Preliminary Study of Cellulose Extraction from Banana (Musa Acuminata Colla cv. Mas) Peel

In Malaysia, banana peel is one of the environmental wastes contributed by food and agricultural industries. It contains polymers such as cellulose, lignin, hemicellulose, and pectin. These components can be extracted and converted into more valuable products. Cellulose has received a tremendous attention due to various potential applications, such as filler in drug tablets and hydrogel. In this study, banana (Musa acuminata Colla cv. Mas) peel was extracted as a source for cellulose. Extraction of banana peel aims to produce banana peel cellulose (BPC) by using chemical and mechanical treatments. The chemical treatment consisted of dewaxing process, alkaline treatment, bleaching treatment, and acid hydrolysis. These treatments aided in removal of lignin, hemicellulose, and other non-cellulosic components. Mechanical treatment was conducted after the dewaxing process, to increase the dispersion of the sample suspension and facilitate the extraction process. The characterisation analyses of BPC were carried out using FTIR, TGA and DSC. The data obtained from the analysis was compared with commercial cellulose (CC). About 22.49 % of BPC extraction yield was obtained from this study. FTIR confirmed that all main functional groups of cellulose in CC were present in BPC. TGA and DSC showed BPC has almost similar thermal properties as in CC. Thus, the analysis results indicated chemical treatment and mechanical treatment employed were effective in removing most non-cellulosic components. Hence, BPC has potential properties in producing environmentally friendly products for pharmaceutical applications.