Abstract:
The research aimed to extract
high-quality pectin from water hyacinth for
less soluble hydrogel production. The product
adds value to water hyacinth waste and helps
solve environmental problems. The high
degree of esterification pectin can be prepared
as a hydrogel, which can be used in various
pollution treatment applications. The quality
of pectin depended on raw materials and
extraction conditions. The optimum condition
was initially predicted using the response
surface method (RSM). Three extraction
variables were studied, including pH 1.0-4.0,
temperature 50-110ºC, and extraction time
30-240 min. A total of seventeen runs
including five replicate runs were studied.
Functional groups of pectin were studied
using Fourier Transform Infrared
spectrophotometry. The degree of
esterification and emulsifying properties were
determined for assessing the quality of
extracted pectin. The result revealed that the
extraction conditions strongly affected both
the yield and the quality. The condition of pH
2.5, 110ºC, and 30 minutes had the highest
degree of esterification of 94.13 % but low
yield (1.42%). On the other hand, under the
conditions of pH 1.0, 110ºC, and 135 min
extract time had the highest yield of 3.85%
(about 76.6% of pectin content) however the
degree of esterification is low at 43.25 %.
Two mathematical models were proposed for
yield and number of ester groups. The result
will be used for the selection of high-quality
pectin to produce insoluble hydrogel for
pollution treatment in the future.
