RESEARCH ARTICLE

Journal of Oil Palm Research Vol. 18 December 2006, p. 272-277

THERMAL PROPERTIES OF OIL PALM FIBRE, CELLULOSE AND ITS DERIVATIVES

ROSNAH Mat Soom* ; WAN HASAMUDIN Wan Hassan* ; AB GAPOR Md Top* ; KAMARUDIN Hassan*

ABSTRACT

Oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB) are abundantly produced in palm oil mills from processing the fresh fruit bunches. Holecellulose, a composite of hemicelluloses and cellulose, was extracted from EFB using acidfied sodium chlorite method. The x-cellulose was then separated from the holocellulose using 17.5% sodium hydroxide solution. Sodium carboxymethylcellulose (Na CMC) was synthesized from the x-cellulose by etherification with chloroacetic acid

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* Malaysian Palm Oil Board,
P. O. Box 10620,
50720 Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia.
E-mail: msrosnah@mpob.gov.my