BANANA BARK

Banana is one of the most vital fruit crops cultivated in tropical parts of
the world. Fiber from pseudo stem and peduncle of four commercial
cultivars of Tamil Nadu like Grand Naine, Poovan, Monthan and
Nendran were extracted using newly advanced banana fiber extraction
machine.

Physical Composition

Cellulosic Fiber
1. Pseudo stem (2.71%) and peduncle (1.09%) from Poovan.
2. Grand Naine (1.07% and 0.63%,).
3. Cellulose
4. peduncle fiber (60.27%)
5. Nendran pseudo stem fiber (59.23%).

Non- cellulosic

Monthan pseudo stem fiber

1. Hemicellulose (15.75%)
2. Lignin (21.56%)
3. Pectin (4.08%)
Mechanical Properties
1. Tex and fiber diameter decides the fineness.
2. Fine fibers pseudo stem of 24.23 tex and Nendran 0.119 mm.
3. The breaking load
The peduncle fibers of Nendran cultivar 332.33 g, 2.01% and
39.56 g/tex).
4. Tenacity
Nendran peduncle fibers (22.92 g/tex)

Monthan peduncle fibers (15.36 g/tex).

Chemical properties
The highest cellulose content was observed in:
1. Nendran peduncle (60.41%)
2. Nendran pseudostem (59.22%).
3. Naine pseudostem (48.19%)
4. Naine peduncle (48.31%)
Extraction of fiber

 Leaves can be extracted by a extraction machine. It used to strip

bark, skin, wood, stalk, and grain.
 The extraction process is conducted after pseudo-stem’s leaves
are cut.
 The common method used
1. water retting
2. scraping.

Step1:
Tuxing: it is the process of separating the fiber bundles from the
remaining parts.
 Then the leaves are stripped from the cut pseudo-stems.
 outer part is held firmly and pulled out.
 The width of fiber from this tuxing process is approximately 5–
8 cm.
Step2:
To take out the gum or non-fibrous and other residual materials
contained in the fibers after last process is done.
 Then the fibers are then thoroughly washed and dried carely.
 In general, there are only 11 exterior leaf sheaths in the banana
pseudo-stem that can be extracted for its fibers.
 All the fibers inside the sheaths have generally poor strength.
 The peeling of these fibers is found very difficult due to their
brittleness and poor strength.

Decorticator machine:

1. The decorticator machine consists of a rotating drum mounted on

a shaft.
2. On the circumference of the drum are mounted several blades
which create a beating action as the drum is rotated by an
electrical drive.
3. As the drum rotates, the pseudo-stem is fed between the drum
and backing plate or feeding roller.
4. After, this action the pulpy material is removed when it is half way
through.
 5. The pseudo-stems are slowly pushed from the drum and fall out to
the conveyer belt, and eventually, the fibers are collected on the
bucket.

Step3:

 The next process is degumming process is to take out

foreign mattesr that are then washed and dried at room
temperature of 27–32°C ( approx) for certain time. 

Products
1. Paper,
2. Mask
3. Tea bags,
4. Currency notes
5. Dress materials.
6. Cups and Glasses.
7. Purse
8. Chappals