Optimization of pulping yield for the production of pulp and paper from banana fibre

Abstract

In this work, banana fiber was processed using soda chemical pulping technique to produce pulp and paper. Response surface methodology (RSM) approaches were utilied to optimize the pulp. The chemical composition of both treated and untreated banana fiber pulp samples were analyzed through infrared spectroscopy with Fourier transform methodology (FT-IR analysis). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to morphologically investigate the surfaces morphology of both bleached and unbleached banana fibers. RSM was applied to investigate the interating effects of temperature, sodium hydroxide concentration, and cooking time independent variables on pulp and paper production. The results of the investigation showed that the production of pulp and paper was most significantly affected by NaOH concentration. Pulp yield reached its maximum value of 65.0% under conditions employing the least concentrated sodium hydroxide treatments. The Predicted R² value of 0.9452, which is in reasonable agreement with the Adjusted R² of 0.9586, indicates that the predicted and actual percentage yields of pulp are well associated. A high correlation between the expected and actual yield is indicated by a discrepancy of less than 0.2. The paper with the highest tensile strength, 56.0 kg/cm², was generated with a maximum yield of 66.0 %, while the paper with the lowest yield, 35.97%, had a tensile strength of 50.33 kg/cm². This perspective holds that banana stem, a waste product from banana plantations, is viable for the purpose of industrial application into pulp for paper making.