Characterisation and Comparison of Pith and Cortex of Napier Grass Stem

Abstract

In the previous study, only pith part had been attracted to be investigated by researcher eventhough cortex had a high percentage content in the Napier grass stems (NG). Hence, further studied can help to achieve the aim of maximizing the use of NG stems by using cortex and pith in manufacturing biopolymers. For this purpose, the thermal,chemical, morphological characterization of cortex and pith of NG stems had been explore. The results of TGA, FTIR, microscope, and SEM had shown the difference in the cortex and pith of NG stems. Although their peak absorption value appear to be different, the group involved in pith still present in the cortex. The cortex showed a high decomposed percentage which was 93.79 % compared to the pith with 92.55 %. The micrographs images display the presence of hemicellulose, lignin, impurities, and wax on the surface of cortex and pith. Overall, the results of the cortex showed that it had the potential to be used the same as the pith for the production of biopolymers in the future.