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Chemical modification of oil palm empty fruit bunch: Determination of optimum condition and characterization
Author(s) -
Tay G. S.,
Rozman H. D.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.26825
Subject(s) - crystallinity , glycidyl methacrylate , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , epichlorohydrin , materials science , differential scanning calorimetry , chemical modification , palm oil , polymer chemistry , reagent , nuclear chemistry , chemical engineering , chemistry , composite material , organic chemistry , copolymer , polymer , physics , food science , engineering , thermodynamics
In this study, optimum condition for the reaction of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA), epichlorohydrin (ECH), and propylene oxide (PO) with oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) were determined. The treated EFB was characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD), and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). It is evident from FTIR analysis that all the reagents used were chemically attached to the EFB. From the results of hydroxyl (OH) group determination, it was shown that for all types of reaction, except ECH reaction, more OH groups are generated and accessible. However, no significant difference is observed as the modification level was increased. The density of treated EFB regardless of the types of reaction was relatively lower than that of the untreated EFB. From WAXD analysis, it was found that the crystallinity of EFB was disrupted when the modification level achieved about 30%. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2007