Formation Of Oxalic Acid from Melting Used Newspaper with NaOH Solution

Abstract

Organic acids are generally derivatives of carboxylic acids. One example of a carboxylic acid derivative is oxalic acid. Oxalic acid is a strong organic acid with a pKa value of 1.3 and 4.3. Oxalic acid can disrupt the intestinal lining if consumed and can be fatal if in high doses. Oxalic acid can combine with metals such as calcium in the body to form oxalate crystals that can disrupt the intestines and kidneys.
This study aims to determine the characteristics of the functional groups of oxalic acid produced from paper waste by the alkali melting method using the FTIR instrument.
The results showed that the analysis of oxalic acid using melting point, pH meter, spectrometer and Fourier Transform InfraRed (FTIR) instrument, oxalic acid produced from paper waste has almost the same characteristics as pure oxalic acid. The melting point of synthetic oxalic acid from paper waste is 1.94 and pure oxalic acid is 1.87. The degree of acidity (pH) of synthetic oxalic acid from wastepaper is 1.97 and pure oxalic acid is 1.56. The refractive index of synthetic oxalic acid from wastepaper is 1.568 and pure oxalic acid is 1.475 and the FTIR analysis of synthetic oxalic acid from wastepaper has an absorption area, similarity of functional groups and vibration modes that are almost the same as pure oxalic acid.