Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) is described as purified, partially depolymerised cellulose prepared by treating α-cellulose, obtained as a pulp from fibrous plant with mineral acids. Groundnut husk of 1.00mm particle size was selected for the alkali treatment using sodium hydroxide. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was used to optimize the extraction of alpha cellulose from groundnut husk (Arachis hypogaea) a specie of Samnut 10, it was treated using alkali method using different concentration of NaOH. The independent variables include time, concentration and temperature were optimized using central composite design (CCD). The Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that temperature was the most influential factor for the extraction of alpha cellulose. Under optimal conditions; temperature at 800C, time at 1h and concentration ratio of 0.90, the percentage yield and percentage purity of the alpha cellulose obtained were 76.44% and 40.89% respectively. The theoretical values for the percentage yield of the extracted alpha cellulose were close to the experimental one, resulting in small error percentages of 2.73% and 0.187%, respectively. Thus, it can be concluded that the RSM technique based on CCD design is suitable for optimizing the variables influencing the extraction of alpha cellulose.
Citation: Hassana. A. G, Ameh .O. Alewo and M. T. Isa (2021) Optimization of Process Parameters for the Alkali Treatment of Alpha Cellulose from Groundnut Husk (Arachis hypogaea), International Journal of Engineering and Advanced Technology Studies, Vol. 9, No.2, pp.1-18
Keywords: Groundnut husk (GH), groundnut husk (Arachis hypogaea), microcrystalline cellulose (MCC)
