Fiber Quality of Yellow Bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris vitata) from Forest Area with Special Purpose Pondok Buluh, Simalungun Regency, North Sumatera Province

Abstract

Forest Area with Special Purpose (FASP) Forest Training Pondok Buluh has a forest area of around 1.272 ha, with much plant species diversity, such as Yellow Bamboo. Bamboo can be used as a material that has the potential as a raw material to replace wood in several uses, one of which is pulp and paper. This study aims to analyze the dimension and derivation of fiber dimensions of the yellow bamboo that grows in FASP Pondok Buluh. The method used in this study is to get the maceration process of the bamboo sticks from yellow bamboo, then observe under a microscope to see the dimension of the fiber, then calculate the value of the derivative of its fiber dimensions. The results of this study obtained the average dimension of yellow bamboo fiber is 1945 μm in fiber length, fiber diameter is 12.75 μm, lumen diameter is 4.20 μm, and fiber wall thickness is 4.28 μm. Then calculated the fiber dimension derivative and obtained a Runkle ratio of 2.32, felting power of 152.61, muhlsteph ratio of 88.73%, coefficient of rigidity of 0.34, and flexibility ratio of 0.32. Based on the result of the derivative of the fiber dimensions, yellow bamboo gets a score of 225-275, which is included in quality class II. This means that the yellow bamboo that grows in the Pondok Buluh area can be used as a raw material for pulp and paper.