Characteristics of Empty Palm Bunch Fibers as Alternative Pulp Material

Abstract

Material characteristics in this research become the focus to see the possibility of oil palm Empty Fruit Bunches (EFB) becoming pulp raw material in the future. The oil palm empty fruit bunch fibers are divided into two parts, namely the inner and outer parts, which are the focus of this research. Tests carried out using the TAPPI standard include testing water content, ash content, extractive, lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose. While fiber morphology was observed by the maceration technique in EFB, including fiber diameter, fiber length, cell wall thickness and lumen diameter. The test results state that characteristics of fiber parts and the outside, in general, do not differ significantly, the difference in value ranges from 1-2%, the length of the fiber and the value of the dimensions of the fiber is included in the category of fiber grade II quality. The holocellulose content is of less quality, while the lignin and extractive contents are of good quality. Based on the levels of chemical components, the morphology of fibers and their derivatives, in general, there is no need to distinguish the inner and the outer part of the EFB in the pulping process.