Author : Tuates Jr., Andres M.; Carriedo, Aileen G.; Caparino, Ofero A.; Monserate, Juvy J.

Summary : By 2020, around 633 million kg of cacao pod husks will be generated as waste in the cacao beans processing. If not properly handled, this will create pollution and foul odor in the processing area, damage the environment, and inoculum of microorganism that may damage the cacao trees. Converting this waste into industrial products, like cellulose acetate and nanofibers can address waste disposal and environmental problems in farms and processing areas.

Cellulose from cacao pod husk was extracted from three common clones of cacao (BR25, F1, and UF18) by alkali treatment of the husk using concentrations of 10% and 18%. Preparation of cellulose acetate was done by
cetylation using acetic anhydride with the presence of sulfuric acid as a catalyst. The cellulose acetate was then characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM).

The resulting nanofibers with controllable diameters ranged from 79 nm – 351 nm. It was white to light brown in color depending on the amount of cellulose acetate added. The scanning electron microscope image showed that increasing the concentration of cellulose acetate increased the diameter of the electrospun fibers. The obtained results showed that the Cellulose acetate – chitosan blend fiber could be used as an alternative adsorbent
for the removal of Cu (II) ions from synthetic water samples.