Alkali pretreatment and acid hydrolysis of oil palm mesocarp fiber (OPMF) to produce glucose

Abstract

The uses of cellulose fibers in many fields have attracted significant scientific attention in the recent years. This research analyzed the amount of glucose produced from oil palm mesocarp fiber using sulphuric acid hydrolysis. Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) pretreatment with different concentrations of 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% w/v was conducted at 70 °C for a retention time of 2 h. The resulting fibers were examined using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis. The optimum conditions were 20% w/v sodium hydroxide (NaOH) at a temperature of 70 °C. The oil palm mesocarp fiber (OPMF) was then hydrolyzed using 5%, 10%, 15%, or 20% v/v sulphuric acid at varying temperatures of 30, 45, 60 and 90 °C for a treatment time of 2 h. Glucose concentration was tested using a UV spectrophotometer. The highest yield of glucose was 0.942 g/L using 20% v/v sulphuric acid and a temperature of 90 °C.