Titi Candra Sunarti

Potential utilization of cassava pulp for ethanol production in Indonesia

Cassava is one of the major crops produced in Indonesia. Cassava grows in all provinces in Indonesia. In the last decade, even though cassava plantation area is decreased, cassava production and its productivity in Indonesia have been on the increase steadily. The tendency of using cassava for ethanol production would affect supply of cassava for food. Cassava pulp, a by- product of tapioca industry is one of the potential biomass that can be used for ethanol production because it contains starch and fiber in significant amounts which could be further converted to ethanol. A large scale of tapioca plant having production capacity of 20 ton tapioca flour per day has a potency to produce 8.7 kL of ethanol per day. Conversion of cassava pulp to ethanol can be accomplished through different kinds of processes such as physical, chemical, biological process or combinations of those processes. The utilization of cassava pulp for ethanol production would be beneficial since the material is abundantly and continuously available in many big tapioca industries and could help in solving the problem of waste disposal of tapioca industry. However, comprehensive studies are still needed for establishment of bioethanol industry from cassava pulp. Key words: Cassava, cassava pulp, utilization, starch, fiber, ethanol. INTRODUCTION Cassava ( Manihot esculenta ) is one of the important crops in the world. Global production of cassava reached 228.14 million tons in 2007 (Wuttiwai, 2009). Nigeria and Brazil were the two most leading cassava producers. Cassava is also one of the major crops in Southeast Asia, especially in Thailand and in Indonesia. According to Wuttiwai (2009), Thailand was so far the third largest cassava producers with a total production of 26 million tons. On the other hand, Indonesia produced around 20 million tons of cassava per year with total area of plantation around 1.2 million ha (Ministry of Agriculture of Republic of Indonesia, 2009). Recently, there is a

Infrared and Raman studies on polylactide acid and polyethylene glycol-400 blend

As a biodegradableplastic, polylactideacid (PLA) can be blended with polyethylene glycol (PEG) to form a polymer blend because PEG has a good miscibility with PLA. Furthermore, this paper study the functional groups of PLA-PEG400 blend using direct casting to produce matrix film. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy was used to identify alteration of functional group PLA-PEG400 blend. Absorbance and frequency wavenumber were used to observe any changing among functional group. In general, PLA-PEG blend did not produce a new configuration or chemical properties although some functional groups tended to decrease. PLA-PEG400 film spectra showed a similaritycompared to those of neat PLA because of each pristine polymer. However, FTIR and Raman investigated reducing carbonyl group of PLA with PEG400 addition and followed improving CH-COC bonding. Methyl group represented CH3symmetricchanged both the shift and absorbance.FTIR and Raman spectroscopy observed increasing hydrogen bonding with i...

Acid Modification of Sago Hampas for Industrial Purposes

Sago pith and sago hampas mainly consist of starch and fiber. In this research, acid modification of starch and fiber was conducted by high-temperature (autoclaving) and microwave-assisted treatments and slow or mild acid hydrolysis. Autoclaving and microwave-assisted treatments influenced the gelatinization and solubilization of starch granules to produce depolymerized starch and changed the fiber structure to become more amorphous forms. Heating in dilute acid produced high soluble total sugars with high dextrose equivalent, but the process also released hydroxymethylfurfural as undesired by-products. Slow or mild acid hydrolysis attacked the amorphous regions of starch and fiber. It did not change the starch and fiber crystallinity pattern but increased the degree of crystallinity. Acid modification techniques for sago starch and its fiber can be used for producing certain products such as starch sugar, fermentable sugars, and filler for biofoam production.

Thermoplastic Cassava Starch-PVA Composite Films with Cellulose Nanofibers from Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunches as Reinforcement Agent

Thermoplastic starch-polyvinyl alcohol composite films were prepared by casting method with cellulose nanofibers as reinforcement agent and glycerol as plasticizer. The obtained cellulose nanofibers with a diameter of  nm were isolated from oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFBs) by mechanical treatment. The addition of cellulose nanofibers until 3 wt% increased tensile strength and crystallinity of the composite films. In contrast, it decreased their elongation at break and water vapor transmission rate. Meanwhile, the addition of glycerol increased elongation at break and water vapor transmission rate of film matrix but lowers tensile strength of composite films.

Genetic algorithm based multi-objective optimization of wheat flour supply chain considering raw material substitution

The aim of this study was to develop multi-objective optimization model for wheat flour supply chain. The model was developed by considering raw material substitution with local flour. The local flour such as mocaf, tapioca, sweet potato, modified corn flour etc. can substitute a part or whole of wheat flour for wheat flour-based product application. However, raw material substitution can impact supply chain network, raw material supply policy, and product quality so that it is important to optimize supply chain for that case. In this work, we used mocaf as flour substitution for wheat flour in wheat flour mill. We developed multi-objective supply chain model that minimized total cost and maximized product quality. Genetic algorithm approach was used to solve the optimization problem. For numerical experiment, we used supply chain configuration consisting of three wheat suppliers, three mocaf suppliers, three wheat flour mills, four distribution centers, and two food factories.

Effect of Corn Hominy and Polyvinyl Alcohol on Mechanical Properties of Cassava Starch-Baked Foam

Agromaterials such as starch and fiber are very promising raw materials to reduce our dependence on polystyrene. Corn hominy, a by-product of the corn milling industry, is a potential source to reinforce starch-baked foam. The effects of corn hominy and PVOH addition on mechanical properties of Cassava starch foam were investigated. Different formulations of Cassava starch, corn hominy and PVOH were mixed with liquid to get total solids at 50% and baked in a thermopressing machine at 150–170°C for 2 min. The results showed that corn hominy and PVOH addition can improve compressibility and tensile strength of the foams but gave denser foam and darker color. Ratio of tapioca: corn hominy: PVOH = (75:25):30% gave the best foam properties. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Biodegradation of Solid Wastes of Agar Seaweed Processing Industry by Indigenous Cellulolytic Bacillus Pumilus LA4P

Indonesia is known as second seaweed producer in the world after China. Gracilaria sp seaweed is important commodity in industry, as raw material to produce agar and it derivate products. Solid wastes of agar seaweed processing industry contain considerable amounts of cellulose. It can effectively be utilized either as a major source of energy feedstock or as a r aw material for production of high value product. Here, hundreds of cellulolytic bacteria were screened and isolated from solid wastes of agar seaweed processing industry. Among the isolates, LA4P strains showing higher potential for practical uses were purified on solid wastes of agar seaweed processing Industry; (SWA) agar plates and identified as Bacillus pumilus strains by morphological, physiological, and biochemical characterization and 16S rRNA gene analysis. The production patterns of cellulose degrading enzymes were investigated during cell culture. The isolated strains produced CMCase, Avicelase, â-glucosidase, and cellobiase enzymes, which suggested synergic cellulolytic systems in Bacillus pumilus LA4P.