Isolation of a - Cellulose from Nipa ( Nypa fruticans Wurmb) Frond using Physico-Chemical Treatment

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this research is to create a versatile approach to produce cellulose from nipa fronds, which are a sustainable resource. Methods: The study focuses on determining the amount of cellulose in nipa fronds, the effectiveness of a simplified physicochemical pretreatment, and the purity of the isolated nipa α-cellulose. The nipa biomass was pretreated using physical and chemical methods and analyzed through gravimetric analysis to determine its composition, delignification efficiency at varying concentrations of Sodium hydroxide (NaOH), and the purity of the isolated nipa α-cellulose (iNαC) using the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) protocol, "NREL/TP-510-42618". The data was statistically analyzed using One-way Analysis of Variance. Findings: The results showed that increasing the concentration of NaOH led to positive responses in delignification, decreased hemicellulose, and increased recovery of cellulose. The study found that as the concentration of NaOH increased, the amount of α-cellulose recovered also increased. Treatment 4 (15% NaOH) and Treatment 2 (10% NaOH) produced 79% w/w and 77.45% w/w of α-cellulose, respectively. While Treatment 4 was highly effective in breaking down nipa biomass, a statistical analysis revealed that Treatment 2 produced comparable results in terms of producing pulp from nipa frond biomass without requiring higher concentrations of NaOH. This led to a reduction in chemical waste, making Treatment 2 a more sustainable option.