Penyiapan Bahan Baku dan Pemanfaatan Ampas Pengolahan Agar- Agar dari Gracilaria verrucosa menjadi Kertas Ramah Lingkungan

Abstract

Preparation of raw materials for this study begins with the observation of seaweed post harvest activities include harvesting, washing, drying, and packing. Washing and drying is a combined process that most affect the quality of dried seaweed and extracted result. Agar is one of the product from Gracilaria verrucosa with the by-product’s pulp extraction process. The purposes of this study to know the preparation of raw materials, including post-harvest handling as well as physical and chemical properties of Gracilaria verrucosa and increase value-added processing of gelatinous pulp. The gelatinous residue pulp is as raw material for paper making due to its fibrous structure. Seaweed pulp was bleached using H2O2 solution with a concentration of 5% for two hours and then mixed with kaolin, tapioca, cassava, and newsprint with percentage weight 5% and 10% of the total wet weight. Formed pulp printed with size 30 cm x 20 cm. The results showed that the difference in percentage newsprint of weight addition did not significantly affect moisture content, gramatur, and print opacity of the paper. The difference in the percentage of weight increase affects only newsprint paper whiteness.