Sains Malaysiana 51(4)(2022): 1061-1074

http://doi.org/10.17576/jsm-2022-5104-09

Assessment of Natural Cellulosic Powder from Pepper Pericarp Waste (Piper nigrum L.) after Alkalization and Bleaching Treatment: Effect of Alkali Concentration and Treatment Cycle

(Penilaian Serbuk Selulosa Semula Jadi daripada Sisa Perikarpa Lada (Piper nigrum L.) selepas Rawatan Alkali dan Pelunturan: Kesan Kepekatan Alkali dan Kitaran Rawatan)

AIN NADIAH SOFIAH AHMAD KHORAIRI¹, NOOR-SOFFALINA SOFIAN-SENG^1,2,*, RIZAFIZAH OTHAMAN³, NOORUL SYUHADA MOHD RAZALI^1,2 & KHAIRUL FARIHAN KASIM⁴

¹Department of Food Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

²Innovation Centre for Confectionery Technology (MANIS), Faculty of Science and Technology

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

³Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

⁴School of Bioprocess Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, 01000 Kangar, Perlis, Malaysia

Received: 11 March 2021/Accepted: 7 September 2021

Abstract

Pepper (Piper nigrum L.) pericarp is an agriculture waste in the production of white pepper.  It is underutilised agro-industrial waste which could be a promising natural source of cellulose. Hence, finding an optimum way to remove the non cellulose components without degrading the cellulose structure is essential. In this work, the effects of alkaline concentration (4, 5, and 6% NaOH) and number of soaking cycle (3 & 4 cycles) on the characteristics of cellulose from pepper pericarp were investigated. The obtained cellulose powder was characterized for its yield, α-cellulose content, particle size, zeta potential, morphology, whiteness index, crystallinity degree and thermal stability. The white powder cellulose after 4^th cycle treatment with 4% NaOH appeared to have the highest yield (23.63%), α-cellulose (65.97%), crystallinity structure (51%) and better thermal stability at 334 °C. FTIR spectrum at band around 1732 cm^-1 indicates a partial removal of non-cellulosic material at all alkalization condition due to the presence of remaining lignin and hemicellulose. These may contribute to formation of negative surface charge on all cellulose samples which may potentially enhance the functionality of the material as emulsifier. Based on two-way ANOVA test, concentration and cycle of alkaline treatment significantly (p<0.05) influenced the yield, particle size and zeta potential, meanwhile α-cellulose significantly influence by NaOH concentration only (p<0.05). The findings showed that manipulating the synthesis condition of cellulose powder influenced its properties which could be further used in various applications.

Keywords: Cellulose powder; concentration alkaline solution; morphology; white pepper pericarp

Abstrak

Perikarpa lada (Piper nigrum L.) adalah sisa pertanian dalam pengeluaran lada putih. Bahan buangan agroindustri yang kurang digunakan ini mungkin boleh menjadi sumber semula jadi selulosa. Oleh itu, mencari kaedah yang optimum untuk membuang komponen bukan selulosa tanpa merosakkan strukturnya adalah sangat penting. Dalam kajian ini, kesan kepekatan alkali (4, 5 dan 6% NaOH) dan bilangan kitaran rendaman (3 & 4 kitaran) terhadap ciri serbuk selulosa daripada perikarpa lada dikaji. Serbuk selulosa dicirikan berdasarkan hasil, kandungan α-selulosa, saiz zarah, potensi zeta, morfologi, indeks keputihan, tahap kehabluran dan kestabilan terma. Serbuk putih selulosa dengan 4% NaOH pada 4 kitaran rendaman alkali mempunyai hasil tertinggi (23.63%), α-selulosa yang tinggi (65.97%), struktur kehabluran (51%) dan kestabilan terma yang lebih baik pada 334 °C. Spektrum FTIR pada sekitar jalur 1732 cm^-1 menunjukkan penyingkiran separa bahan bukan selulosa pada semua keadaan rawatan alkali. Ini mungkin menyumbang kepada cas permukaan negatif pada sampel selulosa yang berpotensi dapat meningkatkan fungsi bahan sebagai pengemulsi. Berdasarkan ujian ANOVA dua hala, kepekatan dan kitaran rawatan alkali secara signifikan (p<0.05) mempengaruhi hasil, saiz zarah dan potensi zeta, sementara α-selulosa hanya dipengaruhi secara signifikan oleh kepekatan NaOH sahaja (p<0.05). Secara keseluruhan, penemuan kajian ini membuktikan bahawa manipulasi keadaan sintesis selulosa mampu untuk mempengaruhi sifatnya sehingga dapat digunakan dalam pelbagai aplikasi.

Kata kunci: Kepekatan cecair alkali; morfologi; perikarpa lada putih; serbuk selulosa

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^*Corresponding author; email: soffalina@ukm.edu.my