OIL PALM BIOMASS IN MALAYSIA POTENTIAL

OIL PALM (Elaeis guineensis) is among important commodity in Malaysia since long ago. Currently there are more than 1.4 million hectare of oil palm grown in Malaysia as one of the largest palm oil producers in the world. However, the Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (OPEFB) is considered the cheapest natural fiber with good properties and exists abundantly in Malaysia. It has great potential as an alternative main raw material to substitute woody plants as an important industry. Currently it was told that the well-known Polymeric Hydrogel has gathered a lot of interest due to its three-dimensional (3D) cross-linked network with high porosity. However, for some issues regarding its performance such as poor interfacial connectivity and mechanical strength have been raised so that nanocellulose has been introduced. In some research done by many local institutions in which the plantation of oil palm in Malaysia is discussed to show the potential of OPEFB as a nanocellulose material in hydrogel production is potentially develop. Nanocellulose can be categorized into three nano-structured celluloses in which it differs in the processing method. The most popular nanocellulose hydrogel processing methods are in few techniques. The 3D printing method is taking the lead in current hydrogel production due to its high complexity and the need for hygiene products. Some of the latest advanced applications are used to show the high approach of commercialization potential of nanocellulose hydrogel products. There are challenges and future direction of nanocellulose hydrogel. OPEFB claimed has met the requirements of the marketplace and product value chains as nanocellulose raw materials in many ways for the hydrogel applications. This article at "Anim Agriculture Technology" I am happy to discuss about the potential of the oil palm nanocellulose hydrogel for implementation in Malaysia for the future and reading purposes.

What are the challenges and future directions of oil palm industry in Malaysia?  Actually, Malaysia as the second largest producer of palm oil in the world in which is blessed with abundant oil palm biomass that could be beneficial as the feedstock for biochemical and biofuel synthesis. OPEFB is among the solid waste biomass that exists abundantly in palm oil mills. Around 22 - 23 million tons of OPEFB could be generated annually. However, reported that only 10% of them are used while the remaining are discarded. OPEFB has high amounts of cellulose in which makes it a very suitable feedstock for the extraction of nanocellulose. Due to its characteristics such as low cost and density, superior specific strength, and thermal stability as well as biodegradability, nanocellulose extracted from OPEFB has recently garnered a lot of attention from researchers. However, the research shows that the application of nanocellulose extracted from OPEFB has yet to be widely explored, particularly in hydrogels. The future prospect of this nanocellulose is very promising. Although intensive studies have been conducted on nanocellulose hydrogels from other resources, there are still some research gaps that need to be filled. A comprehensive and more fundamental knowledge on the full interaction mechanisms of nanocellulose with biomolecules are necessary as well as its long-term effects to the human body. Therefore, despite its advantages, there are claims that nanocellulose hydrogels still face various challenges on the road to commercialization. One of the challenges is the long-term biosafety of the nanocellulose hydrogel in various applications, especially biomedical. Although nanocellulose hydrogels are generally considered as green and environmentally friendly, information on their biological impacts and life cycle is lacking. Studies on the life-cycle assessment (LCA) of hydrogels is very limited, let alone nanocellulose hydrogels.

From few study that to the best of many knowledge, the only LCA study on hydrogels was reported by De Marco et al. (2016) who studied the LCA of starch aerogels for biomedical applications. The authors reported the relative contributions of three characteristic steps of aerogel production on each impact category such as human health, ecosystem quality, climate change, and resources. The mentioned three steps of aerogel production consist of (1) gelatinization with the formation of hydrogel; (2) alcogel formation; and (3) supercritical drying to obtain the aerogel. Based on that study there are the third step in aerogel production in which is the supercritical drying process that contributed the highest impact to all the studied categories, with the exception of respiratory organics. It could be attributed to the high energy consumption where supercritical CO2 was used to dry the structures. But on the other hand, the respiratory organics that could have negative impacts on human health were reportedly emitted during the second step, where ethanol was used to substitute water in the hydrogel during the formation of alcogel. The authors recommended using shorter drying times and lower amounts of CO2 to reduce the energy consumption. Unfortunately, this is the only LCA study on the hydrogel and therefore comprehensive information on the topic is still scarce. Such information is vital for the future determination of biocompatibility and the hazard assessment of nanocellulose hydrogels. The life cycle of nanocellulose hydrogels is much more complicated when compared to the aforementioned study. It involves the processes of biomass production, and the separation of cellulose from other compounds present in biomass such as lignin and hemicelluloses, solvent production, cross-linking, and nanocellulose, hydrogel production, consumption, and biodegradation. Every procedure has to be included in hydrogel LCA studies to assist in identifying alternative resources and feasible procedures that will result in lower impacts to both the environment and humans.

There are report in another challenge faced by nanocellulose hydrogels is the high cost and energy consumption in the production of both nanocellulose and hydrogel. These are the main factors that inhibit most developing countries in adopting these technologies widely in their nation. Therefore, it is recommended that future works should emphasize seeking a more cost-effective synthesis route to enhance the competitiveness of nanocellulose hydrogels on the market. Apart from that, more future work should also be conducted to find a more environmentally friendly approach in producing nanocellulose hydrogels. Finally, exposure of the researchers to the requirements of the marketplace and product value chain is an important future topic so that the research in the lab could be well-fitted to industrial-scale processes. For the report conclusion that the potential and review describe the regenerated cellulose hydrogel from OPEFB for various applications that acquire additive materials with advanced properties. OPEFB resources can be considered as the cheapest raw material compared to other commercialized woody plants. It is abundantly available in Malaysia and has comparable properties to other woody plants. Despite it being classified as an agricultural waste, OPEFB is able to produce high end-products with great properties like hydrogels. Many studies have been conducted on nanocellulose production from OPEFB. Therefore, in Malaysia the potential is there for nanocellulose hydrogels. Nanocellulose hydrogels can be produced in various desired shapes, depending on its application. With the incorporation of nanomaterial, many hydrogel properties can be boosted to higher levels. Many favorable properties of nanocellulose hydrogels can be highlighted in this review such as ultralight, biodegradable, hydrophilic, biocompatible, cost-effective, environmentally friendly, high mechanical strength as well as excellent inherent physical and chemical properties. These great properties assist in the development and improvement of many sectors including food, agriculture, biomedical, tissue engineering, biocomposites, and several other areas. The emergence of nanocellulose hydrogels could be one of the best alternatives to replace petroleum-based related products, which have numerous uses in vast areas where it is not sufficiently environmentally focused. Moreover, petroleum-based materials contribute to a great number of global issues in terms of human health, pollution, non-biodegradability, and the depletion of energy resources. Thus, this new nanocellulose hydrogel technology creates new insights for more advanced green materials with superior properties. Furthermore, the raw material used would be from agricultural biomass (OPEFB), which is abundantly available with a low density and cost, high specific strength, and thermal stability as well as biodegradability. This review also emphasized several methods that have been used to produce nanocellulose hydrogel with the recent technology, 3D printing, particularly taking care of the hygiene and complexity of the products.

The production of OPEFB nanocellulose has been previously studied, but the information on OPEFB nanocellulose hydrogels is still limited. Moving forward, there are still some challenges and gap in this research needed to be filled. Even though the great properties of nanocellulose hydrogels have been discovered by many researchers, there are some parts that need to be understood and improved, especially when the produced materials are used for the human body. Related applications such as food, biomedical, and tissue engineering have particular concerns regarding the long-term effects, LCA, and health as well as market acceptance. In future research, these raised issues can be catered to achieve the feasibility of these products. With continuous research into nanocellulose hydrogels, the properties of the products will be improvised, and the development of prospects will be further explored. In a nutshell, the nanocellulose hydrogel is a strong potential candidate for numerous high-end applications in different industries. The surfacing challenges are expected to be overcome in the near future. Its exceptional properties will lead to “green” cost-effective products that will provide significant advances and improvement in people’s quality of life. Thanks.

By,

M Anem,

Putrajaya,

Malaysia.

(November 2022).