International Journal of Environment and Bioenergy, 2012, 4(1): 1-7 International Journal of Environment and Bioenergy

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1 International Journal of Environment and Bioenergy, 2012, 4(1): 1-7 International Journal of Environment and Bioenergy Journal homepage: ISSN: Florida, USA Article Characterization and Evaluation of Banana Waste (Musa paradisica L.) as a Raw Material for Paper Production Sameer Farooq 1, *, Sabia Zafar 1, A.Q. Rather 2, Tahir Ali 3 1 Division of Environmental Sciences, SKUAST-K, Shalimar, India 2 Division of Entomology, SKUAST-K, Shalimar, India 3 Division of Soil Sciences, SKUAST-K, Shalimar, India * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; sam.9093@gmail.com. Article history: Received 20 August 2012, Received in revised form 16 September 2012, Accepted 17 September 2012, Published 18 September Abstract: Nearly 16.5 million tones of banana fruit are produced per annum in India, which are 46% of total world production. The crop produces more than one billion tones of banana waste (leaves and stem). The banana waste was evaluated as a raw material for paper production. Studies on the proximate analysis of banana fibre, black and wash liquor analysis and paper strength characteristics were conducted. The results showed that ash, hot water solubility, alcohol benzene solubility, 1% sodium hydroxide solubility, lignin and hollocellulose were to the tone of 2.40, 25.56, 7.02, 24.70, and 67.56%, respectively. The values of black liquor which include ph, total solids, chemical oxygen demand and color absorbance were 8.06, 5.51%, 6000 ppm and 614 respectively, while as for wash liquor the respective values were 7.77, 0.658%, 800 ppm and The physical strength properties of standard sheets of 60 gsm of beaten pulp at 8% alkaline peroxide pulping were as tensile strength (41.56 Nm/g), tear index (10.45 mn.m 2 /g), burst index (2.15 kpa m 2 /g) and double fold number (12.22). The corresponding values of those standard sheets where no chemical was added were Nm/g, 6.83 mnm 2 /g, 1.32 kpa m 2 /g and 5, respectively. Results revealed that the banana waste was well suited for better grades of paper as well as cheap grades of paper and board because of its better mechanical strength characteristics and good cellulose content. Keywords: banana; waste; paper; production.

2 2 1. Introduction Banana is an important fruit crop which belongs to genus Musa. It grows wild and also cultivated on large scale as a field crop as well as a backyard crop in households. India has over 186,000 hectares of land under banana cultivation yielding 200,000 tons of banana fiber (Brahma et al. 1995). The plant shows luxuriant growth in rich well drained soil with ample moisture and decaying organic matter. It can also flourish light sandy or gravelly soil as well as on the stiff but well drain clay, if the soil is fertile and facilities for irrigation are available (CSIR, 1962). In India the banana plants are abundantly cultivated mainly in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Orrisa, Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu and also in some parts of Karnataka. Banana fibers are leaf fibers extracted from pseudo stem of banana. The pseudo stem portion of the plant contains fiber suitable for making papers, ropes and twines (Saikia et al., 1997). Extraction of certain species of banana fiber and its industrial application has also been reported (Anon, 1986). The fiber is located primarily adjacent to the outer surface of the leaf sheath. Well cleaned and brushed decorticated whole leaf sheath yield 80-85% (4-6 mm), slender (mean width microm) fibers (Escolano et al., 1978). Banana stem waste is found to be one of the promising materials for paper making because it is a very good source of cellulose. Banana production in India is the highest, and the area under its cultivation is second largest, among all fruit crops grown in India. About one billion tons of dry residues are produced from this huge production, all of which goes waste due to non-availability of suitable technology for its commercial utilization. The objectives of the present study were to (a) evaluate the proximate analysis of banana waste, (b) evaluate the chemical parameters of black and wash liquor and (c) study the pulping conditions and to estimate physical strength properties of banana waste. 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Materials The banana waste selected for the present work was procured from the Mohana Mandi, Jaipur (Rajasthan) and was brought to Kumarapa National Handmade Paper Institute laboratory Jaipur (KNHPI) for further analysis. The leaves and roots were discarded and only the stem portion was used in the present investigation. The sheaths were manually removed from the stem and washed with fresh cold water (Fig. 1). The sheaths were converted to strips of 90 cm length and crushed in a three roll crusher to remove the excess water. The crushing action reduces the moisture content of the sheath up to percent. The crushed sheaths were then air dried.

3 3 Figure 1. Banana sheath washed with fresh cold water Proximate Chemical Analysis of Banana Sheath For determination of chemical constituents of the banana sheath, air dried strips were cut into chips of 3 cm length and dried in an oven. The dried chips were converted to powder in a laboratory dust making machine. The powdered material was taken for proximate chemical analysis adopting TAPPI standard method Black and Wash Liquor Analysis The black liquor obtained from extraction of banana sheaths after digestion for 5 h in rotary six bomb digester with 8% sodium hydroxide and 2% hydrogen peroxide at bath ratio of 1:6 was analyzed in terms of ph, total solids, chemical oxygen demand and color absorbance. Similar procedure was followed to wash liquor but here no chemical was added. Table 1. Pulping conditions of banana sheath with 8% APP and without chemical S. No. Parameters 8% Alkaline peroxide pulping Without any chemical 1 AD raw material 800 g 800 g 2 Moisture % OD raw material g g 4 Sodium 8% 12.0 g - 5 Hydrogen 2% 6 ml - 6 Temperature o C Time (h) Bath ratio 1:6 1: Pulping of Banana Sheath For pulp making crushed sheath material was taken in a plastic vessel and digested in a 6 bomb digester under free conditions. Here pulping was done (a) with alkaline peroxide (the chopped banana

4 4 sheath was fed to digester with 8% sodium hydroxide and 2% hydrogen peroxide) and (b) without chemical (banana sheaths were fed to digester without any chemical and only water was added). The pulping process was conducted to extract the fibers maintaining bath ratio at 1:6 and varying cooking time 3-4 h at boiling temperature depending upon the cooking conditions. The pulping conditions are given in Table Paper Hand Sheet Making Pulps obtained from banana sheath (both with 8% APP and without any chemical) were beaten in a laboratory valley beater at 300 ml freeness (Fig. 2a & b). Standard hand sheets of 60 gsm of beaten pulp at 8% APP and digested without any chemical were made in a standard laboratory hand sheet making machine using pulp stock at 300 ml of freeness (Fig. 3a & b). The sheets were then dried in oven and kept in PVC bags for subsequent study. Figure 2a. Pulp obtained from banana sheath after beating (8% APP). Figure 2b. Pulp obtained from banana sheath after beating Figure 3a. Standard hand sheets made from banana sheath (8% APP) Figure 3b. Standard hand sheets made from banana sheaths (without chemical)

5 Paper Strength Properties The dried paper sheets were conditioned at 65% relative humidity and 27 o C for 2 h and then tested for various physical strength properties such as tensile index, burst index, double fold and tear index as per TAPPI standard methods. 3. Results and Discussion Table 2 presents the proximate analysis of the banana waste used. The contents of ash were relatively high although the values were within the permissible range of reported for tropical and subtropical species (Ververis et al., 2004). The hollocellulose values of 67.56% indicate that the banana sheaths would be satisfactory/promising raw materials for pulp and paper using the guide suggested by Nieschlag et al. (1960). The lignin content of banana waste were low indicating that this specie should be easier to pulp than wood with a lignin content of 26-30% (Moorie, 1996). The hot water, alcohol-benzene and 1% caustic soda solubles suggested the presence of high content of inorganic compounds, tannins, gums, sugars, colouring matter and starches in the banana sheath. A detail characterization of the extractives may reveal their contents and potentials. The high solubles also indicate easy access and degradation of the cell wall by weak alkali (Krishtova et al., 1998). Table 2. Proximate analysis of banana sheath S. No. Parameters Results % Testing methods 1 Ash 4.40 T 15wd-80 2 Hot water solubility T 1 wd-75 3 Alcohol-Benzene solubility 7.02 T 6 wd % NaOH solubility 24.7 T4 wd Lignin T13 wd-74 6 Holocellulose T9 wd-75 Black liquor generated during the chemical pulping process for papermaking has been an environmental concern and disposal problem for the pulp and paper industry due to its high biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), suspended solids, inorganic nutrients along with slowly degradable lignin and its derivatives (Grover et al., 1999). Rangan (1987) reported that black liquor accounts for only 10 to 15% of the total waste effluent, but contributes nearly 95% of the total pollution load of pulp and paper mill effluent. The more stringent regulations limit mill waste effluent entering waters. As a result, the pulp and paper industry has been challenged in pursuing environmentally safe and cost-effective disposal alternatives. The results of black extracted from banana sheaths after digestion with 8% sodium hydroxide and 2% hydrogen peroxide and wash liquor

6 6 are presented in Table 3. Perusal of the data presented in Table 3 shows that all values of black liquor were more when compared to wash liquor. However the values were not that high in case of black liquor. Table 3. Black and wash liquor analysis S. No. Parameters Black liquor analysis Wash liquor analysis 1 ph Total solids, % Chemical oxygen demand, ppm Color, PCU The pulp physical strength properties are presented in Table 4. The strength properties show that banana sheath is characterized by a high tensile strength and tear index but with low burst index. The tear and burst indices were comparable to those reported for wheat straw 5.2 and 5.9, respectively (Lavoie et al., 1996) and for various grasses (Madakadze et al., 1999). Table 4. Physical strength properties of banana sheath at 300 ml freeness S. No. Parameters Without any chemical 8% APP 1 Tensile index, Nm/g Tear index, mn.m 2 /g Burst index, Kpa.m 2 /g Double fold number The data presented in Table 4 show that physical strength properties of banana sheath applied with 8% alkaline peroxide pulping had higher values when compared to banana sheath where no chemical was applied. 4. Conclusions The following conclusions may be drawn from this investigation: (1) The proximate analysis showed a good cellulose and low lignin content in banana waste procured from Mohana Mandi, Jaipur (Rajasthan) which makes it better suited for paper production. (2) The alkaline peroxide pulping process (APP) was found suitable for making handmade paper utilizing banana waste at 8% dose of sodium hydroxide and 2% hydrogen peroxide. (3) The banana waste was found to be well suited for better grades of paper as well as cheap grades of paper and paper board because of its good mechanical

7 7 strength characteristics like tensile strength, tear and burst index as well as double fold number. References Anon (1986). Report of M Visvesvaraya Industrial Research and Development Centre, Bombay. Brahma Iyer, P., Vivekanandan, M. V., Sreenivasan, S., and Krishna Iyer, A. R. (1995). Indian Text. J., 105: CSIR (1962). The Wealth of India, Raw Materials, Vol. 6. Publication and Information Directorate, New Delhi. Escolano, J. O., Valmonte, A. D., and Tamolang, F. N. (1978). Conference on Wood Quality and Utilization of Tropical Species, Forpridecom College Laguna, Philippines. Grover, R., Marwaha, S. S., and Kennedy, J. F. (1999). Studies on the use of an anaerobic baffled reactor for the continuous anaerobic digestion of pulp and paper mill black liquor. Process Biochem., 34: Kristova, P., Gabir, S., Bentcheva, S., and Daffala, S. (1998). Soda anthraquinone pulping of sunflowers stalks. Ind. Crops Prod., 9: Lavoie, P., Mondor, D., Mercier, C., and Lamontagne, C. (1996). Lamela cornstalk and wheat pulps: An alternative to hardwood market pulp. TAPPI Pulping Conference, pp Madakadze, I. C., Radiotis, T., Li, J., and Smith, D. L. (1999). Kraft pulping characteristics and pulp properties of warm season grasses. Bioresour. Technol., 69: Moore, G. (1996). Nonwood Fibre Applications in Paper Making. Pira Int., Surrey, United Kingdom. Nieschlag, H. J., Nelson, G. H., Wolff, J. A., and Perdue, R. E. (1960). A search for new fiber crops. Tappi, 43: Rangan, S. G. (1987). Pollution abatement in paper industry. IPPTA Convention, 87: Saikia, C. N., Goswami, T., and Ali, F. (1997). Wood Sci. Technol., 31: TAPPI (Technical Association of Pulp and Paper Industry). (1980). TAPPI Standard and Suggested Methods. TAPPI Press: Atalanta, USA, p Ververis, C. K. N., Georghiou, P., Christodoulakis, P., and Santas, R. (2004). Fiber dimensions, lignin and cellulose content of various plant materials and their suitability for paper production. Ind. Crops Prod., 19: