Development of a Lignin-Based Carrier - Citronella Oil Nanoemulsion and Its Utilization as an Herbicide against Specific Weed Species.

This research aims to create an emulsion formulation utilizing lignin as a carrier and citronella oil for its application as a herbicide. The formulation composition includes lignin solution 55-62 %v/v, Tween 80 25 %w/v, propylene glycol 10 %w/v, and citronella oil 3-10 %w/v. The preparation steps involve preparing the oil phase by mixing tween 80 surfactant, propylene glycol, and citronella oil; preparing the aqueous phase by mixing lignin into distilled water at pH 12 with stirring; mixing the oil phase and the water phase accompanied by stirring at 5000-10000 rpm for 1-5 minutes until a stable solution is formed as a natural herbicide. The application outcomes revealed that the formulation successfully eliminated specific weeds within two to three days at the maximum concentration of 10 %, leaving no detectable herbicide residue after 7 and 15 days of treatment. The result demonstrates how green technology has the capacity to replace herbicides derived from chemicals, especially in the agricultural sector.

Oil palm empty fruit bunch-based nanocellulose as a super-adsorbent for water remediation.

Oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB)-based nanocellulose (NC) was successfully produced as a super-adsorbent for water remediation via sulfuric (NCS) and phosphoric (NCP) acid hydrolysis and functionalized with activated carbon (AC). The formation of sulfonic groups on the NCS surface could achieve higher remediation capabilities than that of EFB-NCP. In a very short period, 2 wt.% of the formulated EFB-NCS super-adsorbent showed a selective and remarkable metal adsorption capability to Pb2+ at 86% efficiency and 24.94 mg/g adsorption capacity, which were double compared to those of rice-straw NC, and maintained a similar adsorptive capacity after second reusability. Conversely, the insignificant improvement in the adsorption capacity of NCS/AC was attributed to the disturbed surface functionality of micron-size AC. The NCS/AC showed notable organic degradation capability for reducing the chemical oxygen demand (COD) to 93%. All super-adsorbents could maintain the pH, TDS, sulfate and phosphate contents within the government water quality specifications.