Natural Cellulose Fiber from Mendong Grass (Fimbristylis globulosa)

Abstract

The global waste problems resulting from the use of synthetic fiber are becoming increasing environmental concerns. It would be better if the synthetic fibers give way to the natural fibers as renewable resources for environmental sustainability. New sources of natural fibers are being developed in recent years as natural fibers offer many advantages over synthetic fibers. Mendong grass is one of the natural sources of fiber. It is easy to grow and cultivate, and it offers several harvests from one plantation. The fiber has found many applications for small-scale industries and helps in economic welfare of small farmers. This chapter provides a general overview of mendong grass cultivation and obtaining fiber. The chemical, physical, mechanical, and thermal properties and prospective application of the mendong fiber are also presented. Agricultural crops, forest trees, and other plant species have many uses for the farming community. Plant-based materials have been used traditionally for food and feed. Biobased polymeric products based on green materials such as plant and agricultural stocks are the basis for forming a portfolio of sustainable, eco-efficient

Full text

Chapter 3
Natural Cellulose Fiber from Mendong
Grass (Fimbristylis globulosa)
Heru Suryanto, Solichin Solichin and Uun Yanuhar
Abstract The global waste problems resulting from the use of synthetic fiber are
becoming increasing environmental concerns. It would be better if the synthetic
fibers give way to the natural fibers as renewable resources for environmental
sustainability. New sources of natural fibers are being developed in recent years as
natural fibers offer many advantages over synthetic fibers. Mendong grass is one of
the natural sources of fiber. It is easy to grow and cultivate, and it offers several
harvests from one plantation. The fiber has found many applications for small-scale
industries and helps in economic welfare of small farmers. This chapter provides a
general overview of mendong grass cultivation and obtaining fiber. The chemical,
physical, mechanical, and thermal properties and prospective application of the
mendong fiber are also presented.
Keywords Mendong Fiber structure Mechanical properties Thermal
properties
3.1 Introduction
Agricultural crops, forest trees, and other plant species have many uses for the
farming community. Plant-based materials have been used traditionally for food
and feed. Biobased polymeric products based on green materials such as plant and
agricultural stocks are the basis for forming a portfolio of sustainable, eco-efficient
H. Suryanto (&)S. Solichin
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universitas Negeri Malang,
Jl. Semarang 6, Malang, East Java, Indonesia
e-mail: heru.suryanto.ft.@um.ac.id
U. Yanuhar
Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Fisheries and Marine Science,
University of Brawijaya, Jl. Veteran, Malang, Indonesia
©Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016
K.G. Ramawat and M.R. Ahuja (eds.), Fiber Plants, Sustainable Development
and Biodiversity 13, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-44570-0_3
35

products which compete with synthetic products in market. The production of
chemicals and materials from biobased feedstocks is expected to increase from
today’s 5 % level to about 12 % in 2010, about 18 % in 2020, and about 25 % in
2030 (Mohanty et al. 2005). Expectations are that the production of bulk chemicals
from renewable resources could reach 113 million tons by 2050. It represents 38 %
of all organic chemical production (de Jong et al. 2012).
Environmental sustainability-based technology is a global issue to move away
from synthetic material to renewable resources. The synthetic fiber benefited human
in various ways. Synthetic fibers are very durable and non-degradable, depending
on their composition and the particular application. The disposal of parts made of
synthetic fiber, such as composite for packaging containers and trash bags, also
creates an environmental problem. It requires alternative ways to secure sustainable
world development. Renewable biomaterials can be used as an alternative to replace
the synthetic products.
Natural fibers have been offering many advantages over the synthetic fibers in
recent years. The advantages of natural fiber as reinforcement composite are low
price, low density, easy to be separated, abundantly available, renewable,
biodegradable, and no health hazard (Li et al. 2007; Mu et al. 2009). Several
alternatives of fiber sources, especially agricultural by-products such as ramie
(Marsyahyo et al. 2008), banana (Venkateshwaran and Elayaperumal 2010), kenaf
(Akil et al. 2011), hemp (Beckermann and Pickering 2008), Sisal (Li et al. 2000),
Indian grass (Liu et al. 2004), Napier grass (Reddy et al. 2009), and Pineapple
leaves (Mishra et al. 2004), have been used to produce cellulose fibers.
Traditionally, mendong grass has been used for a long time by the community
for mats, rope fibers, and other product such as handbags, baskets, and furniture
mats. In Indonesia, the grass is grown as a crop cultivated in some regions of Java,
Sumatra, and Nusa Tenggara. Estimated production of mendong in Java, Indonesia,
was 14,000 tons/year (Suryanto et al. 2014b). Since it has an economic potency,
mendong needs more intensive cultivation.
3.2 Biology of Mendong Grass (Fimbristylis globulosa)
3.2.1 Taxonomy
Fimbristylis is a genus of sedges that known commonly as a fimbristyle, fimbry, or
fringe-rush. Several continents have native species, but many species have been
introduced to regions where they are not native. Mendong grass (Fimbristylis
globulosa) was categorized as cyperaceae family and genus of Fimbristylis Vahl.
This species is a synonym of Fimbristylis umbellaris (Table 3.1).
36 H. Suryanto et al.

3.2.2 Ecology
Mendong grass is originated in the Southeast Asia. This plant requires a watery
environment for better growth. Therefore, mendong grass is easily found in the
technically irrigated rice farm or swamps where there is always standing water
year-round (Fig. 3.1). Mendong grass can grow well in the area that has an altitude
of 300–700 m above the sea level, provided there is enough water, and exposed to
full sunlight. These plants do not require particular soil types, but it would be better
if planted in the sandy soils. In the marshy soils, mendong plants can also grow
well. Mendong plants require plenty of water similar to the rice plants. Therefore,
the mendong plants should not face water shortage, especially in the dry season.
The mendong plants that lack water will turn yellow producing trunk of inferior
quality. Well-maintained mendong plants flourish and produce good quality stalk
mendong for long term, which are very strong.
Before the harvest is conducted, the water that inundated the plant area is
removed in advance so that the surface of the land is visible and harvesting of
mendong can be done easily. Mendong harvest is done by cutting the stalks
mendong 3 cm above the surface of the ground using the sharp sickle leaving the
clump of roots in the soil. After 1 month, clumps will sprout again and can be
harvested after 3.5–4.5 months. This cycle is repeated up to 5 times in 2 years.
After that, the plant was dismantled for the processing of land for the next planting.
Farmers can save costs for soil tillage by harvesting five times the grass from one
sowing. Managing the harvest and post-harvest should be done adequately and
correctly to maintain the quality of mendong straw.
3.2.3 Morphology and Structure
Mendong grass is an annual plant with morphological characteristics such as stalks
green shiny, rhizomes short, fibrous roots, and grooved (Fig. 3.2). Mendong leaves
Table 3.1 Taxonomy of mendong grass (USDA 2015)
Kingdom Plantae—Plants
Subkingdom Tracheobionta—Vascular plants
Superdivision Spermatophyta—Seed plants
Division Magnoliophyta—Flowering plants
Class Liliopsida—Monocotyledons
Subclass Commelinidae
Order Cyperales
Family Cyperaceae—Sedge family
Genus Fimbristylis Vahl—fimbry
Species Fimbristylis globulosa (Retz.) Kunth—globe fimbry
3 Natural Cellulose Fiber from Mendong Grass (Fimbristylis globulosa)37

are often reduced to sessile, hairy on the edges and have a small fibula. Mendong
leaves grow on the top of the stem with some strands. Mendong straw is actually a
flower stalk. The straw is compact, slender, hollow, 0.2–0.4 cm in diameter, and
fast becoming stiff and looks like a cylinder but almost flattened beneath the flower
stalk. Straw length can reach 1.5–1.7 m. This straw is harvested and used in the
manufacture of various goods for human needs.
Mendong straw contains fiber bundles, vascular bundles, xylem, phloem, and
aerenchyma (Fig. 3.3a). The most mendong fibers are located under the epidermis.
Some fibers present near the vascular bundles in the middle of the straw. Fibers are
a bit flat shaped with varied length, and pores can be seen on the fiber wall. In the
transverse sections, the straw consists of 5–12 vascular bundles which mostly
located in the center of the straw (Fig. 3.3a, b). The fiber bundle consists of some
individual fibers (Fig. 3.3f, g). Each fiber has a lumen, middle lamella, primary
wall, and a secondary wall (Fig. 3.3d). The primary wall is usually very thin
(<1 lm), but the secondary wall is thick. It is composed of three layers, consists of
microfibrils with a different orientation that contains larger quantities of cellulose
molecules (*80 %). This wall is the main contributor to the overall properties of
fiber. The microfibrils present parallel to each other forming a steep helix around
the cell (Akil et al. 2011).
Fig. 3.1 Mendong grass in land (a), harvest of mendong grass (b), and dried mendong grass (c)
38 H. Suryanto et al.

3.3 Mendong Fiber Properties
3.3.1 Chemical Composition
The plant contains large amounts of water due to its semiaquatic habitat. Based on
the dry weight of the plant, all plant-based polymers were composed of sugars
(carbohydrates) in combination with lignin and with lower amounts extractable
proteins, starch, and inorganic materials. These chemicals are present in outer cell
wall layer consists of primary and secondary wall. The chemical composition varies
in each plant, even in the different parts of the same plant and in different plants
depending upon geographic location, age, climate, and soil conditions (Rowell et al.
2000).
Fig. 3.2 Mendong grass: asingle mendong grass, bflower, and croot
3 Natural Cellulose Fiber from Mendong Grass (Fimbristylis globulosa)39

Fig. 3.3 Structure of mendong fiber: adry mendong straw cutoff, bcomponent of fresh mendong
straw, cfiber bundle in dry mendong straw, dfiber bundle in wet mendong straw (observed by
optic microscope), eextracted mendong fiber, fsingle-fiber bundle, and gsingle-cell fiber (SEM
2000)
40 H. Suryanto et al.

The properties of fiber are influenced by the chemical composition, particularly
cellulose. Cellulose determines the strength of fibers because the cellulose has a
high modulus of 45 GPa in the plant (Mwaikambo and Ansell 2006).
Hemicellulose is a polysaccharide with low molecular weight. It often forms
copolymers with glucose, glucuronic acid, mannose, arabinose, and xylose. It may
take the form of random, amorphous branched, or nonlinear structure with low
strength. Hemicellulose easily hydrolyzed by dilute acid or alkali, or enzyme
hydrolysis (Summerscales et al. 2010). At the plant fiber level, hemicellulose serves
as a matrix for cellulose (Bergander and Salmen 2002) and responsible for moisture
absorption, both bio- and thermal degradation of the fibers.
Lignin provides rigidity to the plants. It is present localized to the luminal
surface and around porous wall area to maintain the strength of the wall and helps
transport water. Lignin is resistant to microorganisms attack due to the presence of
aromatic rings, which provides resistance to the anaerobic processes (Bismarck
et al. 2005). Lignin is thermally stable but responsible for the UV degradation of the
fibers (Yi et al. 2010; Akil et al. 2011). Lignin strength is 100 times higher com-
pared with hemicellulose at 70 % moisture level (Cousins 1976); thus, lignin can
influence the fiber structure, properties, and morphology.
The mendong fiber is composed of cellulose of 72.14 %, hemicellulose 20.2 %,
lignin 3.44 %, extractive matter 4.2 %, and moisture of 4.2–5.2 %. Table 3.2
shows a comparison of chemical content of others fibers with the mendong fiber. It
is clear from these data that the mendong fiber has high cellulose content but lower
than established fiber such as cotton and flax.
Table 3.2 Chemical content of mendong fiber as compared to other natural fibers
Fiber Cellulose
(%)
Hemicellulose
(%)
Lignin
(%)
Others
(%)
Moisture
content (%)
References
Mendong 72.14 20.2 3.44 4.2 4.2–5.2 Suryanto et al.
(2014b)
Cotton 85–90 1–3 0.7–
1.6
5.4–
13.3
8–10 Foulk et al.
(2011)
Flax 85 9 4 2 8.76–10 Foulk et al.
(2011)
Jute 58–63 20–24 12–15 –10.99 Wang et al.
(2009)
Rice
straw
64 –8 28 9.8 Reddy and
Yang (2006)
Sea grass 57 28 5 10 –Davies et al.
(2007)
3 Natural Cellulose Fiber from Mendong Grass (Fimbristylis globulosa)41

3.3.2 Physical Properties
The mendong fiber bundle is consist of some single-cell fiber having 9.16 and
923 lm diameter and length, respectively (Suryanto et al. 2014b). The mendong
fiber varies in shape and diameter. The average diameter of the fiber is 33.4 lm
with the aspect ratio and density of 101 and 0.892 g/cm
3
, respectively (Table 3.3).
The physical properties of mendong are dependent on the species, maturity, and
fertilization and site of growth. Comparison of physical properties of other fibers is
shown in Table 3.3. The mendong fiber has low density compared with cotton, flax,
rice straw, jute, and sea grass fiber.
Biofiber can be regarded as a composite of cellulose fibrils, formed in a matrix of
lignin and hemicelluloses (Jayaraman 2003). The structure and the properties of the
fibers are influenced by both dimension and arrangement in fiber bundle. High
aspect ratio of fibers will improve the modulus and strength by optimizing stress
transfer between the matrix and the cellulose.
The total content of cellulose and non-cellulose fiber constituents determines the
structure, properties, and affect to the crystallinity (Reddy and Yang 2005). The
mendong fiber was arranged by the crystalline structure of cellulose. The
semicrystalline cellulose structure of mendong produced three peaks at 2hof 16.5°,
22.5°, and 34.5°. The third peak at 34.5° corresponds to 1/4 of the length of one
cellobiose unit and arises from ordering along the fiber direction. It is sensitive to
the alignment of the chains into fibrils (Cheng et al. 2011). The amorphous com-
ponent showed the little-diffracted intensity around 18 (Fig. 3.4). The peaks showed
reflections at crystal planes of (011), (002), and (400). Widening at the 16.31° refer
to non-cellulose materials such as hemicellulose and lignin in the fibers. The major
intensity at an angle 2h= 22.5° has the same angle relative to the structure of
cellulose Ib(2h= 22.3°). Thus, the structure of the cellulose fibers is cellulose Ib
mendong in which the unit Ibcellulose structure is monoclinic (Bismarck et al.
2005). Both crystallinity and crystalline index of the mendong fiber were 70.7 and
58.6 %, respectively (Table 3.4), and the cellulose fibers extracted from the
Table 3.3 Physical properties of mendong fiber as compared to other natural fibers
Fiber Density
(g/cm
3
)
Diameter
(lm)
Fiber aspect
ratio (average)
Reference
Mendong 0.892 33.8 ±5.6 101 Suryanto et al. (2014b)
Cotton 1.5–1.6 12–38 1919 Gassan and Bledzki (1999) and Rouison
et al. (2004)
Flax 1.5 40–600 1000 Gassan and Bledzki (1999), Foulk et al.
(2011) and Rouison et al. (2004)
Rice
straw
1.36 4–16 74 Reddy and Yang (2006), Abe and Yano
(2009) and Rowell et al. (2000)
Jute 1.3 26.0 100 Gassan and Bledzki (1999), Park et al.
(2006) and Rowell et al. (2000)
Sea grass 1–1.5 5 –Davies et al. (2007)
42 H. Suryanto et al.

mendong have crystallinity and crystalline index for 85.8 and 83.5 %, respectively.
It indicates that the fiber mendong contains non-crystalline materials such as
hemicellulose, lignin, and pectin which should be cleaned to make the fibers strong.
3.3.3 Mechanical Properties
The mechanical properties of natural fibers were affected by the fiber structure,
chemical composition, and numbers of defects in a fiber. Mendong straw has
enough strength homogeneous up to a length of 60 cm from the base of the stem
with a coefficient of variation of <15 %. After 60 cm, the strength of the straw has a
variation that is too high (>20 %), as shown in Table 3.5.
Fig. 3.4 Diffractogram of both fiber and cellulose of mendong
Table 3.4 Structure of mendong fiber as compared to other natural fibers
Fiber Crystallinity
(%)
Crystalline
index (%)
Crystalline
size (nm)
Microfibril
angle (deg)
References
Mendong 70.7 58.6 14.3 22.2 Suryanto et al. (2014a)
Cotton 78.7 68 5–7–Ioelovich and Leykin (2008)
Flax 77 70 5.4 5–10 Kaith and Kalia (2008) and
Bismarck et al. (2005)
Rice straw 62.8 57 3.75 19.4 Reddy and Yang (2006)
Jute 68.89 65.8 29.25 16.9 Wang et al. (2009),
Mwaikambo (2009) and
Sinha and Rout (2009)
3 Natural Cellulose Fiber from Mendong Grass (Fimbristylis globulosa)43

The mendong fiber had tensile strength, elastic modulus, and the specific
strength of 452 MPa, 17.4 GPa, and 507 kN m/kg, respectively (Table 3.5). The
mendong fiber has a relatively high tensile strength, and fiber mendong has a lower
density so that the specific strength of the mendong fiber is over cotton, rice straw,
and sea grass fiber, but lower than jute and flax fiber (Table 3.6).
3.3.4 Thermal Properties
Thermal properties of the mendong fiber were observed by thermogravimetric test.
The heat resistance of the fiber can be seen from the decomposition process.
Curves’loss of mass and the mass loss were obtained using a sample of approxi-
mately 20 mg of sample (powdered mendong fiber), with an inert gas (Argon), the
Table 3.5 Strength distribution along mendong straw from base to top
Distance from the base (cm) Load at break (N) Coefficient of variation (%)
0–10 74.0 9.6
10–20 98.7 8.6
20–30 100.1 1.6
30–40 94.8 13.7
40–50 89.1 8.0
50–60 87.3 10.2
60–70 78.9 20.4
70–80 71.2 32.1
80–90 59.1 22.9
90–100 52.8 20.9
Table 3.6 Mechanical properties of mendong fiber as compared to other natural fibers
Fiber Tensile
strength
(MPa)
E-modulus
(GPa)
Specific
strength
(kN m/kg)
References
Mendong 452 ±47 17.4 ±3.9 507 Suryanto et al. (2014a,b)
Cotton 287–597 5.5–12.6 179–398 Gassan and Bledzki (1999) and
Rouison et al. (2004)
Flax 345–1035 27.6 230–690 Gassan and Bledzki (1999), Foulk
et al. (2011) and Rouison et al. (2004)
Rice
straw
450 26 331 Reddy and Yang (2006), Abe and
Yano (2009) and Rowell et al. (2000)
Jute 1316 91.9 1012 Gassan and Bledzki (1999), Park
et al. (2006) and Rowell et al. (2000)
Sea grass 573 ±120 1 458 Davies et al. (2007)
44 H. Suryanto et al.

heating rate of 10 °C/min. The mendong fiber decomposition test results are shown
in Fig. 3.5.
Based on Fig. 3.5, it is observed that the decomposition of the samples is a
exothermic process of chemical reaction that releases a significant amount of heat
and shows the break down of organic material (Sonibare et al. 2005). The
decomposition by thermal degradation of the whole sample shows four main stages
associated with degradation of the mendong fiber. The first step is the initial
devolatilization, characterized by the first basin in the reduction rate curve. This
stage is related to the release of water content, and volatile compounds are very
light (Chen et al. 2011). Devolatilization at the mendong fiber occurs at tempera-
tures up to 164 °C. The second step is a transition period, which is indicated by the
rate of mass loss. This is relatively stable and shows the decrease in release of
volatile compounds and start of degradation of the fiber. This stage occurs until the
temperature reaches 250 °C. In third step, the fiber decomposes rapidly, and the
decomposition of complete biomass occurs at 321 °C temperature, which further
decomposes until temperature reaches exact 350 °C. The fourth step is the slow
combustion reaction. Residual mass shows a very slow decomposition which is
characterized by low mass loss and the amount of mass that is relatively stable up to
700 °C temperature.
From Fig. 5, it is observed that the fiber mendong is less resistance to heat
degradation as the mass is lost at a constant rate until the temperature reaches 250 °C.
When it is compared to other fibers, this temperature is lower than bagasse (273 °C)
Fig. 3.5 Decomposition curve of the mendong fiber in an inert atmosphere (Argon) with a heating
rate of 10 °C/min
3 Natural Cellulose Fiber from Mendong Grass (Fimbristylis globulosa)45

(Han et al. 2010), napier grass fiber (280 °C) (Reddy et al. 2009) and higher than
maize fiber (211 °C) (Bavan and Kumar 2012).
3.4 Mendong Grass Utilization
3.4.1 Mendong Grass as Phytoremediation Plant
Metal hyper-accumulator plants can accumulate and tolerate greater metal con-
centrations in shoots than those usually found in non-accumulators, without visible
symptoms. Over 400 of hyper-accumulator plants have been reported and include
members of the families Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Cyperaceae,
Flacourtiaceae, Cunoniaceae, Fabaceae, Lamiaceae, Poaceae, Violaceae, and
Euphorbiaceae (Gratão et al. 2005).
Several cultivated plant species (maize, rice, and sugar beet) have been estab-
lished to use as metal phytoremediation (Poniedzialek et al. 2010). Plants of several
grass families are also used for phytoremediation (Żurek et al. 2013). Vetiver grass
(Vetiveria zizanioides) can absorb and promote biodegradation of organic wastes
(2,4,6-trinitroluene, phenol, ethidium bromide, benzo[a]pyrene, atrazine, and heavy
metals (Danh et al. 2009; Chen et al. 2004). Cyperaceae plants are capable of
improving soil and water contaminated by heavy metals and toxic materials. Some
species of Fimbristylis were applied as phytoremediation plants, which are
Fimbristylis globulosa (Kurnia et al. 2004;Sa’ad et al. 2011), Fimbristylis cymosa
(Paquin et al. 2006), Fimbristylis dichotoma (Muhammad et al. 2013), Fimbistylis
miliacea L. (Akutam et al. 2014), and Fimbristylis littoralis (Nwaichi et al. 2015).
3.4.2 Mendong Straw as Craft Material
Mendong straw is used for several craft items such as woven handicrafts and wicker
crafting mats, hats, ropes, bags, wallets, fancy paper, and others. A good mendong
straw has good length and flexibility. Once harvested, the mendong straw is dried in
the sun, for 4–6 h in dry season or for several days in rainy season. Drying twice
produces good quality mendong straw. The first drying is performed immediately
after the harvest, while the second drying is conducted after the first drying and
soaking in water overnight. After coloring, mendong is used to make into various
forms of handicrafts as shown in Fig. 3.6.
46 H. Suryanto et al.

3.4.3 Mendong Fiber as Reinforcement in the Polymer
Composite
The natural fiber has several advantages if applied in polymer composites because
they are low price, low density, can be easily separated, abundantly available,
renewable, biodegradable, and have no health hazard (Li et al. 2007; Mu et al.
2009). Fiber from crop plants such as ramie, jute, and hemp have already been
established as reinforce fiber for the composite. Some of these fibers from crop have
Fig. 3.6 Craft product from mendong straw: arope, bmat, cbag, and dfitting basket
3 Natural Cellulose Fiber from Mendong Grass (Fimbristylis globulosa)47

applied as reinforcement in the polymer composite such as rice straw (Reddy and
Yang 2006), wheat straw (Reddy and Yang 2007a), Indian grass (Liu et al. 2004),
switch grass (Reddy and Yang 2007b), and napier grass (Reddy et al. 2009).
High specific strength is the characteristic of the mendong fiber which is worthy
to explore as reinforcement material in the polymer composite. The high specific
strength is making it suitable for lightweight composites with applications in the
field of road transport as a complementary component. Before its use for composite
reinforcement, mending fiber should be soaked in sodium hydroxide solution with a
concentration of 5 % for 2 h to increase the strength of the fiber as well as cleaning
of fiber surface. Such treatment increases fiber strength to about 10 % (Suryanto
et al. 2014a). As reinforcement composite, the mendong fiber has a critical length of
630 lm in matrix epoxy and interface shear strength of 11.1 MPa (Suryanto et al.
2015). This value is lower than hemp fiber in polypropylene matrix (Beckermann
and Pickering 2009) and ramie fiber in polypropylene matrix (Awal et al. 2011).
This low value of critical fiber length indicates the better stress transfer of the
mendong fiber as reinforcement in the polymer composite. With the low (0.63 mm)
critical length of fiber and the convenience in the extraction process, the processing
to make composite is easier with these fibers.
3.4.4 Mendong Fiber as Source of Microcrystalline
Cellulose
Microcrystal cellulose (MCC) is cellulose with fine size. Microcrystal cellulose had
been used in different fields such as both binder and filler in medical tablets, fat
replacer and stabilizer in the food industry, and a composite material in the plastic
industry (Terinte et al. 2011). It was characterized by the size (diameter in
micrometers) of the fibers. These fibers consist of crystalline cellulose that has a
width of about 5 nm and a length of about 20–30 nm (Leppänen et al. 2009).
Usually, MCC is obtained from woody pulp. It means that it is produced from
the trees following deforestation. There is a need for environment-friendly process
with slowdown of the fast global deforestation. The use of plants having short life
cycle, such as mendong grass, needs to be encouraged. The initial research was
conducted with by extracting MCC from cellulose fibers of mendong through a
chemical extraction sequence (Fig. 3.7). The results obtained show MCC with a
crystallinity of 83 %. This value is lower by 3 % compared with the commercial
MCC (Suryanto et al. 2013).
48 H. Suryanto et al.

3.5 Conclusion
Mendong grass is the plant with a potential future that has a variety of applications
for the needs of community. This plant has been successfully characterized in the
biological structure, its properties such as physical, mechanical, chemical content,
and thermal degradation in comparison with other natural fibers. Because of high
cellulose content and specific strength, mendong fiber is an excellent material to be
used in the fields of biocomposites and handicrafts, as well as a source of cellulose
microcrystal. Exploitation of this plant needs to be done so that this plant can be
applied to other fields.
Acknowledgments Gratefulness to the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education,
Indonesia, through the competitive research Grant 2013 and the fundamental research Grant with
Contract No. 9.4.3/UN32.14/LT/2015.
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Fig. 3.7 Extraction of MCC from mendong fiber
3 Natural Cellulose Fiber from Mendong Grass (Fimbristylis globulosa)49

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