Agromaterials such as starch and fiber are very promising raw materials to reduce our dependence on polystyrene. Corn hominy, a by-product of the corn milling industry, is a potential source to reinforce starch-baked foam. The effects of corn hominy and PVOH addition on mechanical properties of Cassava starch foam were investigated. Different formulations of Cassava starch, corn hominy and PVOH were mixed with liquid to get total solids at 50% and baked in a thermopressing machine at 150-170°C for 2 min. The results showed that corn hominy and PVOH addition can improve compressibility and tensile strength of the foams but gave denser foam and darker color. Ratio of tapioca: corn hominy: PVOH ¼ (75:25):30% gave the best foam properties.

16,67; 26,54; dan 16,11 jam.

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Several species of Aquilaria and Gyrinops are native to Indonesia and well known as agarwood-producing trees with a high economic value. Their bioactive compounds have a wide spectrum of uses, such as in medicine and cosmetics. These genera have undergone extensive search for novel bioactive compounds. The purpose of this study was to isolate, identify, and characterize the endophytic fungi community associated with Aquilaria malaccensis, A. microcarpa, Gyrinops versteegii, and A. crassna trees and investigate their bioactive properties as antioxidant agents and antagonists. A total of 50 fungi were successfully isolated from different tissues of the four species of agarwood-producing trees. Two isolates exhibited strong antioxidant activity, namely, Apodus oryzae (R2MC3A, IC 50 60.92 mg/mL) and Diaporthe sp. (P1DS1[C], IC 50 76.65 mg/mL). Two isolates, Pestalotiopsis theae (P3BS3[B]) and Curvularia sp. (P2CD3A), showed >75% antifungal activity against pathogenic Fusarium solani. The results revealed that endophytic fungi associated with the studied agarwood-producing trees had potential antioxidant and antifungal activities for further applications in biotechnology.

In this paper, we report the extraction and characterization of gelatin from the abundant industrial fishery waste of Pangasius skin and swim bladder and its application as the base material for hard capsule shells. The yield of gelatin ranged between 19 and 23%, content of moisture is 7.6–9.2%, ash is 1.1–1.7%, pH is 4.1–5.2, gel strength is 238–278 bloom, and viscosity is 65–74.7% mP. SDS-PAGE showed all gelatins have chains of α1, α2, and β-peptides. The skin, swim bladder, and mixed gelatins were successfully used in the production of hard capsule shells. The dimensions, weight, disintegration time, and water content properties of the hard capsules from these Pangasius wastes were akin to the standards of commercial capsules.

The optimum conditions for the growth of Bacillus pumilus RXAIII-5 (a potential xylanase producer) were sought, these included temperature, pH, aeration, and agitation of the culture batch. Afterwards a mathematical model based on the parameter of cultivation kinetics was formulated. At the same time, the rheology of the fluid used for bacterial cultivation in a bioreactor was studied. The data obtained was used for estimating the 'scaling up' of enzyme production. The results of the study indicate that the optimum condition for processing in 50 ml Erlenmeyer flask are used temperature of 35 o C (308 o K), pH 7, and an agitation rate of 140 rpm. The highest xylanase activity and its specific activity are 297.132 U.ml -1 and 655.32 U.g -1 protein, respectively. Subsequent experiments in a bioreactor using all of the experiment parameters mentioned above, except for the agitation rate, shows that the results are as follows. The highest specific growth was at 0.082 hour -1 at an aeration and agitation rate of 0.5 vvm and 150 rpm, respectively. Based on the data of the cultivation kinetics, the optimum conditions for the fermentation in Biostat 2L-bioreactor is 1 vvm and 200 rpm of aeration and agitation, respectively. The efficiency of substrate (Yp/s) and of cell biomass (Y p/x ) to produce xylanase is 50.744 U.g -1 and 43.906 U.g -1 , respectively. The efficiency of substrate to cell production (Y x/s ) is 1.178g.g -1 . The liquid cultivation-medium has non-Newtonian properties. Based on a mathematical model it is found that the consistency index (k constant) and index of liquid behavior (n value) are 0.179 g.cm -1 .second -1 and 0.3212, respectively. Becouse the value of 00, the culture liquid is categorized as pseudo plastic one. The Rheynold number (NRe) is 6.9 x 10 3 which indicates it has turbulent characteristics. From a calculation it is found that the power required to run a suitably sized impeller is 0.228 HP (Horse Power) and the power consumption per unit volume is 0.2265 HP.m -3 . All these values were used for scaling up xylanase production in the bioreactor.

During each day of harvest, wasted banana stems are obtained in large quantities. These stems are composed mainly of 74.37% cellulose which is a very important raw material. This study aims to isolate cellulose from banana stems using liquefaction, delignification and bleaching processes with a microwave  at power variations of 450, 600 and 800 W.  The results showed that the highest cellulose content of 86.43% was obtained at 800 W for 14 minutes. Meanwhile, the fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis result did not show a peak at wavenumber 1519 cm-1 which is the specific peak for lignin but showed a peak for cellulose at wavenumber 898 cm-1. Furthermore, XRD analysis of crystallinity showed a typical diffraction peak of cellulose at 22.5o with a degree of crystallinity of 56.8% while, morphological analysis with SEM showed that the sizes of the cellulose fibers produced varied, ranging from 5 to hundreds of micrometers and visible fibrillary fibers