Crystallinity and Thermal Resistance of Microcrystalline Cellulose Prepared from Manau Rattan (Calamusmanan)

The objective of this study was to prepare microcrystalline cellulose from Manau rattan (Calamusinanan) and to investigate the influence of concentration of sulfuric acid and hydrolysis time on crystallinity and thermal resistance of the microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). In this research, MCC was extracted through two stages, which is alkalization and acid hydrolysis. Alkalization was prepared by soaking manau rattan powder into sodium hydroxide (NaOH) 17.5wt% at 100 degrees C for 8 hours. Acid hydrolysis was prepared by using sulfuric acid with concentration 0.1 M; 0.3 M; and 0.5 M for 4, 6, 8 and 10 hours. Crystallinity of MCC was measured by XRD, and thermal resistance was characterized by TGA. MCC was successfully extracted from manau rattan. The highest crystallinity of MCC obtained was 72.42% which prepared by acid hydrolysis with concentration 0.5 M for 10 hours. MCC prepared by acid hydrolysis with concentration 0.5 M for 10 hours not only resulted the highest crystallinity but also the best thermal resistance.