Synthesis and characterization of microcrystalline cellulose(MCC) from wood and non-wood biomass: Sengon wood (Albizia Chinensis) and water hyacinth (Eichhornia Crassipes)

Microcrystalline Cellulose (MCC) is one of the materials that can be synthesized by utilizing the abundance of lignocellulosic biomass in nature. MCC can be obtained from wood and non-wood biomass. This study aims to produce MCC from wood (sengon wood) and non-wood (water hyacinth) biomass sources and study their characteristics. MCC is obtained through dewaxing, alkalization, bleaching, and hydrolysis processes. The dewaxing step was carried out using toluene:ethanol (2:1), then WH and SW were alkalized using 5% NaOH, bleached using 5% NaOH and 3% H2O2, and then hydrolyzed using 5% HCl. FTIR spectra of both biomass MCCs confirm the presence of cellulose with specific absorption at 3400-3504, 2902-2922, 1627-1639, and 1055-1060 cm-1. X-ray diffractogram of both MCCs show typical peaks of MCC at 2? = 5-16, 22.5, and 34°. The results of the XRD analysis showed that the crystallinity index (CrI) of MCC isolated from water hyacinth was higher than sengon wood with CrI values of 80.49 and 79.67% respectively. The high crystallinity of MCC from water hyacinth makes its thermal stability better than sengon wood. The results of the SEM analysis showed that the MCC from water hyacinth had an irregular shape, while the MCC from sengon wood had cylindrical and rod shapes.