Development of a Lignin-Based Carrier - Citronella Oil Nanoemulsion and Its Utilization as an Herbicide against Specific Weed Species.

This research aims to create an emulsion formulation utilizing lignin as a carrier and citronella oil for its application as a herbicide. The formulation composition includes lignin solution 55-62%v/v, Tween 80 25%w/v, propylene glycol 10%w/v, and citronella oil 3-10%w/v. The preparation steps involve preparing the oil phase by mixing tween 80 surfactant, propylene glycol, and citronella oil; preparing the aqueous phase by mixing lignin into distilled water at pH 12 with stirring; mixing the oil phase and the water phase accompanied by stirring at 5000-10000 rpm for 1-5 minutes until a stable solution is formed as a natural herbicide. The application outcomes revealed that the formulation successfully eliminated specific weeds within two to three days at the maximum concentration of 10%, leaving no detectable herbicide residue after 7 and 15 days of treatment. The result demonstrates how green technology has the capacity to replace herbicides derived from chemicals, especially in the agricultural sector.

The Effect of Dual-Modification by Heat-Moisture Treatment and Octenylsuccinylation on Physicochemical and Pasting Properties of Arrowroot Starch.

Starch is widely applied in various industrial sectors, including the food industry. Starch is used as a thickener, stabilizer, or emulsifier. However, arrowroot starch generally has weaknesses, such as unstable under heating and acidic conditions, which are generally applied to processing in the food industry. Modifications were applied to improve the characteristics of native arrowroot starch. In this study, arrowroot starch was modified by heat-moisture treatment (HMT), octenylsuccinylation (OSA), and dual modification between OSA and HMT in a different sequence--namely, HMT followed by OSA, and OSA followed by HMT. This study aims to determine the effect of different modification methods on the physicochemical and functional properties of native arrowroot starch. The result shows that both single HMT and dual modification caused damage to native starch granules, such as the formation of cracks and roughness. For single OSA treatment, especially, there is no significant change in granule morphology after modification. All modification treatments did not change the crystalline type of starch but reduced the RC of native starch. Both single HMT and dual modifications (HMT-OSA, OSA-HMT) increased pasting temperature and setback, but, conversely, decreased the peak and the breakdown viscosity of native starch, whereas single OSA had the opposite trend compared with the other modifications. HMT played a greater role in increasing the thermal stability and the retrogradation ability of arrowroot starch. Both single modifications (HMT and OSA) increased the hardness and gumminess of native starch, and the opposite was true for the dual modifications. HMT had a greater effect on color characteristics, where the lightness and whiteness index of native arrowroot starch decreased. Single OSA modification increased swelling volume higher than dual modification. Both single HMT and dual modifications increased water absorption capacity and decreased the oil absorption capacity of native arrowroot starch.

Application of Composite Flour from Indonesian Local Tubers in Gluten-Free Pancakes.

Pancakes are fast food snacks that are generally made with wheat flour as the basic ingredients, which is an imported commodity and detrimental for people who are allergic to gluten. To reduce the use of wheat, alternative raw materials derived from local commodities are used, such as modified cassava flour (mocaf), arrowroot flour, and suweg flour. The experiment was carried out by mixing mocaf flour, arrowroot flour, and suweg flour to produce composite flour with a ratio of 70:15:15 (CF1), 70:20:10 (CF2), and 70:20:5 (CF3). The result showed that the ratio of mocaf flour, arrowroot flour, and suweg flour had a significant effect on pasting temperature, peak viscosity, hold viscosity, breakdown viscosity, setback, L*, a*, hue, whiteness, ∆E, as well as swelling volume and solubility on the characteristics of the composite flour. There was also a significant effect on the texture characteristics of hardness, adhesiveness, chewiness, color characteristics L*, a*, whiteness, ∆E, and flavor preference for the gluten-free pancake products. The best formulation to produce pancakes that have characteristics similar to wheat flour-based pancakes was 70% mocaf flour, 15% arrowroot flour, and 15% suweg flour.

Self-Assembled Behavior of Ultralightweight Aerogel from a Mixture of CNC/CNF from Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunches.

This study aims to explore the use of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) and cellulose nanofiber (CNF), obtained from unbleached fiber of oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB), as raw materials in fabricating aerogel, using the facile technique without solvent displacement. The CNC was isolated from sulfuric acid hydrolysis, and the CNF was fibrillated using Ultra Turrax. The CNC and CNF were mixed by ultrasonication in different ratios to produce aerogel using slow freezing (-20 °C), followed by freeze-drying. The obtained aerogel was characterized as ultralightweight and highly porous material, at the density range of 0.0227 to 0.0364 g/cm3 and porosity of 98.027 to 98.667%. Interestingly, the ratio of CNC and CNF significantly affected the characteristics of the obtained aerogel. The mixed aerogel exhibited a higher specific surface area than pure CNC or CNF, with the highest value of 202.72 m2/g for the ratio of 1:3 (CNC/CNF). In addition, the crystallinity degree of obtained aerogel showed a higher value in the range of 76.49 to 69.02%, with the highest value being obtained for higher CNC content. This study is expected to provide insight into nanocellulose-based aerogel, with a promising potential for various applications.

Oil palm empty fruit bunch-based nanocellulose as a super-adsorbent for water remediation.

Oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB)-based nanocellulose (NC) was successfully produced as a super-adsorbent for water remediation via sulfuric (NCS) and phosphoric (NCP) acid hydrolysis and functionalized with activated carbon (AC). The formation of sulfonic groups on the NCS surface could achieve higher remediation capabilities than that of EFB-NCP. In a very short period, 2 wt.% of the formulated EFB-NCS super-adsorbent showed a selective and remarkable metal adsorption capability to Pb2+ at 86% efficiency and 24.94 mg/g adsorption capacity, which were double compared to those of rice-straw NC, and maintained a similar adsorptive capacity after second reusability. Conversely, the insignificant improvement in the adsorption capacity of NCS/AC was attributed to the disturbed surface functionality of micron-size AC. The NCS/AC showed notable organic degradation capability for reducing the chemical oxygen demand (COD) to 93%. All super-adsorbents could maintain the pH, TDS, sulfate and phosphate contents within the government water quality specifications.