Development of nanofluid biodegradable detergent from palm kernel oil and TiO₂

In this study, biodegradable nanofluid detergent was synthesized from Palm Kernel Oil (PKO) and titanium dioxide (TiO₂). Palm Kernel Oil (PKO) is one of the palm oil products which is obtained from the extraction process of palm kernel and possibly contained in the creamer waste as fat residue from the production that is lost during the production process. PKO is used as a fat waste creamer model and can be used as a raw material of MES (Methyl Ester Sulfonate) surfactant. MES surfactant can be used as a raw material of eco-friendly detergent. MES surfactant was obtained by esterification, trans-esterification, and sulfonation process. The sulfonation process, sodium bisulfite (NaHSO₃) was varied to the methyl ester used. In detergent synthesis, the MES surfactant was varied with the addition of 0.1% TiO₂. The performance of detergent was tested by detergent stability and pollutant degradation. The biodegradability test of detergent was measured by Pseudomonas tsuzetri growth in detergent culture. In the sulfonation process, the mole ratio of 1:4 of methyl ester and NaHSO₃ showed the best performance with the lowest surface tension value 37.2 dyne/cm. The results of detergent synthesis showed that detergent with MES concentration of 3% has the best performance with stability and pollutant degradation ability about 99%. The detergent also has biodegradable characteristics compared with a commercial detergent, with the growth of P. tsuzetri reached 57.9% within 10 days.