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TEMPO-oxidize nanocellulose (TONC) suspension has been obtained from total chlorine free (TCF) oil palm empty-fruit-bunches (OPEFB) pulp using 4-acetamido-TEMPO (2,2,6,6-tetramethyl piperidin-1-oxyl) mediated oxidation with sodium hypochlorite and sodium bromide in water at 25 °C and pH 10. TONC suspension with varied content from 0.5 to 6% (w/w) reinforced polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) polymer based nanocomposite films were prepared by the casting method. The structural interaction between the TONC and PVA was characterized by the Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that the 4% (w/w) TONC content reinforced nanocomposite exhibited the highest tensile strength and modulus with an increase of 122% and 291% respectively, compared to PVA while the elongation at break decreased about 42.7%. Thermal stability of PVA based nanocomposite films was improved after incorporation of TONC. Incorporation of TONC in PVA film increases its crystallinity due to strongly linking between the hydroxyl groups of materials however considerable decreases beyond 2 wt% loading are observed. TONC incorporation beyond 2 wt% also reduces the melting temperature peaks and enthalpy of nanocomposite films. FT-IR spectra, NMR and SEM indicate that there is interaction between the TONC and PVA.

Triacetin, an alternative biodiesel additive, was prepared by esterification of glycerol with acetic acid in the presence of chemically activated natural zeolite. The esterification was carried out in a small reaction flask under microwave irradiation. The catalyst was characterized for its morphology by SEM and its chemical composition by X-ray Diffraction (XRD). The Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) micrograph indicates improved surface area of the zeolite, while the XRD analysis shows an increase in Si/Al ratio from natural zeolite to 6.042 and its crystallinity value of 12.23%. The Fourier Transform Infra Red (FTIR) analysis obtained showed that microwave-heated samples have an esters group spectrum of triacetin at 1702 cm-1. The conversion value of glycerol was more than 95% at molar ratio of the reactants 1:9 and catalyst loading of 3%. The selectivities for monoacetin, diacetin and triacetin were 80.1%, 15.4%, and 4.5% at 60 minutes, and 43.0%, 48.6%, and 8.3% at 90 minutes. It shows that the conversion took place in consecutive steps and the use of microwave allows the reaction proceeding at milder condition. Copyright © 2019 BCREC Group. All rights reserved

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Styrofoam is in high demand by street vendors and is often used as food packaging. This can cause an emergence of environmental problems because it cannot decompose. On the other hand, there is much waste from agricultural products such as sugarcane bagasse and coconut fiber which frequently accumulate on the side of Banda Aceh’s road without further processing. In this research, the sugarcane bagasse and coconut fiber have been used in the production of biodegradable foam (biofoam) with addition of commercial mold (ragi tempe; Rhizopus sp.). The aim of this experiment was to design and create a biofoam cup to substitute plastic or styrofoam cups. The objectives of this research were to develop the formulation for biofoam production specifically in finding the best percentage of ragi tempe. Prior to the biofoam manufacturing process, a survey was conducted to assess the extent of styrofoam and plastic food packaging in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Three experiments were then conducted to find the best biofoam formulation so that the mold could grow to cover the raw material. The survey showed that styrofoam is the most widely used type of food packaging (68.6%) followed by plastic (37.2%). The biofoam cup was made with 200 g sugarcane bagasse or coconut fiber, 35 ml water, 25 g flour, and 13 g ragi tempe. However, further research is needed to examine the strength of the resulting biofoam cup.

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Seed from avocado (Persea Americana) and kluwih (Artocarpus camansi) fruit are waste and by product from processing fruit. Due to the high starch content from both seeds, there are many extractions process have been applied. The immersed raw material in sodium metabisulfite solution affected to starch properties. The purpose of this study is to characterize of starch extracted with and without immersed in sodium metabisulfite solution. The results showed that the starch yield by immersed in alkaline solution was 21.6% for avocado seed starch and 24.4% for kluwih seed starch, while yield without immersed in sodium metabisulfite solution was 17.5% and 18,2% for avocado seed starch and kluwih seed starch, respectively. The starch content with sodium metabisulfite immersion process of avocado seed and kuwih seed were 79.26% and 72.62%, respectively. Meanwhile without the immersion process resulted starch of 75.13 and 67.30%, in avocado seed starch and kluwih seed starch, respectively. Furthermore, XRD and FTIR analysis were also carried out on starch to see the crystallinity character and functional groups contained in the extracted starch.