Isolation of nanocrystalline cellulose from empty fruit bunch (EFB) via microwave assisted technique

Nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) was isolated from cellulose and holocellulose of palm oil empty fruit bunch with microwave assisted technique. The microwave assisted acid hydrolysis process was conducted for 10 min with various power of 100 W, 200 W and 300 W. 11 wt.% of oxalic acid dehydrate was used to performed the acid hydrolysis. Ultrasonication was applied to break up aggregates of micron-sized colloidal particles in the formed NCC. NCC particles was characterized by using Malvern Zetasizer, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to determine zeta potential and average particle size, the functional groups and crystallinity of the sample. Cellulose and holocellulose samples treated at 300 W showed the highest value of zeta potential with value of -42.9 mV and -40 mV respectively. XRD analysis showed that cellulose and holocellulose sample treated at 300 W had the highest value of crystallinity index which is 77.7% and 69.6%.Analysis by FTIR showed that both of the samples had the functional groups that represent cellulose chemical structure by presence of C-H and O-H bonds at wavelength of 1315 cm-¹ and 1160 cm-¹ respectively