UTILIZATION AND MODIFICATION OF PINEAPPLE SKIN WASTE FOR POLYMER ELECTROLYTE MEMBRANE APPLICATION

The latest fuel cell development uses biodegradable polymer electrolyte membranes (PEM) to separate the cathode and anode components, making it an exciting research topic. This research develops a cheap and eco-friendly polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) material. The membrane material is pineapple peel waste, which is easily biodegradable and naturally abundant. Sulfonate groups were added together with varied sulfuric acid concentrations to modify it. The membrane was then evaluated for its mechanical strength, proton conductivity, swelling index, and ion exchange capacity (IEC). In addition, this study performed morphological, sulfur content, and functional group analyses using FTIR, SEM, and EDS. In accordance with the findings, the best nata de pina membrane had a proton conductivity of 1.85 x 10-2 S/cm, an IEC of 3.85 mEq/g, a degree and swelling of 118.55%, and was sulfonated with 1.08 N sulfuric acids. Additionally, the resulting membrane’s mechanical strength increased significantly. Therefore, pineapple peel is an environmentally friendly natural resource useful in manufacturing electrolyte membranes.