PENGARUH LAMA PERENDAMAN ALKALI DAN HIDROGEN PEROKSIDA TERHADAP PERUBAHAN DIAMETER SERAT SABUT KELAPA SEBAGAI MATERIAL KOMPOSIT RAMAH LINGKUNGAN

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of soaking time in alkali and hydrogen peroxide on thechange in the diameter of coconut fiber as an environmentally friendly composite material. This research is divided intoseveral steps, namely: preparation of tools and materials, treatment, diameter measurement, analysis and discussion. Theequipment used is a set of immersion media, and digital microscopes while the materials used include alkaline solutions,hydrogen peroxide solution, distilled water, and coconut fiber. Coconut fiber was soaked for 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 hours inan alkaline solution with a concentration of 10%, then dried for 5 hours in a furnace at 90oC. Furthermore, coconut fiberwas soaked again for 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 hours in a solution of potassium permanganate with a concentration of 0.5%then dried for 5 hours in a furnace at 90oC. Then the coconut fiber was soaked again for 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 hours in ahydrogen peroxide solution with a concentration of 10% then dried for 5 hours in a furnace at 90oC. The next step isto measure the diameter of the coconut fiber using a digital microscope. In accordance with themeasurement results obtained, it can be concluded that the soaking time of coconut fiber in alkalinesolution, potassium permanganate, and hydrogen peroxide causes degradation of diameter aftersoaking. The highest percentage of diameter degradation of 58.08% occurred in the third treatment.