Lignocellulose: A Multi-Functional Biomaterial Source of Agroindustrial Waste

        Currently, environmental problems have pushed researchers to develop new technologies that are environmentally friendly. One of them is the exploration of renewable raw materials that can be used as raw materials for the development of various products. Biomaterials that get a lot of attention are lignocellulose wastes. In general, this waste is generated by the agroindustry conversion process. The utilization of agro-industrial waste allows an impact on reducing pollution due to the decomposition of organic wastes. The process of decomposition of organic waste has been known to release greenhouse gas compounds which will accumulate continuously. This process has an impact on global climate change. In addition, the use of lignocellulosic material also has the potential to substitute or replace the use of synthetic materials which have been reported to be very harmful to the environmental ecosystem.

        Lignocellulose is a plant structure maker that consists of three main components, namely lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose. It also contains extractive compounds such as wax (wax) and minerals. These main compounds, have been exploited and are potentially used as commercial products. On plant stems, lignin functions as a binding material of the other constituent components, so that a tree can stand upright. Its function can be analogous to the function of cement which binds stones or sand to form concrete structures. In the lignin compound industry has been widely isolated and used as an adhesive, rubber filler, as a raw material for vanillin, disulfonation to lignosulfonate, and so on. Phenol compounds as antioxidants which have wide application in various fields, especially in the health sector. Lignin is also used as a dispersant for dyes and pesticides.

        Cellulose is the most constituent of plant walls, which is almost 60% of the constituent components of wood structures. Cellulose in the industry has been used extensively. In the textile industry, cellulose can be used in making artificial silk, rayon, or viscose. The pulp and paper industry as a raw material for paper, the absorbent material industry as a material for baby diapers, paper, tissue, sanitary napkins, and others. Food industry for Carboxy Methyl Cellulose (CMC), and industry producing cellulose acetate and cellulose nitrate as plastic and textile materials (rayon). Various types of wood can also be used before being processed for cellulose, for example: for building materials such as floors, walls, doors, frames and for railroad pads, electric poles, telephones, for musical instruments, sports equipment, ship parts, bus, train, aeromodelling, and others. At present, cellulose has been converted from macro-size to nano-size which is often referred to as nanofiber cellulose. Nanofibersellulosa is believed to be a biomaterial that has superior characteristics that have been widely applied in various fields.

        Hemicellulose is a component that fills the space between cellulose fibers in plant cell walls.  Hemicellulose is composed of glucose, mannose, galactose, xylose, and arabinose. These components have also been widely used in various industries. In the food industry, components such as glucose, galactose, and xylose are used as sweeteners. In fact, xylose has been known as a sweetener raw material for diabetics.

        Based on the benefits and great potential possessed by lignocellulosic wastes which are very abundant and renewable, then the manufacture of various products based on lignocellulosic wastes is very possible to be applied at the pilot plan scale. However, there are still many challenges, such as how to produce isolation and fractionation technology from materials or compounds that are expected to achieve the expected level of purity, considering that lignocellulose is a complex polymer consisting of simple compounds that are bound together.