Pembuatan Selulosa dari Batang Pisang Kepok dengan Variasi Konsentrasi Pelarut NaOH dan HCl

The banana plant is a fruit plant that is easy to grow in Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia. One type of banana plant that grows in Indonesia is the kepok banana (Musa paradisiaca L.). This type of plant is widely used by people because it is easy to plant, does not require much care and can produce fruit that is marketable. The use of banana plants is generally only for the fruit and leaves, while other parts such as stems and roots are not utilized optimally, resulting in quite a lot of waste. This research aims to utilize Kepok banana tree trunk waste as a basic material for making cellulose powder and obtain the highest levels of cellulose extraction results. Cellulose has micro fibers which can be used as an emulsifier, thickener, in the composite industry, and as a waste water filter media in the form of membranes. In this research, Kepok banana stem waste was extracted into cellulose through a delignification stage using sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solvent with varying concentrations of 2% and 3%, followed by a hydrolysis stage using hydrochloric acid (HCl) catalyst with varying concentrations of 1N and 2N. The next stage is the bleaching process using sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) solvent with a concentration of 1.75%. The extracted cellulose was tested for lignocellulose content using the Chesson datta method. The results of the lignocellulose analysis showed that the highest cellulose content was 64.25% found in varying concentrations of 3% NaOH and 2N HCl.