Feerzet Achmad, Deviany Deviany, Faizatul Fikrah, Syifa Az-Zahra, Reni Yuniarti, Herri Susanto, Suhartono Suhartono, Suharto Suharto
Natural rubber is one of the leading plantation commodities widely cultivated in Indonesia to produce products useful for human needs. This research aims to determine the effect of centrifugation speed on the properties of PB 260 clone rubber using pineapple extract coagulant. Among rubber farmers, there are obstacles in processing natural rubber, such as reliance on chemical coagulants and the lack of cheap and safe alternatives. Therefore, it is necessary to find coagulants that are affordable, safe, and effective. Pineapple extract was used as the natural coagulant in this research. The latex used was 150 mL of PB 260 clone rubber, with 75 mL of 100% natural coagulant and 2% of formic acid. The rubber properties tested included Initial Plasticity (PO), Plasticity Retention Index (PRI), Mooney viscosity, dirt content, ash content, volatile matter, Dry Rubber Content (DRC), and FTIR analysis. The research results showed that the highest values for PO, PRI, DRC, ash content, dirt content, and mooney viscosity values of 39.5%, 88.61%, 30.95%, 0.48%, 0.19%, and 62 MU respectively, were obtained using 0 rpm pineapple extract (without centrifugation), with. Meanwhile, volatile matter content was highest at 0.37% with pineapple extract centrifuged at 5000 rpm. This study revealed that higher centrifugation speeds increased the pH of the natural coagulant and decreased the concentration of H+ ion, which led to an accelerating of the latex coagulation process. So it can be concluded that pineapple extract can be used as a substitute for chemical coagulants as it effectively coagulates latex. The rubber from coagulation process using pineapple extract complies with Indonesian National Standard (SNI) for rubber characteristics. Centrifuged pineapple extract offers lower value of impurities and ash content while non centrifuged extract yields higher value of Po and PRI. © 2025 Penerbit UTM Press. All rights reserved.
Chemical Engineering, Institut Teknologi Sumatera, Lampung, Indonesia; Chemical Engineering, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Bandung, Indonesia; Chemical Engineering, Universitas Jenderal Achmad Yani, Cimahi, Indonesia; Badan Riset Inovasi Nasional, Tanjung Bintang, Lampung, Indonesia