Empty Fruit Bunch Fiber Research Articles

Characterization of microwave-treated oil palm empty fruit bunch/glass fibre/polypropylene composites

Composites were prepared from recycled polypropylene (RPP), oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) and/or glass fibre (GF) using extrusion and injection moulding techniques. Two types of maleic anhydride-grafted polypropylene such as Polybond 3200 and Fusabond P 613 were used to improve the interfacial adhesion between fibres and matrix. The EFB: GF ratio was fixed as 70:30 and fibre loading was considered as 40 wt%. Microwave was used to treat the EFB fibre, which was soaked in a fixed mass concentration (12.5%) of alkali solution at different temperatures (70, 80 and 90°C) for a fixed period of time (60 min) and for different times (60, 90 and 120 min) at a fixed temperature (90°C). A magnetron controller was developed to control the time and temperature accurately for the treatment of fibre. Various characterization techniques such as density, melt flow index, tensile, Izod impact, flexural, field-emission scanning electron microscopy and water uptake testing were performed for the composites. Besides, thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry were also used to evaluate the thermal and crystalline properties of the composites, respectively. Result analyses revealed that microwave-treated fibre-based composites showed improved mechanical and thermal properties. EFB fibres treated at 90°C for 90 min were found to be suitable for better reinforcement into the composite in terms of mechanical, thermal and crystalline properties. Moreover, onset degradation temperature and water absorption properties were also found to be changed apparently due to treatment.

Characterization of Plant Nanofiber-Reinforced Epoxy Composites

In the present study, oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) fibers were taken from a 25-year-old oil palm tree. The cellulosic nanofiber (CNF) was isolated from the OPEFB using a chemo-mechanical process and utilized as reinforcement in an epoxy matrix. Various CNF loading percentages (0 to 0.75%) were applied in the epoxy matrix to explore the potential of using OPEFB-CNF as reinforcement. The morphological, mechanical, physical, and thermal characteristics of the OPEFB nanofiber-reinforced epoxy composites were evaluated. Results showed that the 0.25% and 0.5% CNF loadings were homogenously distributed and well-dispersed in the composite matrix. Conversely, agglomeration was detected in the matrix with 0.75% CNF loading. Determination of the water absorption behavior of CNF-reinforced epoxy composites at various loadings revealed that the physical properties of the composites increased with reinforcement loading. Furthermore, the analyses of the mechanical and thermal properties of the CNF-reinforced composites revealed that the incorporation of OPEFB-CNF enhanced the mechanical performance and thermal stability up to 0.5% loading.

Theoretical and Numerical Approaches for Determining the Reflection and Transmission Coefficients of OPEFB-PCL Composites at X-Band Frequencies.

Bio-composites of oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) fibres and polycaprolactones (PCL) with a thickness of 1 mm were prepared and characterized. The composites produced from these materials are low in density, inexpensive, environmentally friendly, and possess good dielectric characteristics. The magnitudes of the reflection and transmission coefficients of OPEFB fibre-reinforced PCL composites with different percentages of filler were measured using a rectangular waveguide in conjunction with a microwave vector network analyzer (VNA) in the X-band frequency range. In contrast to the effective medium theory, which states that polymer-based composites with a high dielectric constant can be obtained by doping a filler with a high dielectric constant into a host material with a low dielectric constant, this paper demonstrates that the use of a low filler percentage (12.2%OPEFB) and a high matrix percentage (87.8%PCL) provides excellent results for the dielectric constant and loss factor, whereas 63.8% filler material with 36.2% host material results in lower values for both the dielectric constant and loss factor. The open-ended probe technique (OEC), connected with the Agilent vector network analyzer (VNA), is used to determine the dielectric properties of the materials under investigation. The comparative approach indicates that the mean relative error of FEM is smaller than that of NRW in terms of the corresponding S21 magnitude. The present calculation of the matrix/filler percentages endorses the exact amounts of substrate utilized in various physics applications.

Thermo-Mechanical Properties of Palm Fiber Plastic (PFP) Composites

The oil palm Empty Fruit Bunch fibers (size in the range from 75 to 400 μm) have been prepared by wet and dry grinding methods. The prepared fibers were blended with polypropylene to achieve EFB-Polypropylene plastic composite denoted as EFB-PP plastic composite. Various weight contents (20, 35 and 50%) of the fibers were reinforced in the polypropylene matrix. The effect of the fiber weight contents on thermal and mechanical properties of the obtained EFB-PP plastic composite was investigated. The wet disk milled fiber reinforced EFB-plastic composite shows the superior mechanical properties.

Preparation and Characterization of Poly(lactic acid)-Based Composites Reinforced with Poly Dimethyl Siloxane/Ultrasound-Treated Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch

Oil palm empty fruit bunch fiber and polylactic acid were used to produce composites by melting cast method. Fiber loading was considered up to 40 wt%. Oil palm empty fruit bunch fibers were treated using ultrasound and polydimethylsiloxane to improve the interfacial adhesion. The structure and surface properties of the fibers were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and contact angle measurement. Moreover, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, tensile, flexural, X-ray diffraction, contact angle, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis were used to investigate composites’ properties. The analysis revealed that polydimethylsiloxane treatment composites show reduced wettability with increased crystallinity.

Study of Interfacial Shear of Aluminium/Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch Fiber Reinforced Polypropylene Fiber Metal Laminates

This paper examines the interfacial shear properties of a new fiber metal laminates based on oil palm fiber reinforced polypropylene. The adhesive shear strength based on two type of surface treatment technique had been studied to determine the best technique to ensure a good bonding for fiber metal laminates based on oil palm empty fruit bunch fiber reinforced polypropylene (EFB pp) composite and aluminium 6061. Adhesion between aluminum and EFB pp composite was achieved by incorporating modified polypropylene adhesive film and surface treatment of Al sheets. Differential Scanning Calorimetry test showed the suitable bonding temperature between the composite and glue to be between 140°C to 155°C which is lower than the melting temperature of polypropylene. The applied surface treatment of ethanol solvent wipe and NaOH chemical etch though have effect on the surface roughness but have no significant effect on the maximum adhesion shear stress. The modified polypropylene adhesive film selected for this work is suitable to bond EFB pp composite with aluminium 6061 and both surface treatment is equally suitable.

MICROWAVE CHARACTERIZATION OF BIO-COMPOSITES MATERIALS BASED FINITE ELEMENT AND NICHOLSON–ROSS–WEIR METHODS

In this work, Bio-composite of oil palm empty fruit bunch fibre (OPEFB)-filler andpolycaprolactone (PCL)-polymer has been prepared and characterized. The functional groups and morphology of theprepared samples were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). By using the NicholsonRoss-Weir(NRW) mode, both of real and imaginary relative permittivity values of the samples were obtainedsimultaneously from the reflection and transmission coefficient measurements of the materials. Whereas, theattenuation with the field distribution at the waveguide filled with a sample were considered by using the FiniteElement Method (FEM). The magnitude of the reflection and transmission (R/T) coefficients of the composite withdifferent filler percentages were measured using rectangular waveguide in conjunction with a microwave vectornetwork analyzer (VNA) in X-band range of frequency. The computations of the S-parameters were achieved byusing the FEM technique along with NRW mode. Then, the obtained results were compared with the measured R/Tcoefficients. Relative error results nominated the FEM mode due to its highly accurate results than the other method. Keywords: Microwave measurements, OPEFB, PCL, Bio-composite

Simulation of biofuel production via fast pyrolysis of palm oil residues

The main purpose of this present work is to optimize the biofuel production from the fast pyrolysis of three palm oil residues, namely palm shell (PS), empty fruit bunch (EFB) and mesocarp fiber (MF). Hence, a biofuel process is simulated using SuperPro Designer (SPD) software. The simulation includes pretreatment, fast pyrolysis, product collection, and upgrading sections. The developed SPD model was validated firstly with published data of the fast pyrolysisof wood oak in fluidized bed reactor. Secondly, the influence of the operating conditions such as pyrolysis reactor temperature and residence time on the fast pyrolysis of the different residues was examined. The obtained results indicate that temperature at 550°C is suitable for obtaining a maximum liquid yield. Moreover, it was found that 0.5s is the optimized residence time to maximize this liquid yield. Above the optimum residence time, an increase in the gas fraction and a decrease of the bio-oil and char fractions are observed. Comparison of the different residues indicates that the higher yield of liquid fraction was obtained from the EFB and MF while pyrolysis of the PS produced a higher yield of char. These product yields were strongly correlated to the biomass polymer components. The obtained correlation was in agreement with the products yields found in literature for various biomass sources. The developed model provides very useful information about different conditions of pyrolysis for oil palm residues and product yields. Moreover, the model can be generalized and help to assist in the optimization of the fast pyrolysis process of different biomass without performing heavy experimental investigations. Such model will contribute strongly to the intensification and the improvement of the biomass fast pyrolysis.

Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Lignocellulosic Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB)

A preliminary study was performed on enzymatic hydrolysis process for treating empty fruit bunch (EFB) fibre. The bioconversion of cellulose hydrolysis was carried out with soluble cellulase from Trichodermareesei as the biocatalyst. Crucial trends such as substrate and enzyme loading influencing the enzymatic reaction were also studied in order to enhance the cellulose conversion. The results indicate that as the enzyme loading was increased, the EFB conversion also increased until it reached 115.63 FPU/g of enzyme concentration, beyond this values, the reverse occurred. On the other hand, as the substrate loading was increased the conversion decreased. Inhibition of enzyme adsorption by hydrolysis products appear to be the main cause of the decreasing conversion at increasing enzyme loading and substrate loading.

Combined pretreatment with hot compressed water and wet disk milling opened up oil palm biomass structure resulting in enhanced enzymatic digestibility

Combined pretreatment with hot compressed water and wet disk milling was performed with the aim to reduce the natural recalcitrance of oil palm biomass by opening its structure and provide maximal access to cellulase attack. Oil palm empty fruit bunch and oil palm frond fiber were first hydrothermally pretreated at 150–190°C and 10–240min. Further treatment with wet disk milling resulted in nanofibrillation of fiber which caused the loosening of the tight biomass structure, thus increasing the subsequent enzymatic conversion of cellulose to glucose. The effectiveness of the combined pretreatments was evaluated by chemical composition changes, power consumption, morphological alterations by SEM and the enzymatic digestibility of treated samples. At optimal pretreatment process, approximately 88.5% and 100.0% of total sugar yields were obtained from oil palm empty fruit bunch and oil palm frond fiber samples, which only consumed about 15.1 and 23.5MJ/kg of biomass, respectively.

Preparation and Characterization of Fire Retardant Nano-Filler from Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch Fibers

The possibilities of utilizing an abundantly available agricultural waste, oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) fibers, for the development of nano-filler was investigated. The aim was to develop fire retardant nano-fillers from OPEFB fiber through grinding, chemical treatment (bromine water and SnCl2), and cryogenic crushing, followed by a high energy ball milling process. The structural, morphological, and thermal properties of nano-fillers were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The analysis revealed that the particle size distribution was reduced from micro to nano size in the range of around 14 to 100 nm. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations revealed that the nanoparticles of OPEFB had irregular shapes. The elemental composition of the OPEFB were investigated by elemental dispersive X- ray analysis (EDX), showing the presence of tin, carbon, oxygen, chlorine, and bromine elements both before and after ball milling. Further, thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) indicated that the developed nanofillers exhibited enhanced thermal properties compared to the untreated fibers. Such results suggest that the developed nano-filler can be used for the fabrication of nanocomposites with improved fire retardancy.

Effect of process parameters on hydrothermal liquefaction of oil palm biomass for bio-oil production and its life cycle assessment

This paper presents the studies on the effect of three process parameters; temperature, pressure and reaction time on the subcritical and supercritical hydrothermal liquefaction of oil palm empty fruit bunch, palm mesocarp fiber and palm kernel shell. The effect of temperature (330–390°C), pressure (25–35MPa) and reaction time (30–240min) on bio-oil yields were investigated using a Inconel batch reactor. The optimum liquefaction condition for empty fruit bunch, palm mesocarp fiber and palm kernel shell was at supercritical condition of water; 390°C and 25MPa. For the effect of reaction time, bio-oil from empty fruit bunch and palm mesocarp fiber attained maximum yields at 120min, whereas bio-oil yield from palm kernel shell continued to increase at reaction time of 240min. Lastly, a life cycle assessment based on a conceptual biomass hydrothermal liquefaction process for bio-oil production was constructed and presented.

Solid state co-fermentation as pretreatment of lignocellulosic palm empty fruit bunch for organic acid recovery and fiber property improvement

Batch co-fermentation of lignocellulosic fiber from oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB), and pig manure (PM) was carried out in anaerobic leach bed reactors under intermittent flushing mode to improve organic acid production and fiber fuel property. Higher PM addition (%PM), long fermentation time (FT), and long leachate flushing interval (FI) showed positive impacts on hydrolysis yield and acidification yield leading to a higher total volatile fatty acid production. Their relationships were described using multivariate models through three-dimensional response surface plots. Volatile solids release from the EFB fiber after 60-day treatment improved by 6.9 times when %PM and FI increased from 0% and 12 h to 50% and 48 h, respectively. Mild acids produced were able to remove as high as 56.9% of hemicellulose and leach 83.5 ± 4.0% of potassium (K) off the fiber. This also resulted in the increased heating value and lowered K content that could minimize slag formation when used in combustion. Addition of PM also supplemented plant nutrients to the EFB digestate. This study demonstrated that co-fermentation could be one of the pretreatment methods to recover valuable products from EFB and help ease its subsequent transformations.

Methane Adsorption Microcalorimetry of Activated Carbon Fibre Synthesized from Empty Fruit Bunch Fibre

In this article, the methane adsorption behaviour of activated carbon fibre (ACF), a nanoporous material, was examined for adsorbed natural gas (ANG) applications. The ACF was produced from palm fibre-based materials through carbonization, followed by CO2 activation. The carbonization of empty fruit bunch (EFB) fibres was conducted at temperatures of 85–250 °C in an oxidative atmosphere. The produced ACF showed well-developed pore structure with high micropore volume and excellent pore-size distribution. The ACF, predominantly with microporous pores, fulfils the requirements as an excellent adsorbent for methane adsorption. The optimal carbonization conditions for improving methane adsorption capacity were achieved using concentrated H2SO4at 250 °C, followed by activation at 900 °C. Only physisorption occurred during the adsorption of methane on ACF. The EFB fibre-derived ACF has high potential for use in NG adsorption and storage applications via ANG technology.

Naturally p-Hydroxybenzoylated Lignins in Palms

The industrial production of palm oil concurrently generates a substantial amount of empty fruit bunch (EFB) fibers that could be used as a feedstock in a lignocellulose-based biorefinery. Lignin byproducts generated by this process may offer opportunities for the isolation of value-added products, such as p-hydroxybenzoate (pBz), to help offset operating costs. Analysis of the EFB lignin by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy clearly revealed the presence of bound acetate and pBz, with saponification revealing that 1.1 wt% of the EFB was pBz; with a lignin content of 22.7 %, 4.8 % of the lignin is pBz that can be obtained as a pure component for use as a chemical feedstock. Analysis of EFB lignin by NMR and derivatization followed by reductive cleavage (DFRC) showed that pBz selectively acylates the γ-hydroxyl group of S units. This selectivity suggests that pBz, analogously with acetate in kenaf, p-coumarate in grasses, and ferulate in a transgenic poplar augmented with a feruloyl-CoA monolignol transferase (FMT), is incorporated into the growing lignin chain via its γ-p-hydroxybenzoylated monolignol conjugate. Involvement of such conjugates in palm lignification is proven by the observation of novel p-hydroxybenzoylated non-resinol β–β-coupled units in the lignins. Together, the data implicate the existence of p-hydroxybenzoyl-CoA:monolignol transferases that are involved in lignification in the various willows (Salix spp.), poplars and aspen (Populus spp., family Salicaceae), and palms (family Arecaceae) that have p-hydroxybenzoylated lignins. Even without enhancing the levels by breeding or genetic engineering, current palm oil EFB ‘wastes’ should be able to generate a sizeable stream of p-hydroxybenzoic acid that offers opportunities for the development of value-added products derived from the oil palm industry.

Ball milling pretreatment and diluted acid hydrolysis of oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) fibres for the production of levulinic acid

Oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) fibres were pretreated by ball milling (BM) at different durations of times. The pretreated fibres were characterised by wide angle X-ray diffraction analysis, particle-size distribution and scanning electron microscopy while the effectiveness of the pretreatment was correlated with the yield of acid hydrolysis to produce levulinic acid (LA). The obtained results showed that the highest yield of LA (10.4 g/L, 52.08%) can be achieved from the 12 h BM pretreated EFB fibres. Further BM pretreatment exceeding 12 h has no significant effect on the LA yield. Optimisation process was further carried out by applying central composite with rotatable design to verify the optimum parameter (H2SO4 concentration, temperature, and time) to produce LA. The optimal conditions for the LA production from the EFB fibres were 0.57 N H2SO4, 185.98 °C, and 195.77 min for producing 10.77 g/L (53.93 %) of LA.

Mechanical properties and water absorption of glass fibre reinforced bio-phenolic elastomer (BPE) composite

In this study, bio-phenolic resin (BPR) was synthesised using liquefied oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) fibres. Epoxidised natural rubber (ENR) was added to provide elastomeric properties and improve the phenolic resin brittleness. Three different types of NR/glass fibre prepregs using SMR-L, ENR-25 and ENR-50 were prepared and used in the fabrication of the bio-phenolic elastomer (BPE) glass composites. The composites were made by using hand lay-up technique. The ENR-50 showed the best compatibility with the BPR. The impact strength of the composites increased as much as 77.7% with the addition of 35wt% of ENR-50. Flexural test results indicated that the BPE composites possessed elastomeric properties. The ENR acted as a compatibiliser that helped in improving the wettability of the BPR on the surface of the glass fibres. Furthermore, approximately 47% of water absorbed by the BPE composites was reduced as the ENR-50 composition increased up to 35wt%.

The Effect of Aluminium Hydroxide (ATH) on the Mechanical Properties and Fire Resistivity of Palm-Based Fibreboard Prepared by Pre-Polymerization Method

The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanical properties and fire resistivity of medium density fibreboards (MDF) made from renewable biomass namely empty fruit bunch fibre (EFB) and palm-based pre-PU as the binder. Aluminium hydroxide (ATH) was added in the mixture of EFB at size of 300 to 500 μm. The ratio of EFB to PU matrix was 35:65 with ATH at varying amount of 5, 10, and 15 wt% of the overall mass of the resin. The results showed that MDF-EFB has higher mechanical properties than MDF-EFB/ATH. However, the fire test indicated lower burning rate (from 0.15 mm/s to 0.27 mm/s) as the percentage loading of ATH increased.

X-Ray Diffraction Patterns of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch Fibers with Varying Crystallinity

Crystallinity of oil palm fiber from empty fruit bunch (EFB) with and without tretaments was studied by analyzing the X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern. In this paper, we focused on the effect of acid hydrolysis onto EFB on the crystallinity of the extracted cellulose. The reaction was carried out by soaking EFB in 1% (v/v) aqueous sulfuric acid (H2SO4) at different temperatures of 120, 130 and 140°C for 1 h. The XRD patterns significantly showed changes in the 2θ peaks before and after the treatment. These changes were described in term of polymorphs type present, reflection and allomorphs of the samples. XRD peak high and XRD deconvolution methods were used to calculate and compare the percentage of crystallinity of untreated EFB (UT-EFB) and acid hydrolyzed samples (AH-EFB). Based on the calculation, increment of about 1.3 times and 1.5 times were achieved by using WAXS and XRD deconvolution methods respectively. This is due to the removal of amorphous part contributed by lignin, hemicellulose and cellulose. Fourier Transform infrared (FTIR) spectra showed the presence of similar peaks in AH-EFB and commercial microcrystalline cellulose (C-MCC) at 1427, 1315, 895 and 1022 cm-1. The micrographic features showed the acid hydrolysis had successfully took place and separated the EFB microfibrils bundles.

Microcrystalline Cellulose (MCC) From Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) Fiber via Simultaneous Ultrasonic and Alkali Treatment

In this study, microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) was extracted from oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) cellulose which was earlier isolated from oil palm EFB fibre. In order to isolate the cellulose, the chlorination method was carried out. Then, the MCC was prepared by simultaneous ultrasonic and alkali treatment from the isolated α-cellulose. Based on mass balance calculation, the yields for MCC obtained from EFB was 44%. For fiber characterization, it is observed that the chemical composition of the hemicellulose and lignin for all samples decreased while composition for cellulose increased. The structural property of the MCC was studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) method and the result shows that the MCC produced is a cellulose-I polymorph, with 73% crystallinity.