Extraction of α-cellulose from Eleocharis dulcis Holocellulose using NaOH and KOH

Abstract

Abstract Cellulose is the greatest abundant and renewable biopolymer resources in world, it has been widely used in many industrial applications because of its favorable characteristics. Various cellulose resources, especially those obtained from local resources and agriculture waste, are being exploited to reduce the impact of environmental damage. This study presents an environmental friendly methods to produce cellulose from local plant, Eleocharis dulcis . E. dulcis is an aquatics plant belonging to the Cyperaceae family, mainly abundant in swampy area in South Kalimantan, Indonesia. In this study, α-cellulose were isolated from E. dulcis as a new renewable industrial resources. The sample was dewaxed using ethanol-toluene, then the free extractive sample was bleached using NaClO 2 to produce holocellulose. The influence of type of alkali (NaOH and KOH) and concentration (15%; 17.5% and 20%) on the properties of α-cellulose was investigated. The Total Crystallinity Index (CrI), Lateral Order Index (LOI), Hydrogen Bond Intensity (HBI) and whiteness of α-cellulose were analysis using FTIR and CIELab color system, respectively.