MICROWAVE IRRADIATION OPTIMIZATION FOR EFFICIENT LIGNIN REMOVAL FROM COCOA SHELL WASTE USING ALKALI

This paper reports a study to determine the optimum conditions of microwave in assisting alkali treatment for removing lignin from cocoa shell waste (CSW). The CSW was mixed with 5% of NaOH solution at the ratio of 1: 10 of weight to volume of the alkaline before being irradiated in a microwave oven. Various microwave powers (200-400 W), temperature settings (60-80 °C) and irradiation times (10-20 min) were tested on 15 samples set by the Box-Behnken design. The lignin removal was analysed using a 72 % sulfuric acid treatment method. A quadratic equation was employed to the response surface and statistical analysis conducted to confirm the adequacy of the model. The plots show that the optimum microwave conditions are 400 W, 76 °C and 19 min, which were capable to remove 86.57% of lignin. Thermogravimetric analysis and micrographs revealed different decomposition temperature of lignin and morphology of extensively-pored surface of treated CSW, respectively. ABSTRAK: Kajian ini adalah berkaitan penentuan keadaan optimal ketuhar gelombang mikro bagi membantu menyingkirkan lignin daripada sisa kulit biji koko (CSW) menggunakan rawatan alkali. CSW dicampurkan dengan larutan NaOH 5 % pada nisbah 1:10 berat kepada isipadu larutan alkali sebelum campuran dipanaskan ke dalam ketuhar gelombang mikro. Pelbagai keadaan ujian dibuat pada ketuhar gelombang mikro seperti tenaga (200-400 W), suhu ketuhar (60-80 °C) dan masa pemanasan (10-20 min) ke atas 15 sampel mengikut reka bentuk statistik Box-Behnken. Kadar penyingkiran lignin ditentukan dengan menggunakan kaedah rawatan larutan asid sulfurik berkepekatan 72 %. Persamaan kuadratik telah digunakan ke atas permukaan respon dan analisis statistik telah dilakukan bagi memastikan kesesuaian model. Plot-plot menunjukkan keadaan optima ketuhar gelombang mikro adalah pada 400 W, 76 °C dan 19 min iaitu berupaya menyingkirkan sebanyak 86.57% lignin. Analisis thermogravimetri dan mikrograf masing-masing menunjukkan perbezaan suhu penguraian lignin dan morfologi permukaan CSW yang dirawat didapati berliang dengan banyaknya.