Pemutihan daun nanas menggunakan hidrogen peroksida

Abstrak

A pineapple leaf contains approximately 69.5% - 71.5% cellulose, which makes it a good alternative raw material in paper production. The quality of paper produced can be enhanced by bleaching process with the use of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as an environmentally friendly bleaching agent. The purpose of this study was to determine the optimum temperature and duration of the soaking or bleaching process of pineapple leaves. Dried pineapple leaves were hydrolyzed in a solution of NaOH with a varying concentration of 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.35 N at 100°C in a 400 ml three-neck flask equipped with a cooler. The bleaching process was conducted in the presence of 2% H2O2 at 40C, 60C and 80C for a varying time duration of 1, 1.5 and 2 hours. The resulting pulp was analyzed by the Colorgard System 2000 Colorimeter Byk Garder using parameters L*, a* and b*. The optimum bleaching process was achieved at 60C with a soaking time of 1.5 hours where the values of parameter L*, a* and b* were 95.14%, -2.15 and 5.42, respectively.