Bleaching temperature. The bleaching treatment was run using 60 ml/l of the peracid mixture at varying temperatures,namely, 30◦C, 50◦C and 70◦C. The bleaching treatment was run for 120 min using a material to liquor ratio of 1:30. The pH of the bleaching medium was adjusted initially at pH 6.5 and the bleaching continues for 30 min, then the medium is turned alkaline at pH 11 and the bleaching continues for extra 30 min. Fig. 5A and B shows, respectively, the rate of peracid decomposition and the rate of hydrogen peroxide decomposition. Fig. 6A, B and C shows the loss in weight of empty fruit bunch cellulose, the whiteness index of the bleached samples and the chemical properties of the bleached empty fruit bunch samples.