Optimization of microwave-assisted liquefaction of oil palm empty fruit bunch fiber (EFB) and cellulose (EFBC) in ethylene glycol (EG) was carried out to produce polyols. The liquefaction residues and hydroxyl numbers of the resultant polyols from respective sources were studied and compared. EFB produced a minimum residue of 3.22% at the optimal parameters of 160 °C and 15 min. Meanwhile, optimum liquefaction of EFBC produced 1.03% residue at 175 °C and 40 min. The maximum hydroxyl numbers of both EFB (749.22 mg KOH/g) and EFBC (639.91 mg KOH/g) polyols were obtained at optimum conditions. FTIR analysis revealed the degradation mechanism of cellulose and lignin in EFB at different temperatures. Lignin was found to be liquefied easily at lower temperatures (130 and 145 °C). However, most of the cellulose began to be liquefied at the optimum temperature (160 °C) and severely degraded at higher temperatures (175 and 190 °C).

中文翻译：

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微波加热生产液化油棕空果束基多元醇

进行了微波辅助油棕空果束纤维（EFB）和纤维素（EFBC）在乙二醇（EG）中的液化以生产多元醇。研究并比较了来自各个来源的所得多元醇的液化残基和羟值。在160°C和15分钟的最佳参数下，EFB产生的残留物最小为3.22％。同时，EFBC的最佳液化在175°C和40分钟时产生1.03％的残留物。在最佳条件下，获得了EFB（749.22 mg KOH / g）和EFBC（639.91 mg KOH / g）多元醇的最大羟值。FTIR分析揭示了不同温度下EFB中纤维素和木质素的降解机理。发现木质素在较低温度（130和145°C）下容易液化。然而，