Analysis and characterization of microcrystalline cellulose synthesized from microwave-assisted hydrolysis of sugarcane bagasse.

Microcrystalline cellulose has an essential role as one of the excipients in the pharmaceutical industry. The research was conducted over several years to examine the lignocellulosic materials by various methods to become alternative resources. This work aimed to study the characteristics of microcrystalline cellulose synthesized by microwave-assisted treatments from sugarcane bagasse. The production of microcrystalline cellulose from lignocellulosic material consists of three main processes, which are delignification, bleaching, and hydrolysis. This study focused on the characterization of the product from the hydrolysis process using hydrochloric acid (HCl) assisted by microwave which was performed at varied times (10-50 minutes), temperatures (80-90°C), HCl concentration (1-3M), and solid-liquid ratios (1:10-1:30). The crystallinity of the micro-cellulose produced was analysis by FTIR while the composition was analysed by the Chesson-Datta method. Through the treatments, microcrystalline cellulose was successfully synthesized from sugarcane bagasse. The highest crystallinity fraction of 58.67% was formed by hydrolysis using an HCl concentration of 3 M at 85°C for 40 minutes. Meanwhile, the lowest crystallinity fraction of 47.53% was formed at 3 M, 80°C for 30 minutes. This research also showed that 61.20% was the highest cellulose content and 3.99% was the lowest lignin content of sugarcane bagasse pulp, which was obtained at 3M, 85°C for 50 minutes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]