The oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) as solid biomass of palm oil mill industry is available in abundance and has the potential to be utilized as the raw material of nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC). This research aims to investigate the effect of bioprocess treatment (bio-delignification, bio-bleaching, and enzymatic hydrolysis) on the nanocrystalline cellulose synthesized from OPEFB. The bio-delignification of OPEFB fiber was carried out using white-rot fungi (Tremetes versicolor and pre-bleaching pulp with xylanase. Trichoderma reesei, a cellulase enzyme type was used to hydrolyze the OPEFB fiber into nano-sized cellulose. The result exhibits that the cellulose content of OPEFB pulp using bio-delignification increased significantly compared to chemical treatment. Furthermore, the concentration of enzyme and hydrolysis time in the synthesis treatment affect reducing average particle size and increasing the crystallinity index while decreasing the yield of NCC produced. The synthesis process was under optimal processing conditions at 1% enzyme concentration and 3 days of hydrolysis time resulting in the NCC product with 155 nm of average particle size, 66.78% of crystallinity index, and a yield of 38.28%. The bioprocess technology applied in this study could improve the cellulose yield of OPEFB and enhance the quality parameters of NCC products such as particle size and crystallinity index.

Biodiesel is one of the alternative energy sources for diesel oil substitutes. However, the unsaturated fatty acid contains in vegetable oils leads to the poor oxidation stability of biodiesel. One of the potential methods used to prevent or delay the oxidation reaction is the addition of antioxidants because the process is much more straightforward and efficient. Soursop leaf was reported to have the potential to be used as a natural antioxidant. Soursop leaf extracted using solvent n-hexane and ethyl acetate. The crude extract with concentration 0, 100, 200, 300, 400 ppm tested to palm oil and soybean oil biodiesel. Oxidation stability of biodiesel analyzed using the 873 Rancimat instrument biodiesel. The results show that a concentration of 100 ppm soursop leaf extracted with both n-hexane and ethyl acetate increased the Induction Period (IP) of palm oil biodiesel more than 16 h. This result meets the SNI biodiesel requirements in which the IP minimum for biodiesel is eighth.

The number of oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFB) in Indonesia is very abundant and has not been used optimally and becoming industrial waste. Indonesia is the second largest country that contributes to the volume of plastic waste in the oceans. Thus, we need a more environmentally friendly plastic alternative, called as bioplastics. Nano Crystalline Cellulose can improve the quality and physical properties of bioplastics. Bioplastic products from nanocellulose are transformed into plastic products that have high selling value. The purpose of this study was to determine the characteristics of bioplastics with nano crystalline cellulose (NCC) reinforcement and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) matrix. Bioplastic composites have tensile strength ranged from 17.8-20.14 MPa, and have met the minimum standard of tensile strength values for bioplastic based on the Japanese Industrial Standard. The addition of NCC succeeded in reducing the value of the water vapor transmission rate and increasing the tensile strength of the bioplastic composites. Bioplastics can be completely degraded in the fourth week. The development of NCC applications in various fields of bioplastics, chemistry, food, pharmaceuticals, and others is highly recommended.

A new technology has been currently developed for the removal of heavy metal waste in water, called biosorption. Biosorption technology has been widely used to remove heavy metals from liquid waste. The potential biomass which can be used as bio sorbent was activated coconut husk waste. By using the continuous flow method and activated coconut husk as bio sorbent, the obtained optimum flow rate and bed height of bio sorbent were 2 mL/min and 0.1 g with adsorption capacity of 188.322 mg/g.