Pineapple crown leaf fiber (PCLF) is one of the major biomass wastes from pineapple processing plants. It consists mostly of carbohydrate polymers, such as cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. It can be further processed to form a more valuable and widely used nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC). This study investigates the effect of hydrolysis time on the properties of the produced NCC. The acid hydrolysis was conducted using 1 M of sulfuric acid at hydrolysis times of 1–3 h. The resulting NCCs were then characterized by their morphology, functional groups, crystallinity, thermal stability, elemental composition, and production yield. The results show that the NCC products had a rod-like particle structure and possessed a strong cellulose crystalline structure typically found in agricultural fiber-based cellulose. The highest NCC yield was obtained at 79.37% for one hour of hydrolysis. This NCC also displayed a higher decomposition temperature of 176.98 °C. The overall findings suggest that PCLF-derived NCC has attractive properties for a variety of applications.

Nanocrystalline cellulose was extracted from pineapple crown leaf as agricultural waste. Nanocrystalline cellulose was successfully extracted using chemical treatments followed by acid hydrolysis using sulfuric acid. Hydrolysis of pineapple crown leaf was carried out by using different hydrolysis time while maintaining acid concentration and temperature. The properties of nanocrystalline cellulose were obtained such % yield, moisture content, crystallinity index (CrI) and functional group present were studied. The yield shown a comparable result regardless of different reaction time of hydrolysis. While Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) showed the progressive removal of non-cellulose content and showed the cellulose molecular structure remains unchanged with the reaction time. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that the crystallinity increased linearly with increasing hydrolysis time. The result showed potential of pineapple crown leaf to be used in nanocrystalline cellulose synthesis process and optimum hydrolysis time was determined based on the properties of nanocrystalline cellulose.

Among the main bio-based polymer for food packaging materials, whey protein isolate (WPI) is one of the biopolymers that have excellent film-forming properties and are environmentally friendly. This study was performed to analyse the effect of various concentrations of bio-based nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) extracted from pineapple crown leaf (PCL) on the properties of whey protein isolate (WPI) films using the solution casting technique. Six WPI films were fabricated with different loadings of NCC from 0 to 10 % w/v. The resulting films were characterised based on their mechanical, physical, chemical, and thermal properties. The results show that NCC loadings increased the thickness of the resulting films. The transparency of the films decreased at higher NCC loadings. The moisture content and moisture absorption of the films decreased with the presence of the NCC, being lower at higher NCC loadings. The water solubility of the films decreased from 92.2% for the pure WPI to 65.5% for the one containing 10 % w/v of NCC. The tensile strength of the films peaked at 7% NCC loading with the value of 5.1 MPa. Conversely, the trend of the elongation at break data was the opposite of the tensile strength. Moreover, the addition of NCC produced a slight effect of NCC in FTIR spectra of the WPI films using principal component analysis. NCC loading enhanced the thermal stability of the WPI films, as shown by an increase in the glass transition temperature at higher NCC loadings. Moreover, the morphology of the films turned rougher and more heterogeneous with small particle aggregates in the presence of the NCC. Overall, the addition of NCC enhanced the water barrier and mechanical properties of the WPI films by incorporating the PCL-based NCC as the filler.

The groupers are among the fishes that are threatened globally due to their high economic value. However, their biological information is limited, including the white-edged lyretail (Variola albimarginata). The fish is considered as the least concern (LC) based on the IUCN category. The objective of the present study was to study some biological aspects of the white-edged lyretail harvested in the northern coast of Aceh. The fishes were collected in several fish landing sites (TPI) and fish market located in Banda Aceh and Aceh Besar District from June to August 2020. A total of 30 fish samples were collected in this study. The total lengths (TL) and weights (W) ranged between 14.30-36.02 cm and 33.2-581.6 g, respectively. In addition, 25 of collected fishes were female with the gonad maturity phases varied from one (1) to four (4) with the gonad-index (GSI) ranged between 0.1758-2.4038. The result of this study will be valuable in developing fisheries management and conservation of the species.

Considered as the least concern (LC) based on the IUCN category, the biological information of Epinephelus coioides is limited. The present study’s objective was to study some biological aspects of the orange-spotted grouper harvested in the northern coast of Aceh. The fishes were collected from June - August 2020 in several fish landing sites (TPI) and fish market located in Banda Aceh and Aceh Besar district. In total, 30 fish specimens were collected in this study. The total length (TL) of the fishes ranged from 194.1-237.6 mm. Also, the weight of the fishes ranged from 100.7-176.7 g. All the collected fishes were female with the gonad maturity levels in level one (1), with the average gonad weight of 0.01 g. This study provides a reference point of some biological aspects of the orange-spotted grouper that will help develop a practical fisheries management of the species.

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Natural weathering of rice husk ash filled in polypropylene composite films has been investigated by exposing the samples to a tropical clime for 4 months with max-min temperature 22 - 30°C and relative humidity 75%. In this study, the film composites filled with rice husk ash for decay to get the composites that has good mechanical performance after exposure in natural weathering. Rise husk ash filled in film composite polypropylene effect of filler loading was 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5% and compare with neat composite. The silica from rice husk ash was isolated with acetic acid. The weathered film composites polypropylene was investigated before and after exposure and analysed the morphology with FTIR and SEM. Mechanical test for the film composites polypropylene take place for tensile strength and percentages of elongation at break. The result show that the tensile strength and percentages of elongation at break decrease after natural weathering. The average tensile strength of film composites polypropylene decrease about 64.54 ± 17.50% and the elongation at break of film composites polypropylene decrease about 49.33 ± 15.28%. The morphology of film composites change structure of chemical and fracture surface after natural weathering.