filament shape. X-Ray diffraction analysis showed that the degree crystallinity of nanocellulose produced from strong acid hydrolysis was higher which is 96% than that of mild acid hydrolysis recorded with 86%. While the sulphuric acid hydrolysis usually produces lower thermal stability than that of other types acid hydrolysis, surprisingly, in this study, the thermal stability of nanocellulose from strong acid hydrolysis was relatively similar to mild acid hydrolysis due to the formation of single crystal structure affording unique characteristic of the obtained nanocellulose.

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