Empty Fruit Bunch Fiber Research Articles

Adsorption of mercury from aqueous solutions using palm oil fuel ash as an adsorbent - batch studies

Palm oil fuel ash (POFA) is one of the most abundantly produced waste materials. POFA is widely used by the oil palm industry which was collected as ash from the burning of empty fruit bunches fiber (EFB) and palm oil kernel shells (POKS) in the boiler as fuel to generate electricity. Mercury adsorption was conducted in a batch process to study the effects of contact time, initial Hg(II) ion concentration, and temperature. In this study, POFA was prepared and used for the removal of mercury(II) ion from the aqueous phase. The effects of various parameters such as contact time (0- 360 min), temperature (15 – 45 °C) and initial Hg(II) ion concentration (1 – 5 mg/L) for the removal of Hg(II) ion were studied in a batch process. The surface characterization was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and particle size distribution analysis. From this study, it was found that the highest Hg(II) ion removal was 99.60 % at pH 7, contact time of 4 h, initial Hg(II) ion concentration of 1 mg/L, adsorbent dosage 0.25 g and agitation speed of 100 rpm. The results implied that POFA has the potential as a low-cost and environmental friendly adsorbent for the removal of mercury from aqueous solution.

Tensile and Flexural Performance of Polypropylene Based Oil Palm Fibre Reinforced Metal Laminates

In this research, the effects of fibre composition on the tensile and flexural performance of Oil Palm Fibre Metal Laminates have been experimentally investigated. OPFMLs are constituted of aluminium 6061 and oil palm empty fruit bunch fibre reinforced polypropylene composite. OPFMLs with four different fibre weight compositions (10%, 20%, 30% and 40%) were manufactured in 2/1 configuration. OPFMLs and their respective composite layers were prepared through hot press moulding compression technique using hot press machine. The mechanical properties of OPFMLs were characterised by tensile and flexural tests in accordance with ASTM D3039 and ASTM D790 respectively. Results showed that tensile and flexural performances of OPFMLs depend on fibre composition in the composite layer. It was found that increase in fibre composition increased the tensile strength but decreased the flexural strength. OPFMLs with 40 wt% showed the highest tensile strength of 65.99MPa whereas OPFMLs with 30 wt% showed the highest flexural strength of 152.45MPa. The optical microscopic images showed damage mechanisms in OPFMLs for different fibre weight composition, which includes delamination and debonding.

Production of renewable biohydrogen by Rhodobacter sphaeroides S10: A comparison of photobioreactors

Abstract Photosynthetic bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides S10 was grown photoheterotrophically to produce hydrogen in three types of culture vessels having very different surface-to-volume ratios (S). The aim was to investigate the effect of the culture system geometry (low-aspect ratio cylindrical geometry, a rectangular or flat bottle geometry, and a tubular loop) on growth and hydrogen production as the culture vessel geometry affects the average internal irradiance. A mixed carbon substrate produced by hydrolysis of oil palm empty fruit bunch fibers was used to grow the bacterium and produce hydrogen. Internal average irradiance was shown to affect growth and hydrogen production. A tubular photobioreactor with a high surface area to culture volume ratio (S = 181.7 m−1) proved to be the best culture system for producing hydrogen at a high rate. In contrast, the highest value of the maximum specific growth rate occurred in the relatively poorly lit culture of the cylindrical vessel with a comparatively low surface-to-volume ratio (S = 52.3 m−1). The result suggests that irradiance regimen is a key factor controlling the switch from biomass production to hydrogen production.

Manufacture and impact analysis of bmx helmet made from polymeric foam composite strengthened by oil palm empty fruit bunch fiber

Helmets are protective head gears wear by bicycle riders for protection against injury in case of the accident. Helmet standards require helmets to be tested with a simple drop test onto an anvil. The purpose of research is to know toughness of bicycle helmet made from polymeric foam composite strengthened by oil palm empty fruit bunch fiber. This research contains report result manufacture and impacts analysis of bicycle helmet made from polymeric foam composite materials strengthened by oil palm empty fruit bunch fiber (EFB). The geometric helmet structure consists of shell and liner; both layers have sandwich structure. The shell uses matrix unsaturated Polyester BQTN-157EX material, chopped strand mat 300 glass fiber reinforce and methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKPO) catalyst with the weight composition of 100 gr, 15 gr, and 5 gr. The liner uses matrix unsaturated Polyester BQTN-157 EX material, EFB fiber reinforces, Polyurethane blowing agent, and MEKPO catalyst with the composition of 275 gr (50%), 27.5 gr (5%), 247 gr (45%), and 27.5 gr (5%). Layers of the helmet made by using hand lay-up method and gravity casting method. Mechanical properties of polymeric foam were the tensile strength (ơt) 1.17 Mpa, compressive strength (ơc) 0.51 MPa, bending strength (ơb) 3.94 MPa, elasticity modulus (E) 37.97 Mpa, density (ρ) 193 (kg/m3). M4A model helmet is the most ergonomic with the thickness 10 mm and the amount of air channel 11. Free fall impact test was done in 9 samples with the thickness of 10 mm with the height of 1.5 m. The result of the impact test was impacted force (Fi) 241.55 N, Impulse (I) 6.28 Ns, impact Strength (ơi) 2.02 Mpa and impact Energy (Ei) 283.77 Joule. The properties of bicycle helmet model BMX-M4A type was 264 mm length, 184 mm width, 154 mm height, 10 mm thick, 580 mm head circle, 331 g mass and 11 wind channels.

Controlling of green nanocellulose fiber properties produced by chemo-mechanical treatment process via SEM, TEM, AFM and image analyzer characterization

Nanocellulose fibers were extracted from Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (OPEFB) fibers by a chemo-mechanical treatment process. The aim of this study is to observe and investigate the morphological structure and fiber dimension characteristic of each stage in the nanocellulose production. The fiber structure characterization of the raw, purified pulps, extracted cellulose and nanocellulose fibers were controlled by observation and investigation under Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Image Analyzer. The morphological observation illustrated that the isolation of nanocellulose fibers had greatly decreased from micron to nanoscale, up to 5-10 nm in diameter, and therefore suitable to be used as quality nano-reinforcement in the polymer matrix for a potential environmental green nanobiocomposites development.

Optimization of mechanical properties in foamcrete reinforced with raw oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) fiber

As Malaysia currently heading to biotechnology hub, it is expected that billions tons of palm oil by-products will be produced annually and normally been treated as waste disposal. A large amount of agricultural waste produced in the processing of palm oil is one of the main contributors to the environmental problem. This paper presents an experimental study on the development of the lightweight foamcrete with the inclusion of raw oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) fiber. EFB fiber has potential to be developed as alternative fibers in fiber reinforcing concrete. The study was focused on 4 mechanical property parameters which were axial compressive strength, flexural strength, splitting tensile strength and performance index. Three densities of lightweight foamcrete of 800, 1100 and 1400 kg/m3 were cast and tested. The ratio of cement, sand and water used in this study was 1:1.5:0.45. EFB fibers were used as additives at 0.15%, 0.30%, 0.45%, 0.60% and 0.75% by volume of the total mix. The results obtained from the experiments had indicated that the flexural strength of foamcrete reinforced with raw oil palm EFB fiber at different percentages for 800, 1100 and 1400kg/m3 densities correspondingly. For all densities, 0.45% EFB fiber reinforced foamcrete contributed to highest flexural strength. Same pattern can be observed on the compressive and splitting tensile strengths. EFB fiber aid in precluding the promulgation of cracks in the plastic state when load was applied. When the lightweight foamed concrete expands under axial compression and splitting tensile loads which will lead to cracking, the crack has a restricted distance over which it can spread before reaching the EFB fiber, preventing the crack from growing further. EFB fibers which were randomly dispersed in the mix provide three dimension reinforcement compared to the traditional rebar which provides two dimension reinforcement.

Comparative Thermal and Physical Investigation of Chemically Treated and Untreated Oil Palm EFB Fiber

Natural fiber (NF) as a reinforcement is capable of playing a remarkable role in fiber reinforced polymeric composites (FRPC) owing to its low cost, low density, flexibility, CO2-neutrality, renewability, availability and eco-friendliness. In order to substitute for synthetic fiber, oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) fiber could be a potential candidate. This study aims to investigate the effect of chemical treatment on the morphological, thermal and structural properties of EFB fibers. Pulverized EFB fibers of 1-3 mm in length with a diameter of 100∼400 µm and density of 1.07 g/cm3 were used. Surface modification of fibers was carried out by conducting alkali treatment for three different soaking periods of 1, 13 and 24 hours, sodium bicarbonate treatment and alkali-silane treatment, and subsequently fibers were neutralized by rinsing with distilled water to the pH level of 7. The fibers were then dried at 70 °C for 24 hours in an oven. To examine the physical and thermal properties of the fibers, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Energy-Dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, Fourier Transformed Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) tests were conducted. SEM was employed to investigate the morphology of fibers. The rougher and cleaner surface of treated EFB fibers were observed relative to those of untreated ones. EDX analysis showed the amount of carbon and oxygen in the fibers. FTIR revealed chemical structure of fibers. TGA tests were performed and showed greater thermal degradation temperature of alkali and alkali-silane treated fibers compared to those of sodium bicarbonate and untreated fibers for the entire temperature increment from 30 °C to 600 °C.

Determination of the Biological Efficiency and Antioxidant Potential of Lingzhi or Reishi Medicinal Mushroom, Ganoderma lucidum (Agaricomycetes), Cultivated Using Different Agro-Wastes in Malaysia.

This study investigates the cultivation of Ganoderma lucidum using different agricultural biomasses from Malaysia. Five different combinations of rubber wood sawdust, empty fruit bunch fiber, and mesocarp fiber from oil palm, alone and in combination, were used to cultivate G. lucidum. Although all the substrate combinations worked well to grow the mushroom, the highest biological efficiency was obtained from the combination of empty fruit bunch fiber with sawdust. A total yield of 27% was obtained from empty fruit bunch fiber with sawdust, followed by sawdust (26%), empty fruit bunch fiber (19%), mesocarp fiber with sawdust (19%), and mesocarp fiber (16%). The quality of mushrooms was proved by proximate analysis and detection of phenolic compounds and flavonoids. The antioxidant activity verified by DPPH, ferric-reducing ability of plasma, and ABTS analyses revealed that the empty fruit bunch fiber with sawdust had higher activity than the other substrates.

Rating of Sound Absorption for EFBMF Acoustic Panels according to ISO 11654:1997

Empty fruit bunch fibre (EFB) and mesocarp fibre (MF) have been used in the fabrication of a new acoustic panel as a sound absorber for building. Measurements were carried out following ISO 354 in the mini reverberation chamber and the sound absorption performance of EFBMF acoustic panels were rated based on ISO 11654. Measurements of the new EFBMF acoustic panel involves five panel designs of 100 EFB dust panels, 80:20 dust panels, 100MF coir panels, 90:10 coir panels and 50:50 coir panels with 5 cm of initial thickness. Results showed that 100MF coir panel achieved αw of 0.90 coefficient and was rated as Class A absorber followed by 90:10 coir panels with αw of 0.85 coefficient and 100 EFB dust, 80:20 dust and 50:50 coir panels having αw of 0.80 coefficients and been rated as Class B absorber. This research has successfully defined that EFB and MF are viable to be used as raw fibre for acoustic absorber for building.

The application of empty fruit bunch (EFB) fibers of oil palm for the development of light structure materials and products

We have been involved in developing the use of EFB fibers for several light structural products, such as speed bumps, parking stoppers, helmets, and horse shoes. This paper presents our current research work on parking bumper made of EFB fibers to be utilized for power generation. The products are designed and produced in full scale covering the whole width of vehicles passing over the bumpers. The ideas are how to reserve kinetic energy harvested from the vehicles to convert into electricity to be stored in a battery. To obtain a structural integrity-proof material, the speed bumps were subjected several tests, e.g. static and impact tests as well as live body test using the kinetic energy obtained from vehicles pass over the speed bumps. For this, a speed bump station parallel to street zebra-cross was prepared. It was obtained that A-5 concrete foam type is suitable for 3B class road. The structural response of speed bumps were checked using ANSYS 17.0.

Ammonia removal from giant fresh water prawn farm by using zeolite from oil palm ash

The Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) and Mesocarp fiber ash (FB) was obtained from the boiler at NAM HONG Palm Oil Company Limited, Thailand. The optimum condition was used in Na-A zeolite synthesis from oil palm ash. The obtain produce was Na12Al12Si12O48· 27H2O. The sample was dried in hot air oven. The calcium exchange capacity (CEC) of 386.39 mg CaCO3/g of product, and the 86.05% of pure Na-A zeolite phase was formed. In batch experimental study, the synthetic wastewater was prepared. In order to find out the optimal zeolite dosage was added into 10 mg/L of total ammonium nitrogen solution. The results of unionized ammonia (NH3) removal efficiency indicated that zeolite A standard and zeolite from oil palm ash are better than commercial zeolite. The optimum dosage of 0.2, 0.25 and 0.2 g of zeolite A standard, zeolite from oil palm ash and commercial zeolite, respectively. The NH3 removal capacity from giant freshwater prawn farm, zeolite A standard is better than zeolite from oil palm ash and commercial zeolite, respectively. In the large volume of synthetic wastewater (1000 mL), the zeolite from oil palm ash is the best ammonia removal capacity when compared with zeolite A standard and commercial zeolite.

Compressive Strength and Dimensional Stability of Palm Oil Empty Fruit Bunch Fibre Reinforced Foamed Concrete

Rapid drying shrinkage is an important factor in causing cracks of concrete. This research was aimed at studying the effects of Palm Oil Empty Fruited Bunch (POEFB) fibre on the drying shrinkage behaviour and compressive strength of foamed concrete (FC) under two different curing conditions. The adopted curing conditions were air curing and tropical natural weather curing. Two volume fractions of POEFB fibre were used, which were 0.25% and 0.50% based on dry mix weight with 1-2 cm in length. The dimensional stability of the control specimen and POEFB fibre reinforced FCs was obtained by cumulating the measured linear shrinkage or expansion due to different curing conditions. The results from the two different specimens were compared. The results showed that specimens reinforced with POEFB fibre and cured under tropical natural weather condition attained lesser variations of dimensional stability and higher 90-day strength performance index than the reference mix without POEFB fibre. This improvement was attributed to the ability of POEFB fibre to bridge the cement matrix, and irregular wetting process under tropical natural weather curing condition had enabled more production of Calcium Silicate Hydrate gels that gradually blocked the penetration of water into the specimens and increased the compressive strength. It is observed that 11.43% and 4.46% of improvement in 90-day strength performance index were obtained in natural weather cured 0.5% of POEFB fibre reinforced specimen, with corresponded to the reference mix and 0.25% of POEFB fibre reinforced specimens, respectively.

Properties of nylon-6-based composite reinforced with coconut shell particles and empty fruit bunch fibres

ABSTRACTNovel natural fibre composites of nylon-6 reinforced with coconut shell (CS) particles and empty fruit bunch (EFB) fibres have been investigated. Fillers were alkali treated before melt compounding with nylon-6. Mechanical, thermal and rheological properties of composites were measured. Tensile modulus was found to improve with both fillers up to 16% for nylon-6/CS composite and 10% for nylon-6/EFB composite, whereas a moderate increase in tensile strength was observed only with CS composites. Differences in the strengthening mechanisms were explained by the morphology of the two fillers, empty fruit bunch fibres having a weaker cellular internal structure. Observation of composite morphology using SEM showed that both fillers were highly compatible with nylon-6 due to its hydrophilic nature. Both fillers were found to cause a slight drop in crystallinity of the nylon matrix and to lower melt viscosity at typical injection moulding strain rates. Moisture absorption increased with addition of both fillers.

Development of a novel mechanical tester for microfracture analysis

The study of the mechanical properties of materials is important in the design and fabrication of any microscale product. Acquiring information such as the fracture toughness, fatigue limits, ultimate tensile and yield strength of these materials would help to determine the reliability of the final product made using the material. Traditionally, these material properties are obtained via mechanical testing on a macroscale tester such as the machines produced by Instron. However, mechanical testing of ‘softer’ materials with a microscopic size is more complicated as the test procedures and equipment have to address concerns such as clamping and alignment of specimen. Recent advancement in micromachining and micro-manufacturing has resulted in the availability of advanced and affordable instrumentation that can be applied to precisely manipulate the materials at microscopic dimensions; this provides the impetus to the development of microscale mechanical testers to study the micro-elasticity and micro-fracture mechanics of soft materials. The focus of this report is on the development of a micromechanical tester that can be used to study micrometer thick biomaterials and biological tissues. The tester can be mounted onto an X-Y stage of an inverted or compound microscope to observe the microscopic deformation and microfracture of the test specimen during testing. Three case studies are presented here to illustrate the performance of the mechanical tester. These studies address the characterisation of the mechanical properties of the flax fibre, oil palm empty fruit bunch fibre and coir fibre in dry and wet states.

Disruption of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunches by Microwave-assisted Oxalic Acid Pretreatment

Developing an effective pretreatment for the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol is an important effort in reducing the cost of this process. Microwave-assisted pretreatment is considered a green technology that can effectively break down lignocellulosic structures. The objective of this study was to investigate the most effective temperature for microwave-assisted oxalic acid pretreatment regarding the structural characteristic changes of oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFB) fibers. The fibers were subjected to microwave-assisted oxalic acid pretreatment at 160–200 °C with 2.5 minutes heating time and a liquid to solid ratio of 10. The effectiveness of the pretreatment was determined based on its delignification selectivity, morphological characteristics, and functional group changes. Microwave irradiation of OPEFB fibers at 180 oC was effective in increasing the cellulose content by 24%. This pretreatment resulted in 1.82 delignification selectivity. More than 50% of the hemicellulose of the OPEFB was removed after this treatment, which was confirmed by a decrease of the absorption bands of functional groups at 1732 cm -1 . The increase of pretreatment temperature disrupted the morphological structure of the OPEFB and removed its hemicellulose but did not change its functional groups and lignin content.

APPLICATION OF OIL PALM EMPTY FRUIT BUNCH FIBERS IN STRENGTH IMPROVEMENT AS A FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE

The potency of oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFB) fibers as one of the by-products of processing oil palm is increasing significantly so that proper management is needed in reducing environmental impact. One of the utilization of OPEFB fibers is as a substitution material in construction which usually the material is derived from non-renewable mining materials so that the number is increasingly limited. Therefore, it is necessary to study to know the performance of OPEFB fiber in making construction products especially concrete. In this case, the experiment was conducted using experimental method with variation of fiber addition by 0%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, and 30%. Each specimen was tested by weight, slump value, compressive strength, tensile strength, elasticity and crack length. As the results, the variation of fibers addition by 10%, decrease of slump value is 7%, concrete weight is 3% and crack length is 8% while increase of the compressive strength is 2.7% and the modulus of elasticity is 33.3% but its tensile strength decreased insignificantly by 0.05% . Furthermore, the addition of fibers above 10% to 30% decreased compressive strength is still below 10% and tensile strength below 2% while the weight of concrete, slump value and crack length decreased. Therefore, the addition of 10% can replace the performance of concrete without fiber but the addition of above 10% can still be used on non-structural concrete.

APPLICATION OF OIL PALM EMPTY FRUIT BUNCH FIBERS IN STRENGTH IMPROVEMENT AS A FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE

The potency of oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFB) fibers as one of the by-products of processing oil palm is increasing significantly so that proper management is needed in reducing environmental impact. One of the utilization of OPEFB fibers is as a substitution material in construction which usually the material is derived from non-renewable mining materials so that the number is increasingly limited. Therefore, it is necessary to study to know the performance of OPEFB fiber in making construction products especially concrete. In this case, the experiment was conducted using experimental method with variation of fiber addition by 0%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, and 30%. Each specimen was tested by weight, slump value, compressive strength, tensile strength, elasticity and crack length. As the results, the variation of fibers addition by 10%, decrease of slump value is 7%, concrete weight is 3% and crack length is 8% while increase of the compressive strength is 2.7% and the modulus of elasticity is 33.3% but its tensile strength decreased insignificantly by 0.05% . Furthermore, the addition of fibers above 10% to 30% decreased compressive strength is still below 10% and tensile strength below 2% while the weight of concrete, slump value and crack length decreased. Therefore, the addition of 10% can replace the performance of concrete without fiber but the addition of above 10% can still be used on non-structural concrete.

Physical Effects of Pre-Hydrolysis and Alkali Treatment of Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) Fibers

Physical Effects of Pre-Hydrolysis and Alkali Treatment of Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) Fibers

Effect of fibre loading and treatment on porosity and water absorption correlated with tensile behaviour of oil palm empty fruit bunch fibre reinforced composites

The challenge of replacing conventional plastics with biodegradable composite materials has attracted much attention in product design, particularly in the tensile-related areas of application. In this study, fibres extracted from oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) were treated and utilized in reinforcing polyester matrix by hand lay-up technique. The effect of fibre loading and combined influence of alkali and silane treatments on porosity and water absorption parameters, and its correlation with the tensile behaviour of composites was analyzed. The results showed that tensile strength decreased whilst modulus of elasticity, water absorption and porosity parameters increased with increasing fibre loading. The composites of treated oil palm EFB fibre exhibited improved values of 2.47 MPa to 3.78 MPa for tensile strength; 1.75 MPa to 2.04 MPa for modulus of elasticity; 3.43% to 1.68% for porosity and 3.51% to 3.12% for water absorption at respective 10 wt.% fibre loadings. A correlation between porosity and water absorption with tensile behavior of composites of oil palm EFB fibre and positive effect of fibre treatment was established, which clearly demonstrate a connection between processing and physical properties with tensile behavior of fibre composites. Accordingly, a further exploitation of economic significance of oil palm EFB fibres composites in areas of low-to-medium tensile strength application is inferred

Compatibility improvement method of empty fruit bunch fibre as a replacement material in cement bonded boards: A review

The utilization of oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) fibre on bio-composite product has been introduced to replace current material mainly wood fibre. OPEFB is widely available as palm oil is one of the major agricultural crops in Malaysia. EFB fibre are lignocellulosic materials that could replace other natural fibre product especially cement bonded board. However, the contains of residual oil and sugar in EFB fibre has been detected to be the reason for incompatibility issue between EFB fibre and cement mixtures. Regarding on the issue, a study has been conducted widely on finding the suitable pre-treatment method for EFB fibre to remove carbohydrate contained in the said fibre that are known to inhibit cement hydration. Aside from that, cement accelerator was introduced to enhance the hydration of cement when it was mixed with natural fibre. Hence, this paper will summaries the previous findings and in-depth study on the use of EFB fibre as a replacement material in cement bonded fibre boards.