OIL PALM NANOCELLULOSE HYDROGEL POTENTIAL (Pt 3)

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 byproduct known as nanocellulose hydrogel for implementation in Malaysia for the future and reading purposes.

Currently in Malaysia was endowed with a huge amount of biomass resources from (i) agricultural crops such as sugarcane, cassava and corn; (ii) agricultural residues such as rice straw, cassava, rhizome, and corncobs; (iii) woody biomass such as fast-growing trees, wood waste from wood mill, and sawdust; (iv) agro-industrial wastes such as rice husks from rice mills, molasses, and bagasse from sugar refineries and residues from palm oil mills; (v) municipal solid waste; and (vi) animal manure and poultry litter. Malaysia is one of the leading agricultural commodity producers in the Southeast Asian region for decades. Therefore, the agricultural wastes are abundant and readily available. From my observation in which the main agri-based wastes that exist in the country are oil palm biomass (in the form of fronds, trunks and fibers) followed bby paddy straw, rice husk, banana residues, sugarcane bagasse, coconut husk, and pineapple waste. The main agricultural wastes from the oil palm biomass accounted for 46,000 kilotons in the form of fronds and about 11,000 kilotons in the form of trunks. In 2007 alone the report shown that approximately 880 kilotons of paddy straw and 484 kilotons of rice husk were produced from the replanting of paddy. In other hands, the banana residues, sugarcane bagasse, and coconut husks accounted for 530, 234, and 171 kilotons, respectively. In pineapple farms as I worked for 2 years as Director General reported that about 48 kilotons of pineapple wastes are generated after the fruits are extracted.

Oil palm biomass is the major biomass resource in Malaysia. In 2017, due to the new planted area in Sarawak, the oil palm planted area in Malaysia reached 5.81 million hectares, with an increase of 1.2% from the 5.74 million hectares recorded in the previous year. Oil palm biomass can generally be classified into oil palm fronds (OPF) and oil palm trunks (OPT), oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFB), palm kernel shells (PKS), mesocarp-fiber (MF), and palm oil mill effluent (POME). In total, 44.85 Mt of oil palm biomass is generated during the fresh fruit bunch processing, oil palm tree replanting, and pruning activities. The OPEFB is a byproduct from the processing of crude palm oil (CPO) in a palm oil mill. It is obtained from the empty stalks of the fresh fruit bunches (FFB) after the fruits are separated from it. It is estimated that 4 kg of dry biomass is generated for every kilogram of extracted palm oil. Therefore, approximately 22 to 23 million tons of OPEFB could be generated by the palm oil mills annually. The OPEFB has 50.9% cellulose, 29.6% hemicellulose, 17.84% lignin, 3.4% ash, and 3.21% extractive, making it a potential lignocellulosic material suitable for the production of bioalcohol, solid fuel, pulp, and many other value-added products. Apart from its abundance, OPEFB has high cellulose, making it a very promising feedstock for the extraction of nanocellulose and the production of various cellulose-based products. Regenerated cellulose hydrogel, in particular, has been produced by dissolving OPEFB cellulose and sodium carboxymethylcellulose (NaCMC) in a sodium hydroxide/urea system. Compared to other agricultural wastes, OPEFB is a great option as a potential raw material since it is composed of high cellulose content in addition to its abundant availability. This article divided in 3 segment that was Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 respectively. Thanks...

By,

M Anem,

Putrajaya,

Malaysiaa.

(November 2022).

Updated July 2023.