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Recovery of lignin and phenolics via one-pot pretreatment of oil palm empty fruit bunch fiber and palm oil mill effluent

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Abstract

This is a pioneer research carried out to investigate the novel use of palm oil mill effluent (POME) as an extraction solvent of lignin and phenolics from oil palm empty fruit bunch fiber (OPEFBF). In the present study, lignin and phenolics were removed from OPEFBF using different solvents, namely POME, sodium hydroxide (NaOH), aqueous ammonia (NH3), POME containing 5% w/w NaOH (NaOH-POME), and POME containing 5% w/w NH3 (NH3-POME) at different temperatures and times. Results obtained suggest that NaOH-POME was the best solvent to produce the highest yield of lignin (24.2±0.36%) and phenolics (2.4±0.1 g L−1). Chemical oxygen demand (COD) of solvent was increased drastically after treatment but reduced substantially after lignin precipitation. The delignified liquor was a rich source of aromatic aldehydes and acids such as hydroxybenzoic acid, syringaldehyde, syringic acid, vanillin, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, and trace amounts of hydroxybenzaldehyde and vanillic acid. Utilization of POME as a solvent to extract lignin and phenolics from OPEFBF is recommended as a win-win approach to simultaneously prepare OPEFBF and POME as a feedstock for downstream processes.

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Abbreviations

OPEFBF:

Oil palm empty fruit bunch fiber

POME:

Palm oil mill effluent

COD:

Chemical oxygen demand

NaOH:

Sodium hydroxide

NH3 :

Aqueous ammonia

NaOH-POME:

Palm oil mill effluent containing 5% w/w sodium hydroxide

NH3-POME:

Palm oil mill effluent containing 5% w/w aqueous ammonia

tCOD:

Total chemical oxygen demand change

TPC:

Total phenolic content

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Tunku Abdul Rahman University College Internal Grant (UC/I/G2016-00013). Furthermore, the authors also express the highest gratitude to all laboratory staff in the Department of Physical Science and Department of Bioscience, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Tunku Abdul Rahman University College for their technical support in this research.

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The data that support the finding of this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bioscience, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Tunku Abdul Rahman University College, Setapak, 53300, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Pei Ling Tang

  2. Department of Physical Science, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Tunku Abdul Rahman University College, Setapak, 53300, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Wai Lun Hong & Chen Son Yue

  3. Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

    Shuhaida Harun

  4. Research Center for Sustainable Process Technology, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

    Shuhaida Harun

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  1. Pei Ling Tang
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  4. Shuhaida Harun
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Correspondence to Pei Ling Tang.

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Tang, P.L., Hong, W.L., Yue, C.S. et al. Recovery of lignin and phenolics via one-pot pretreatment of oil palm empty fruit bunch fiber and palm oil mill effluent. Biomass Conv. Bioref. 13, 4705–4715 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-021-01496-9

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