Chemical characterization of various parts of nipa palm ( Nypa fruticans)

Abstract

The current study was initiated to characterize various parts of nipa palm ( Nypa fruticans) to establish whole utilization of this biomass as potential raw material for fuels and chemicals. Nipa consisting of frond, shell, husk and leaf was chemically characterized for cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, starch, protein, extractives and inorganic constituents for its each part. The total chemical composition showed that the cellulose and hemicellulose contents were in the range of 28.9–45.6 wt% and 21.8–26.4 wt%, respectively. The hemicellulose was rich with glucuronoxylan. The lignin content was 19.4–33.8 wt% with the highest lignin content found in leaf. The alkaline nitrobenzene oxidation products showed that nipa palm lignin mainly consists of guaiacyl and syringyl propane units with a small amount of p-hydroxyphenylpropane unit. Besides the main chemical components, starch, protein and extractives were also present in significant amounts from 2 to 8 wt%. Additionally, the ash content was high from 5.1 to 11.7 wt%, consisting of the major inorganic elements being Na, K and Cl with minor inorganic elements of Mg, Ca, Si, P, S and Al. Overall, each part of the nipa palm has its individual superior characteristics and could be exploited as lignocellulosic resources for fuels and chemicals.