Physial Properties of Nanocellulose Extracted from Empty Fruit Bunch

The high content of cellulose in lignocellulosic waste can be further utilized to produce nanocellulose (NCC). Conventional method of dissolving lignocellulosic waste in acid solvent is detrimental to the environment. Thus, a new method for utililizing lignocellulosic waste using environmental friendly solvent should be developed. NCC can be produced by dissolution of palm oil empty fruit bunch (EFB) in green solvent, natural deep eutectic solvent (NADES). In this study, palm oil EFB was used to produce NCC by dissolving in NADES and analysed for its characterization. Atomic force microscope (AFM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) were used to evaluate the NCC's morphology and dimension. Under AFM analysis, the average height of NCC produced was 15.574 +/- 3.658 nm while the obtained diameter is 53.179 +/- 24.237 nm. Using TEM analysis, the NCC produced was a needle-like particles with average diameter of 17.842 +/- 2.859 nm, while the length is 185.486 +/- 91.776 nm. Based on TGA results, NCC produced has a thermal stability at 224 degrees C. From the results obtained, the dissolution of cellulose in NADES is able to produce nanocellulose with similar properties as nanocellulose produced using conventional method.