Papermaking from Trunk of Banana for Producing Envelope Packaging

摘要

The objectives of this project are to study banana trunk papermaking process,to produce bananatrunk paper appropriate for envelope packaging, and to identify its optical, mechanical and physical properties.In this experiment, the optimal condition in pulping through soda processing was calculated. Thereafter, thebanana pulp underwent a bleaching process. Consequently, standard handsheet paper and handmade sheetpaper were produced from the banana pulp. The standard handsheet paper was utilized to obtain its optical,mechanical and physical properties and the handmade sheet paper was utilized in envelope packaging production.In this experiment 30 percent of sodium hydroxide was used in pulping through soda processing. Whenthe mechanical property of banana trunk paper was compared with that of standard 110 gram kraft paper, bananatrunk paper yielded higher tear resistance result than that of standard 110 gram kraft paper. It was alsorevealed that the brightness and opacity of banana trunk paper were comparable to those of standard 110 gramwriting paper. However, the banana trunk envelopes cannot be used in holding heavy items due to the unevendistribution of the fiber formation of banana trunk.