Oil palm empty fruit bunch fiber (OPEFB)
is a lignocellulosic waste from palm oil mills. It is a potential source of
glucose and xylose that can be used as raw materials for the production of
valuable compounds such as succinic acid. The present study aims at producing
biodegradable polyesters from OPEFB-derived monomer using enzymatic
polymerization. Cellulose was extracted from OPEFB by using organosolv method.
Enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose was carried out using Celluclast and Novozyme
188 at 40 C, with agitation rate of 145 rpm. Amount of enzyme and cellulose as
well as reaction time were varied. The highest glucose concentration produced
was 167.4 g/L. Succinic acid was produced when glucose was subjected to fermentation
using Actinobacillus succinogenes with the highest concentration of 23.50 g/L.
Biodegradable polyesters were produced when succinic acid together with
1,4-butanediol, glycerol and ethylene glycol, respectively, were subjected to
Lipase (Candida Antartica CALB). Molecular weight obtained for poly(butylene
succinate), poly(glycerol succinate), and poly(ethylene succinate) were 5.90 3
104 , 6.20 3 104 , and 4.53 3 104 g/mol, respectively. The greatest extent of
biodegradability of polyester found was 78.65 ± 0.65%.
KEYWORDS. Cellulose derivatives,
biopolymer, bio-transformation, biodegradable, bioresource
