Characteristics of Cellulose, Hemicellulose and Lignin of MD2 Pineapple Biomass

Abstract

Three main lignocellulosic components (lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose) are major plant cell walls. Their content in biomass crops, for example, MD2 pineapple waste will affect the heating values (HHV) if uses as a feedstock for the solid biofuel (biocoke). The aim of this paper is to identify the amount of lignocellulosic content in the MD2 pineapple waste and its effect on heating value. The experiment and parameters setup were carried out by following the chemical composition determination of standard methods. The process involved the sample preparation and treatment process by using NaOH and sodium chlorite for bleaching purposes. The effect of a percent of the lignocellulosic content in the MD2 pineapple waste before and after bleaching process towards heating value was studied. From the result, lignocellulosic in leaves (Cellulose 30 wt%, Hemicellulose 37 wt% and Lignin 22 wt%) showed the similarities (slightly higher and lower) content compared to the stem (Cellulose 46 wt%, Hemicellulose 29 wt% and Lignin 17 wt%) and root (Cellulose 42 wt%, Hemicellulose 32 wt% and Lignin 19 wt%). The majority of the leaves for the whole non-woody plant will give the cumulative effects since the quantity of stem and root is only about 15 % of the total weight of the plant. The cellulose and hemicellulose produce different thermal stability due to their different chemical structure even though they are both polysaccharides. From the data, all parts of MD2 pineapple has high cellulose and hemicellulose content. The hemicellulose can indicate the ignition temperature and time to ignite of the biocoke product produce by MD2 pineapple waste same goes to the cellulose content. The decomposition of lignin from start to end of the burning process can be an indicator that the biocoke product produces from MD2 pineapple waste can withstand up until 900 °C or above with some additional reactor or chemical that can enhance its thermal properties.