SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF CARBOXYMETHYL CELLULOSE FROM HANJUANG STEM (Cordyline fruticose)
Devi Indah Anwar*, R Mulyani, and A Prasetya

Chemistry Departement, Muhammadiyah University of Sukabumi

Abstract

This study aims to synthesize CMC (Carboxymethyl Cellulose) from Hanjuang stems (Cordyline fruticose) because the use of this plant is still limited and Hanjuang stems are poor quality to be used as wood. Isolation of cellulose from hanjuang stems begins with delignification using NaOH with various concentrations of 5% (w/v) and 7.5% (w/v). The next step was the bleaching process using NaOCl with a variation of 1% (w/v) and 5% (w/v). Synthesis of CMC was carried out in two stages, namely alkalization using 17.5% (w/v) NaOH and carboxymethylation using NaMCA with variations in the addition of 4- 8- and 10 gram. The results showed that Hanjuang crude fiber content was 49% cellulose, 25% hemicellulose, 16% lignin and 9% other solutes tested using the Chesson method. CMC produced with optimum conditions at 17.5% (w/v) NaOH concentration had the highest degree of substitution (DS) value of 0.653 with the addition of 4 g of NaMCA and CMC FTIR test results showed the presence of a carboxylate functional group which is a characteristic of CMC.

Keywords: Hanjuang (Cordyline fruticose), Cellulose, Carboxymethyl Cellulose, Degree of Substitution (DS).

Topic: Physics, Biology, and Chemistry