Optimization on Pulp Delignification from Nypa Palm (Nypa fruticans) Petioles Fibre of Chemical and Microbiological Methods

Demand for handycraftpaper is getting higher lately. This paper is commonly utilized as decorative paper, interior decoration, frames, and many more. Handycraftpaper making was one alternative to waste treatment and to reduce the use of wood fiber as paper raw material. Nypa palm (Nypa fruticans) petioles which is usually thrown away has the potency to be processed as pulp because it has 42.22% of cellulose and 19.85% of lignin. Delignification with chemical and microbiological methods has been executed to find out the pulp with the lowest lignin, highest cellulose and highest yield. The chemical method used NaOH 1 N (with concentration of 5, 10, 15, and 20%) and H₂O₂, while the microbiological method used effective microorganisms 4 (EM₄) which was economical and easy to find. Fermentation time (5, 6, 7 and 8 days) was implemented as treatment. For chemical method, the treatment that produced the optimum response of lignin and cellulose was 20% of NaOH concentration, while for the microbiological method was 8 days of fermentation. Orthogonal polynomial model showed that both chemical and microbiological methods produce cellulose had linier model that P-Value was less than 0.05. For lignin response, the chemical method obtained linier model, meanwhile the microbiological method obtained quadratic linier model where P-Value was less than 0.05.