## 3 Results and Discussion  
### Physicochemical Characteristics of Bagasse  
Table 3 shows the physicochemical properties of crude bagasse (_Saccharum officinarum_). Based on the table, the recorded moisture content in bagasse was 32.7%, slightly lower than in the previous studies. According to [PERSON] et al. [19], the common recorded moisture content of bagasse was between 45% to 70%. Lower moisture content is preferable as lesser raw bagasse is required for powder production, can last longer, and produce higher powder yield. Agro-wastes with high moisture content, such as banana stems, need to be used in greater quantity compared to the wastes of sufficiently low moisture content. Moreover, agro-wastes with high moisture content tend to possess a shorter lifespan as they will decompose or even rot faster than oven-dried sources [20]. Not limited to that, raw agro-wastes with high moisture content will be difficult to grind as water act as a plasticizer that bridge the particles, hence increasing the cohesiveness of the powder [21; 22]. Many studies have been carried out on different types of natural coagulants. Based on the studies, researchers agreed that active coagulant agents are mainly contributed by either protein or polysaccharide contents [23]. Based on Table 3, bagasse records higher polysaccharide content compared to protein content. This finding is in agreement with a study by [PERSON] [24] who reported that protein content in bagasse is lower compared to polysaccharide content with a difference of up to 60%. Differences between current findings and previous findings may rise due to the raw agro-wastes themselves. Previous studies identify the protein and polysaccharide content from fresh sources while this study focuses on recycling agro-waste that will be later processed into natural coagulant. Comparing protein with polysaccharide content, protein is unsuitable to be considered as an active coagulant agent due to its very low concentration. If protein is considered as the active coagulant agent, a lot of raw agro-wastes are required to be processed into natural coagulants for commercial applications. In addition, based on previous studies, natural coagulant from sources from stem relies on high polysaccharide content while natural coagulant from seeds relies on high protein content [23]. All agro-products contain a certain amount of oil concentration in the form of crude fat content. According to [PERSON] et al. [12], high oil content in agro products can reduce the extractability of active coagulant agents in the natural coagulant and require extraction using alcohol to remove. Based on Table 2, the oil content in bagasse was 14.4 mg/L. By comparing oil concentration with polysaccharide content, bagasse has a very low oil content. Similar to a study by [PERSON] et al. [25], the concentration of oil in the stem is only 2% while the concentration of polysaccharides in stems can exceed 70%. Therefore, the extraction process using alcohol is unnecessary as the recorded oil content in bagasse is extremely low and alcohol extraction would not improve the active coagulant agent concentration. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline
**Composition** & **Unit** & _Saccharum officinarum_ (Bagasse) \\ \hline Moisture content & \% & 32.7 \(\pm\) 3.8 \\ Yield & \% & 18.5 \(\pm\) 5.6 \\ Protein content & mg/mL & 0.9 \(\pm\) 0.2 \\ Polysaccharide content & mg/mL & 74.5 \(\pm\) 2.4 \\ Oil content & mg/L & 14.4 \(\pm\) 1.1 \\ Ferric content & ppm & 0.1 \(\pm\) 0.003 \\ Aluminium content & ppm & 0.3 \(\pm\) 0.02 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 3: Physicochemical composition of _Saccharum officinarum_. Aluminium sulfate (Al\({}_{2}\)SO\({}_{4}\)) and ferric chloride (FeCl\({}_{3}\)) are commonly used chemical coagulants that are rich in positively charged ions (Al\({}^{3+}\) and Fe\({}^{3+}\)) for water and wastewater treatment. Hence, this study analyzes metal content in bagasse to identify if metal contents could be a possible active coagulant agent.