The Effect of Alkaline Treatments with Various Concentrations on Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (OPEFB) Fibre Structure

Abstract

The main goal of this work is to study the effect of different concentration level of alkaline solution for oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) fibre structure. As to achieve this objective, the OPEFB fibres were treated with 2 hours of soaking time with 3%, 5%, 7%, and 10% of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) concentration portion. The single test for treated and untreated fibers was then carried out according to the ASTM D3822-07 standard. Next, the surfaces of the fibres prior and after the treatment were observed with a scanning electron microscope (SEM) TM3000. The result shows that the 3% of the NaOH concentration exhibits better tensile strength compared to the other concentrations and untreated fiber.