Bioboard Termodifikasi Alkali Untuk Aplikasi Elemen Industri Otomotif

Sari

Indonesia is a major producer of palm oil. Indonesian oil palm plantations are found in Sumatra, West Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Bangka Belitung, and Papua. The total area of oil palm plantations in Indonesia reaches 7,099,388 ha. The main product of oil palm is its fruit bunches which produce oil. After processing, the remaining Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (TKKS) is a by-product. Physically, OPEFB has fiber. At present the utilization of OPEFB fibers, namely for omogen fertilizer, raw material for making paper, briquettes, and generally only comes to the use of fiber as a filler for a medium such as car seat cavity fillers and omog, so there is an awareness to research further about the potential of OPEFB as a fiber material nature that can be processed into material for making paticle boards for furniture products by raising the wisdom value of omog and natural resources that have not been optimally processed. On the other hand, poly (lactic acid) (PLA) is a biodegrable polymer that is very promising with its ease of
processing and can develop harmless natural products with simple hydrolysis. Although it has many advantages, PLA has a relatively low strength which limits its wide application, especially in the furniture sector. Therefore, research to develop PLA-based materials should focus on aspects of increasing the toughness of PLA by adding other natural fibers. Although, a large number of articles have
been published to make PLA composites with various fibers, but the processing of OPEFB fibers with PLA is still very rare. For this reason, research will be conducted on the composite TKKS / PLA. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of fiber processing using boiling water, 2% sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and the combination of both NaOH and boiling water and the addition of formaldehyde. The addition of an alkaline solution is intended to improve the surface topography of the fiber. Fiber morphology is characterized by using an electron microscope (SEM). Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) is then used to measure the amount and rate of change in fiber weight as a function of temperature. Furthermore, a tensile test will be carried out to determine the tensile strength of the material and calculate the Young's modulus value by making a comparison between the processed fiber and the nonprocessing fiber. With this research, it is expected that further developments will be made regarding processing of the OPEFB composite fiber.