Isolation and charazterization of pulp from Perlis sugarcane bagasse and rice straw

Abstract

The amount of sugarcane bagasse and rice straw in the state of Perlis (Malaysia) is abundant while its utilization is still limited. One of the alternatives for the bagasse and straw utilization is as pulp raw material. This paper reviews on pulp from sugarcane bagasse and rice straw and its suitability for paper production. In this study, the pulp was extracted by the Soxhlct extraction method. The objective of this study was to investigate the cellulose, lignin and silica content of the pulp from sugarcane bagasse and rice straw. Tor rice straw, the presence of large amount of pentosancs in the pulp and black liquors, which also contain silica were decreased the using of straw in the paper industry, 'therefore, formic acid pulping and NaOH treatment arc studied to reduce or prevent silica. The isolated pulp samples were further characterized by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) to investigate their fiber dimensions.