CHARACTERIZATION OF CELLULOSE NANOFIBRILS FROM EAST JAVA KENAF FIBERS PRODUCED BY ULTRAFINE GRINDING PROCESS Yunella Amelia Siagian (1), Ariadne L. Juwono (1*), Seto Roseno (2)
1) Master Program of Materials Science, Departement of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Indonesia, Depok 16424, Indonesia
2) Centre of Technology for Materials - BPPT, Puspiptek, South Tangerang, 15314, Indonesia
*ariadne.laksmidevi[at]ui.ac.id
Abstract
Cellulose is a fascinating biopolymer and sustainable raw material. Cellulose particles with at least one dimension in nanoscale are referred to as nanocellulose. This study presents the characterization of nanocellulose extracted from East Java, Indonesia based kenaf fibers. Kenaf fibers has a strong interfacial adhesion with polymer and superior properties over other natural fibers. This study was started by chemical pre-treatment for removing non-cellulosic components such as lignin, hemicellulose, and other components from kenaf fibers. The two step chemical pre-treatments consisting alkaline treatment with sodium hydroxide and bleaching or acid-chlorite treatment were conducted to the raw kenaf fibers. Then, cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) was extracted by mechanical disintegration using Ultra Fine Grinder. The evidence for the successful extraction of CNF from kenaf fibers was characterized by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). TEM images showed that nanofibers had a diameter in the range of 40-70 nm. The crystallinity of the fibers was examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD). XRD analysis showed the percentage of crystallinity is increased from 75,75% in raw kenaf to 77,14% in bleached fibers, and decreased because of mechanical treatment to 68,75%. Fourier Transform infrared (FTIR) analysis was conducted on the raw fibers, bleached fibers and CNF. The FTIR results confirmed the success of extraction cellulose from raw kenaf fibers. All the results expected to support that CNF was a potential reinforcement material with a high surface area for a wide variety of applications.
