Empty Fruit Bunch Fiber Research Articles

Effective microorganism pre-treatment on oil palm empty fruit bunch fibre for cultivation of Volvariella volvacea (Bull.) Singer

Pre-treatment with effective microorganisms (EM) for the cultivation of Volvariella volvacea using oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) was proposed to increase yield. The effect of different EM doses on the mycelium growth and yield was observed. The treatment was carried out using a combination of two parameters: composting times (5 days (T1), 10 days (T2) and 15 days (T3) and dosages of EM (0% (E1), 10% (E2), 20% (E3) and 30% (E4). While the composition of EFB was analysed to compare the changes before and after the pre-treatments. It was determined that EM pre-treatments of 20% and 30% resulted in significantly faster mycelial growth compared to the other treatments. The highest yield of V. volvacea was observed at T2E4 (10d, 30% EM) with 271.5±57.28 g or biological efficiency (B.E) of 9.11%. The highest average weight per fruiting body (FB) was obtained at T1E3 (5d, 20% EM) with 14 g, while T2E4 (10d, 30% EM) yielded the highest number of harvested FB with 42. Cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin were reduced in all treatments tested. Both EM dosages and composting times significantly affected the yield of V. volvacea. EFB fibre was a potential substrate for the cultivation of V. volvacea.

Enzymatic cellulose nanocrystal production from pretreated palm oil empty fruit bunch fibers

Enzymatic cellulose nanocrystal production from pretreated palm oil empty fruit bunch fibers

Isolation and characterization of soda lignin from OPEFB and evaluation of its performance as wood adhesive

The purpose of this study was to explore the mechanical properties of plywood panels that had been bound with lignin-phenol–formaldehyde (LPF) adhesive. LPF, composed of lignin that was extracted from Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (OPEFB) fiber by soda pulping method and characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (HNMR), and Thermal Gravimetric Analyzer (TGA) analysis. Then, various compositions of soda lignin (10–50 wt%) were used as a phenol substitute in LPF synthesis. The characteristics of the synthesizedadhesive were compared to the properties of phenol formaldehyde (PF) adhesive. Plywood was fabricated with LPF and its mechanical properties were studied and evaluated using industrial standards. The result indicates that the increase of phenol substitution with soda lignin, up to 40%, improves the mechanical properties of plywood. This research demonstrated the use of lignin as a renewable replacement of phenol in PF adhesive formulation.

Investigation of mechanical properties and dynamic characteristics of OPEFB Fiber Composite

Composite materials is increasingly experiencing an increa- sing trend, the manufacture of composites currently uses a lot of natural fiber reinforcement, Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunches (OPEFB) fiber is a fiber that comes from oil palm empty fruit bunches waste that grows a lot in Indonesia and has the potential to be used as reinforcement in the manufacture of composites. With natural fiber reinforcement. The manufacture of composites in this study varied the fiber volume fraction by 5%, 15%, and 25%. Many previous studies on composite materials have focused on studying the physical and mechanical properties of composites. Even though damage to a structure or material is not only caused by static loads but also by dynamic loads. Vibration is a dynamic load experienced by material or structure, so it is necessary to determine the dynamic character of composite materials, one of the dynamic characteristics of materials is their natural frequency, the determination of the natural frequency in this study was carried out by using the finite element method in the ANSYS software. The results of the analysis in the form of tensile strength values and modulus of elasticity were obtained from tensile testing and dynamic characters in the form of natural frequencies and vibration modes were obtained from the analysis modal simulation process. From the results of the tensile test, it was found that the composite with a variation of 15% OPEFB fiber volume had the highest tensile strength and modulus of elasticity, as well as the results of the analysis modal simulation, a composite with 15% OPPEFB fiber, had the highest natural frequency value among the other two variations.

THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY OF PARTITION BOARD BY POLYMER COMPOSITE WITH FILLER EMPTY FRIUT BUNCHES FIBRES

Utilization and management of Empty Fruit Bunches (EFB) fibre continue to develop as the main ingredient and additional material used in various industrial products. The technological breakthrough targeted in this study is the developed EFB fibre as a filler in polymer composite partition boards which are used as heat retainers in the interior construction of buildings. The partition board is a heat insulator, and its thermal conductivity is affected by mass density and porosity. The purpose of this study was to determine the heat resistance of partition board products to reduce the heat entering the room from outside by propagating through walls exposed to direct sunlight. The test method used is adopted from ASTM C177-13, namely the measurement of heat propagation with a modification of the heat source of 40 watts. In addition, mass density tests (referring to SNI 03-2105-2006) and water absorption (referring to ASTM D5229M-12) were also carried out on the product. The specimens were based on the formation of Singapore Highpolymer Chemical Product (SHCP) 2667 WNC polyester resin matrix partition board with weight fractions of 25%, 30%, and 35% chop strand mat (CSM). The test results show that the highest thermal conductivity value is found on the board with a weight fraction of 25%, namely 0.153 W/m.°C with a mass density of 1.16 g/cm3 and a water absorption capacity of 3.38%. However, the lowest thermal conductivity value was found in the fibre with weight fraction of 35%, namely 0.147 W/m. °C at a mass density of 1.24 g/cm3 and a water absorption capacity of 3.75%.

A pre‐mold study of alkaline‐silane treated EFB‐PP composites based on thermal and rheological analysis

AbstractRheological and thermal properties are important parameters to understand the role of the numerous variables involved in manufacturing and to achieve a high‐quality final product. The composites were prepared by compounding polypropylene (PP) with treated (alkaline and silane) oil‐palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) fiber using a twin screw extruder. Generally, regardless of fiber loading, the thermal stability of EFBPP composites was increased after using alkaline and silane‐treated EFB fibers as reinforcement. DSC analysis shows that there is a change in the melting temperature (Tm) and the degree of crystallinity (Xc) values of the EFB composites. The melt flow rate (MFR) of the composites decreased while viscosity increased with an increase in fiber loading. Rheological analysis reveals the composites to have a viscoelastic solid behavior where storage modulus (G') is greater than loss modulus (G“). The composites exhibit predominantly viscous behaviour (G" > G') at lower frequencies, whereas at higher frequencies the composites exhibit elastic behavior (G' > G”). The decrement of complex viscosity (η*) with an increasing angular frequency (ω) shows the materials exhibit shear thinning behavior. The composites also show the ability for regeneration when analyzed using time‐dependent behavior.

PLA-based composite film reinforced with empty fruit bunch fiber and silica for food packaging applications

PLA-based composite film reinforced with empty fruit bunch fiber and silica for food packaging applications

Study of The Potential of Palm Oil Empty Core Fiber As Composite Materials for Ship Hull

Palm oil is the largest commodity in Indonesia. Pprocessing of oil palm, leaving 20% to 23% empty palm fruit bunches (EFB). Oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB) is a collection of fiber left behind after separating the fruit from fresh fruit bunches that have been sterilized. Some researchers use natural fibers as an alternative for making composites. This study aims 1. To determine the tensile strength of the alternative material of palm empty fruit bunch fiber. 2. To determine the buckling or bending strength of the alternative fiber material for empty palm oil bunches. The method used is the tensile and bending test method in the process of mixing the fiber material of empty palm oil bunches in the manufacture of composites. The test results obtained were compared with the BKI composite standard. The volume fraction used in this study was 30% polyester resin and 70% EFB fiber, 40% polyester resin and 60% EFB fiber and 50% polyester resin and 50% EFB fiber with NaOH alkaline treatment for 2 hours. The average tensile stress values obtained for each fraction were 27.372 MPa, 24.168 MPa and 25.875 MPa respectively. The values for the bending stress of each fraction are 144.836 Mpa, 149.059 Mpa and 164.682 Mpa respectively.

Effect of Chemical Pre-Treatment on the Catalytic Performance of Oil Palm EFB Fibre Supported Magnetic Acid Catalyst

The development of heterogenous catalysts using renewable materials has received wide attention. A heterogenous catalyst has been a preferred choice as it evades the disadvantages of homogeneous catalysts, nevertheless, heterogenous catalysts has limited activity and a longer separation process. The current study emphasises the preparation of a new magnetic catalyst using oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) fibre as a carbon-based support material. The effect of different alkaline pre-treatments over the methyl ester conversion rate were investigated. The catalyst preparation parameters were studied by using the single factor optimisation approach, including the fibre loading, impregnation time, calcination temperature, and calcination time. Their effects in the esterification of oleic acid were investigated in this study. The optimisation study shows that the Na2CO3-treated(T)-EFBC magnetic catalyst had the highest esterification rate of 93.5% with 7 g EFB fibre loading, a 2 h impregnation time and a calcination temperature of 500 °C for 2 h. The catalyst possessed a good acidity of 3.5 mmol/g with excellent magnetism properties. This study showed that the catalysts are magnetically separable and exhibited good stability with 82.1% after five cycles. The oil palm EFB supported magnetic acid catalyst indicates it as a potential option to the existing solid catalysts that is economical and environmentally friendly for the esterification process.

Enhancing Compatibility and Mechanical Properties of Natural Rubber Composites

Pure natural rubber (NR) exhibits low mechanical properties, necessitating the incorporation of additives like vulcanizing agents and fillers. Carbon black and silica, conventional fillers, are relatively expensive and not environmentally friendly. This study explores using Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (OPEFB) fiber as an affordable, abundant, and biodegradable alternative filler for NR. However, compatibility issues arise between the nonpolar NR and the polar OPEFB fiber. A latex-starch hybrid coupling agent (CA (NR-St)) was added to the composite formulation to address this. NR, OPEFB fiber, and the coupling agent were mixed using an open roll mill with a 10 phr OPEFB filler loading and coupling agent concentrations of 0, 1, 2, and 3 phr. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), rheology, and mechanical property tests revealed that the coupling agent improved the compatibility between NR and OPEFB fibers, as evidenced by increased tensile strength and stiffness. The composite with 3-phr coupling agent exhibited the best performance with tensile strength and stiffness values of 25.6 MPa and 3.7 MPa, respectively. This increase in mechanical properties has the potential to act as a catalyst for increasing the use of renewable materials in the rubber industrial sector, especially the automotive industry.

Effects of Density Variation on the Physical and Mechanical Properties of Empty Fruit Bunch Cement Board (EFBCB)

A cement board is a composite material mostly comprised natural fibre and cement. Cement board is mainly used in roofing, raised floors, dropped ceilings, prefabricated structures, office containers, and other building components. Fibres in cement composites from discarded palm oil fruit bunches have been used to increase the quality of construction materials. Therefore, the impact density of the natural fibre cement board is essential to enhance the physical and mechanical properties. However, research on untreated fibre at various densities has not been compressively discussed in previous studies. Therefore, this research used empty fruit bunch (EFB) fibre in manufacturing empty fruit bunch cement boards (EFBCB) with a cement-to-fibre ratio of 3:1 and thickness of 12 mm. Three target density variations, 1100 kg/m3, 1200 kg/m3 and 1300 kg/m3, were applied in this study to obtain their effect on physical and mechanical properties. The results revealed EFBCB sample with a target density of 1300 kg/m3 showed the most promising results. This sample’s average thickness is 12.38 mm after a 28-day curing period. Besides, at 1300 kg/m3 target density, EFBCB achieved the lowest thickness swelling (TS) value at 1.82%, highest internal bonding (IB) at 0.164 N/mm2, highest modulus of elasticity (MOE) and modulus of rupture (MOR) at 1398 N/mm2 and 3.51 N/mm2, respectively. Thus, increasing the cement board density and improving the physical and mechanical properties of EFBCB. This study demonstrates that EFB has the capacity to be one of the potential natural fibres for green building materials.

Effects of Fibre Length on the Physical Properties of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch Cement Board (OPEFB-CB)

In a cement board (CB) composite, fibres reinforce the board. It is because the length of the fibres significantly impacts the strength of the CB composite. Nonetheless, the physical properties of the CB are also an important aspect when dealing with the quality control of the final product. This study investigates the effects of various fibre lengths in CB fabrication on its physical properties, including the cement-hydration rate, tensile strength, density stability and thickness swelling (TS). Oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) fibres at different lengths are used based on the mesh retained size of R7M, R14M, and R30M. The OPEFB-CB mixture used in this research is 3:1 (cement: fibre ratio), with a target density of 1,300 kg/m3. The sample is compressed using a 1000 psi cold-compression load to achieve the desired composite thickness of 12 mm. This research revealed that the longest fibres retained on the R7M mesh with an average length of 5 mm resulted in lower density and the highest TS value. Meanwhile, lower dimensional stability was achieved by OPEFB-CB composites using fibre that retained on the R14M and R30M, having an average length of 3 mm and 1 mm, respectively. Based on the results, the optimum fibre length recommended in the fabrication of OPEFB-CB composites is processed fibres retained on the R14M sieve with an average length of 3 mm. This recommendation is made based on the most stable density and lowest TS results achieved by the R14M retained fibres which is in the range of 1,231–1,309.4 kg/m3 and TS of 0.65 %.

The Effect of Fiber Volume Fraction on the Bending Strength of Fiber-Reinforced Composites of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunches

In this modern era, the palm oil industry is growing, so the waste is also increasing. If the waste from the palm oil industry is not processed, it will pollute the environment. One way to process palm oil waste is to turn the empty palm fruit bunches (OPEFB) fibers into composite reinforcement. Various natural fibers can be applied to become composite reinforcement, so it is necessary to study the character of OPEFB fibers for composite reinforcement. This study will look at the effect of various volume fractions on the bending strength of the composite. The volume fraction consists of 20%, 30%, and 40% fiber. The composite is then tested for bending to determine the bending strength of the composite. The results of the tests showed that the highest bending strength value was the 30% volume fractional variation with 47.70 MPa. The 40% volume fraction variation has the lowest bending strength value of 29.53 MPa.

Mycelium running of Volvariella volvacea on palm oil empty fruit bunch fibre following different substrate and mycelium treatment

Leading the palm oil industry, Malaysia strives to become the powerhouse of palm oil producers. However, it is crucial that the industry does not influence the environment negatively in any way. Thus, reusing and repurposing palm oil residues in mushroom farming is one of the potential solutions for agricultural waste management. In this study, the objective of this study is to determine the mycelial performance of V. volvacea in palm oil empty fruit bunch (EFB) fibre as substrate and to evaluate the mycelial growth performance of V. volvacea in two different substrate treatment. The substrate treatment involved the non-treated EFB fibres (N substrate) and EFB fibres treated with 10% Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) (T substrate), and mycelium treatment involved in gamma-irradiated mycelium (G sample) and non-irradiated mycelium (NG sample). Results shows that mycelium inoculated on treated EFB fibres exhibited a higher growth rate compared to non-treated EFB fibres. The full colonization days of mycelial run-on substrate using treated substrate was found reduced from 15 days to 9 days, as compared to the non-treated substrate. However, gamma irradiated mycelium was found giving no significant changes to the rate of mycelial run. In conclusion, substrate treated with CaCO3, increased the growth of mycelium. In future, it is suggested to measure the effect of irradiation using different gamma irradiation exposure.

Morphology and Dispersion Stability of Nanocellulose Extracted from Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch Fibre by High-Pressure Homogenization

This paper aims to study the morphology and dispersion stability of nanocellulose extracted from oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) fibre by high-pressure homogenization method. Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) from EFB fibre was hydrolysed using sulphuric acid, followed by high-pressure homogenization, to produce nanocellulose. The isolated MCC and nanocellulose was characterized for their microstructure and stability of the particles. Observation with SEM showed that diameter size of MCC from OPEFB were decreased along with the length of the fibres as the concentration of sulphuric acid increased. While the effects of homogenization cycles on the morphology of the obtained nanocelluloses were observed using FESEM. Overall results revealed that an addition of cycle numbers has shown a reduction in diameter size and substantial breakdown of the cell walls of the nanocellulose. In contrast, for the stability test, the MCCs and NCs particles' stability and dispersibility were dependent on the electrostatic interactions, which helped to maintain a more stable suspension. Therefore, combining the chemical and mechanical processes can successfully pave the way for the production of high added-value nanocellulose from a variety of cellulosic sources and has a good potential for nanocellulose production in Malaysia.

Recycling palm oil wastes for the production of a pozzolanic cement replacement material for concrete

The palm oil industry produces wastes that are harmful to the environment but can be managed. The empty fruit bunch (EFB) and oil palm mesocarp fibres (OPMF) are used as combustibles in Africa. This research focused on identifying the chemical and physical characteristics of EFB and OPMF ashes in order to develop the richest possible pozzolanic composite for use as cement replacement material (CRM). The effects of calcination temperatures and duration were studied for the different ashes. A suitable combination of the two ashes was determined, and its effects on the properties of fresh cement paste were studied. The results showed that a rich pozzolana meeting the established requirement of ASTM C618-19 class N pozzolan can be obtained by combining OPMF and EFB in a ratio of 80/20. Furthermore, it was found that the reactivity of the ashes could be improved by grinding these ashes to reduce their particle sizes.

Comparative Examinations of Structural Responses of Concrete Reinforced with Treated Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (TOPEFB) and Untreated Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (OPEFB) Fibres

The findings from the investigation conducted, to compare the structural performance of concrete containing treated (TOPEFB) and untreated Empty Oil Palm Fruit Bunch (OPEFB) fibres are presented in this paper. For the TOPEFB fibres, the dried fibres were treated with 0.2% NAOH solution following the procedures of appropriate authority. The structural parameters investigated were consistencies, setting times, densities, compressive and tensile strengths of concrete incorporating TOPEFB and OPEFB fibres in the mix. The addition of fibres was limited to 1.20% by weight of cement in the concrete. The interval of addition was 0.2%. The results showed that (i) the setting times of mortars containing TOPEFB fibres were higher than that of mortars with OPEFB fibres, (ii) concrete specimens containing TOPEFB fibres are more workable that concrete specimens with OPEFB fibres, (iii) densities of concrete specimens containing OPEFB fibres were in the range for normal concrete applications while the densities for specimens with TOPEFB developed densities that fell in the heavy weight concrete classification, (iv) concrete specimens containing TOPEFB fibres developed higher compressive strengths than specimens with OPEFB fibres and (v) tensile strengths of concrete specimens containing TOPEFB fibres were higher than specimens with OPEFB fibres by at least 59.04%. The overall conclusion from the findings of this study is that concrete specimens containing TOPEFB fibres have superior structural properties than specimens with OPEFB fibres

Delignification’s effect on microcrystalline cellulose obtained from oil palm empty fruit bunch fibres

The effects of acidified chlorite (NaClO2) and totally chlorine free (TCF) bleaching were evaluated relative to the properties of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) fabricated from oil palm empty fruit bunch fibres (OPEFB). The MCC properties were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) methods, and they were compared with commercial MCC. The results revealed that all MCC belongs to cellulose type 1 and OPEFB-NaClO2-MCC showed a higher crystallinity index than OPEFB-TCF-MCC. The TGA indicated that all MCC samples showed a higher decomposition temperature compared to pure cellulose. However, OPEFB-NaClO2-MCC showed better thermal stability than OPEFB-TCF-MCC. It was clear from SEM images that the different MCC particles had rough surfaces and micro-sized particles. Overall, results confirmed that the obtained MCC samples displayed comparable properties with those of commercial MCC. The MCC produced from OPEFB using NaClO2 is a promising material to prepare high value-added products compared to MCC produced using TCF delignification treatment.

Effect of fibrillation degree of empty fruit bunch fiber on sandwich composite incorporate with spent mushroom substrate

Sandwich composite panel for heat insulation application were fabricated from two types of agricultural biomass waste, the oil palm empty fruit bunch and spent mushroom substrate. These agricultural biomasses are abundant, renewable, and without proper disposal management, might cause massive environmental pollution. This study investigated the effect of fibrillation degree on EFB fiber through the morphology modification to enhance the properties and thermal characteristic of the sandwich composite panel. Fibrillation is a physical changes that occurred on the surface and internal structure of fiber after undergo excessive physical modification by using refiner machine. Higher fibrillation degree could be achieve by narrowing the space area between two disks of refiner which also known as refining gap. In this research, a composite panel was developed from (SMS) and (EFB) fiber via sandwich hot pressing method. One composite sample using raw EFB fiber and three composite sample at fibrillation degree 191.40%, 211.70% and 271.68% were made at density 0.8 g/cm3. Based on result, the morphological structure of EFB fiber improved in term of formation of small fibril formation, larger surface area, optimum fiber length, optimum fiber diameter and better fiber distribution in composite panel. The mechanical properties of composite was obtained at range 2.77–7.21 MPa for tensile strength, 16.61–18.59 MPa for flexural strength, 2.06–3.18 MPa for internal bond and 4.35–15.79 kJ/m2 for impact strength. For physical properties, value of water absorption and thickness swelling were obtained at range 90.34–142.61% and 18.01–44.80%, respectively. Last but not least, the thermal conductivity value of sandwich composite was obtained at range 0.234–0.282 W/m.K. Overall result found that increasing fibrillation degree on EFB fiber at 211.70% able to contribute in improving the mechanical properties, physical properties and thermal characteristic of sandwich composite panel. This research finding suggested that enhancement of fiber morphology using fibrillation degree approach is considered as an alternative eco-friendly method that could be implemented to improve the properties and thermal characteristic of sandwich composite panel.

Sandwich Composite Panel from Spent Mushroom Substrate Fiber and Empty Fruit Bunch Fiber for Potential Green Thermal Insulation

Massive generation of natural waste fiber from agricultural industries followed by improper disposal management might result in a detrimental effect on our ecosystem contributing to various types of environmental pollution. With the growing significance of climate change, an effort is being undertaken by utilizing natural waste fiber into eco-friendly insulation panels to reduce the environmental impact of buildings. In this research, a composite panel was developed from spent mushroom substrate (SMS) and empty fruit bunch (EFB) fibers via a sandwich technique. Five samples were made, each with a different fiber ratio (100 SMS: 0 EFB, 80 SMS: 20 EFB, 60 SMS: 40 EFB, 40 SMS: 60 EFB, and 0 SMS: 100 EFB) at density 0.8 g/cm3. Fourier transformation infrared (FTIR) Soxhlet extraction followed by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) indicated that the SMS and EFB fibers were relevant for fabrication into a composite panel for thermal insulation. Thermal conductivity, thermal resistance, and thermal diffusivity values for these five composite samples were 0.231 to 0.31 W/(mK), 0.0194 to 0.0260 m2K/W, and 0.2665 to 0.3855 mm2/s, respectively. The flexural strength of the composite was at the range 15.61 to 23.62 MPa. These research findings suggest that the fabrication of a sandwich composite panel from SMS and EFB fiber is a promising alternative way to utilize natural waste fiber.