Indonesia has the largest biodiversity in the world, and this has great potential benefits for the country. Therefore, efforts are needed to develop ways to convert the country’s natural resources into more valuable materials, one of which is raw materials for pharmaceutical products.
Siwalan (Borassus flabellifer Linn) is a typical Indonesian plant, which is a flora that grows in areas with hot air temperatures in the country, such as in East Java (Tuban, Madura), NTT (Sumbawa, Timor, Rote, Sabu), South Sulawesi, and Southeast Maluku. Semanding district in the city of Tuban is the highest Siwalan producing area. This species which is a palm tree comes from the family Palmae or Arecaceae. This plant species is known by the Latin name Borassus flabellifer Linn. Siwalan fruit is only used as a food ingredient because of its high nutritional value, while the skin is discarded as waste which has low economic value and has not been utilized optimally. Siwalan fruit skin contains 68.94% cellulose, 5.37% lignin, 14.03% hemicellulose, and 0.6% wax. This Siwalan rind causes environmental problems if stored in one place. Global demand for cellulose and methyl cellulose is obtained around 1012 tons of cellulose as a result of plant synthesis every year and about 150 thousand tons of methylcellulose are produced annually for industrial needs. This large demand for methyl cellulose is currently produced by global industries originating from abroad including: Astland, Dow Chemicals, JRS, BASF, Shin-Etsu, and Haihang Industries. Therefore, the utilization of the Siwalan peel can be optimized by developing the raw material for the production of cellulose from the rind of the siwalan fruit.
Cellulose (C6H10O5)n is one of the important raw materials for the manufacture of pharmaceutical products, cosmetics, bioplastics, and food packaging materials. Cellulose material is found in plants as a building material for cell walls. Cellulose is a natural polymer with a linear structure and crystalline form, but not easily soluble. Meanwhile, cellulose is a polysaccharide that contains a polymer of glucose units linked by 1,4-glycosidic bonds to form long and straight chains.
There are several ways or methods used to isolate cellulose, such as mechanical methods: ultrasonic and high pressure; chemical methods: strong acid hydrolysis, organoleptic, alkaline solvent, oxidation, and ionic liquid; and biological methods using enzymes. While the method used in this research is the chemical method of cellulose isolation. The process begins with hydrolysis using solid acids, such as sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, and perchloric acid. Strong acids efficiently hydrolyze the amorphous parts of elongated plant fibers into shorter ones. Strong acids also help hydrolyze hemicellulose to xylose and other sugars. Furthermore, the second stage involves the removal of lignin or delignification using NaOH solution, while the third stage is a bleaching process that is used to facilitate the degradation of lignin and other impurities that have not been lost during the chemical process. Oxidizing chemical compounds, such as hypochlorite and hydrogen peroxide are commonly used in the bleaching process. The cellulose obtained was then characterized, and the interpretation of the success of the synthesis was carried out by comparing the isolates obtained from the rind of the siwalan fruit with synthetic cellulose (Sigma-Aldrich®). This study aims to obtain cellulose from Siwalan rind by isolating and further characterizing the cellulose from Siwalan rind (Borassus flabellifer Linn) fibers. Isolation is done through a chemical process that includes hydrolysis, delignification, and bleaching. Furthermore, the analysis of moisture content, pH, shape, and Fourier Transform-Infrared (FTIR) are physical characterization parameters and standardization used to assess Borassus flabellifer cellulose. The tests carried out showed that the isolates had a pH of 6.8 and a water content of 7.34%. Fourier Transform-Infrared (FTIR) showed absorption at 3323.34 for O-H, 2893.22 for C-H, 1371.38 for C-O-H, and 1157.28 for C-O, which revealed that these values ​​are typical peaks of cellulose. The results showed that the cellulose isolated from the rind fiber of Borassus flabellifer Linn had many similarities with the standard synthetic cellulose used. In addition, a large cellulose yield of 12.3% (w/w) was obtained from the skin of the fruit, so it needs to be developed further. It is also a product that is guaranteed to be halal and can meet the various needs of the pharmaceutical industry. The results of this study can pave the way for the development of cellulose Siwalan fruit skin which can be used as an alternative to animal gelatin.
Author: Esti Hendradi
Title:
Isolation and Characterization of Cellulose from Siwalan (Borassus flabellifer) Fruit Peel Fiber
Link:
https://www.tjnpr.org/img/manuscript_2328_4-TJNPR-2022-M003%20Galley%20Proof%20C.pdf
