CHAPTER 1

PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE

INTRODUCTION

Bananas are high in potassium and contain good levels of protein and dietary

fiber. Bananas are rich in a mineral called potassium. This mineral is important, it helps maintain

fluid levels in the body and regulates the movement of nutrients and waste products in and out of

cells. But now, it is more beyond. Bananas are used to make innovations towards making new

products that can be used in school even in our respective homes. A great example of this is the

stem of the banana. It can be used as an alternative paper. Banana plant or plantain plant not only

gives the delicious fruit but it also provides textile fiber, the banana fiber.

Today banana stem is used as a source of raw material for preparation of a paper pulp.

This pulp is used to prepare different types of paper such as tissue, bloating, tracing and writing

printing paper. Banana stems are easily available and cultivates in large scale at the North

Eastern (NE) region of India. After harvesting, the farmer cuts the banana trees and throws away

enormous amount of these stems into the fields because after harvesting the fruit, there is no

significant use of banana trees. Constructing a tissue paper through the banana stem will be good

for farmers because after harvesting the fruit there is no use of this but using the banana stem for

the production of tissue paper will help the farmers get some money and will increase their

interest in culminating banana crops. Several industries manufacture the tissue paper using

bamboo, hardwood, softwood and jute etc. as the raw material, because it contains very good

percentage of cellulose.

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 On this basis, banana stem acts as a very suitable alternative raw material, containing

very good percentage of cellulose. Banana trees separate into mainly three parts viz. leaves, stem

and roots but the leaves and roots are cut out as it has no use. Cellulose is the main Raw Material

for tissue paper and the stem part of banana trees contain the highest percentage of cellulose.

In the North Eastern region of India, several varieties of banana trees are found, one of

which is genus musa. North Eastern region of India has very suitable weather for banana crops.

Genus musa is cultivated in large scale as well as it contains very good percentage of cellulose.

Growing worldwide importance of the utilization of various non-wood plant fibers, as an

alternative to wood pulp, in the manufacture of pulp, paper, and paperboard is now well

established (Yu et al. 1995). Many nonwood fibers, such as bamboo, jute, straw, rice, abaca, and

bagasse, are currently used in small commercial pulping operations (Darkwa 1988). Other

agricultural residues such as banana stem possess characteristics suitable for paper making

(Poonam and Gupta 1991).

There has been a lot of research on use of natural fibers in reinforcements (Lam et al.

2001; Nicemol et al. 2007). Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus

musa family musaceae and is also the name given to the fruit of this plant (Nicemol et al. 2007).

Banana pseudo-stem has been known as a potential cellulose source, though usually discarded as

agricultural waste in many countries. Over the years, an increasing preoccupation regarding

forest preservation and rational use of forest and agricultural residues has occurred.

This fact was mainly motivated by the increasing consumption of wood fiber-based

products, such as panel, paper, and boards. This demand is currently solved by using increasing

amounts of recycled fibers. Thus, in some paper grades, more than 50% of raw materials are

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secondary fibers. Annual plants could also be a new Paper Making from Banana Pseudo-Stem

201 source of lignocellulosic fibers for paper making and/or composite materials (Hornsby et al.

1997; Karolia and Malhan 2005). The cellulose content serves as a deciding factor for

mechanical properties along with microfibril angle. A high cellulose content and low microfibril

angle impart desirable mechanical properties for bast fibers.

Lignins are associated with the hemicelluloses and play an important role in the natural

decay resistance of the lignocellulosic material. The composition of banana pseudo-stem

obtained by elemental analysis was determined by Khan et al. (2013). The mechanical properties

of paper depend primarily on the morphological character of the individual fiber and on the

interaction between them (MacLeod 1995).

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Conceptual Framework

Banana plants, which belong to the family of Musaceae, are native to the Malaysia-

Indonesian region of South-East Asia. Bananas are widely produced and abundant natural

resources in tropical and subtropical countries in the world. he banana plants are considered as

one of the world’s most useful plants. Almost all the parts of this plant, for example, fruit, peel,

leaf, pseudo-stem, stalk, and inflorescence (flower), can be utilized. The banana pseudo-stem has

also been considered for use as pulp and paper raw material, fiber for textiles, and filler or

structural reinforcement in composites materials, thus can be made into an alternative paper.

Independent Dependent Variables

Variables
ODOR
QUALITY OF PAPER

TEXTURE

GREASE RESISTANCE

THICKNESS

Fig 1 Schematic Diagram: Depicting and showing the relationship of the variables of the study.

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Statement of the problem

The study aims to create a paper from banana pseudo stem and to know what are the

effective ways to create a good quality of paper.

Specifically, this will answer the following question:

a) How good the quality of the paper?

b) What are the essential materials to be used?

c) To identify the importance of banana paper in our environment?

Objectives

1. Processing banana pseudo stem into eco bags.

2. For an alternative paper.

Significance of the study

The world is vastly changing. The sources that we have to create papers are now limited

due to irreversible damage of the environment. Using the banana pseudo stem is a great

alternative. Banana paper is ecofriendly and can be useful in any type of work. By creating a

banana paper natural resources can be saved and many uses for the near future.

It is deemed beneficial to:

Students: The said product can be used as an alternative in making visual aids.

Individuals: They can use the said paper as an alternative paper bag, can also be used to

wrap bouquets.

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 Office: Office personnel can make use of it by making it as a notepad planner.

Hypothesis

HA: If the researcher knows the effective ways to create a banana paper out from banana

pseudo stem then the researcher be able to create a good quality of banana paper.

Scope and Delimitation

This study focuses only on creating paper out of banana pseudo stem. As for the kind of

banana, the researcher uses only one kind of banana which is “kadisnon” in creating a good

quality of banana paper in affective way.

Definition of terms

Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) – also known as caustic soda or lye, is a highly versatile

substance used in a variety of manufacturing processes. Sodium hydroxide is a co-product of

chlorine production. Sodium hydroxide is used to manufacture many everyday products, such as

paper, aluminum, commercial drain and oven cleaners, and soap and detergents. In many paper

making processes, wood is treated with a solution containing sodium sulfide and sodium

hydroxide. This helps dissolve of the most unwanted material in the wood, leaving relatively

pure cellulose, which form the basis of paper. In the paper recycling process, sodium hydroxide

is use to separate the ink from the paper fibers to be reused again.

Banana Fiber – Banana fiber is a natural fiber with high strength, which can be blended

easily with cotton fiber or other synthetic fibers to produce blended fabric and textiles. Banana

fiber also finds use in high quality security/currency paper, packing cloth for agriculture produce,

ships towing ropes, wet drilling cables etc. A lignocellulosic fiber, obtained from the pseudo-

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stem of banana plant (Musa septennium), is a bast fiber with relatively good mechanical

properties, can be used for various purposes such as in textile, paper or handicrafts industry.

Banana paper is versatile as it is waterproof and stronger than wood-pulp paper, meaning it can

be used in packaging and even as a basis for building materials.

Banana Pseudo Stem – the pseudo stem is the part of the banana plant that looks like a

trunk. Is form by the tightly packed overlapping leaf sheaths. Even though the pseudo stem is

very fleshly and consist mostly of water, it is quite sturdy and can support a bunch that weighs

50 kg or more.

Cardava Banana – is a triploid hybrid banana cultivar originating from the Philippines.

It is primarily a cooking banana, though it can be eaten raw. It is one of the most important

banana varieties in Philippines cuisine.

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 CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF LITERATURE AND RELATED STUDIES

Literature

Banana is one of the most important fruit crop plants and belongs to the genus Musa.

After harvesting the fruit, the plant is cut down and thrown away, mostly as waste. The banana

plant is largely divided into three parts- pseudo stem, peduncle and leaf. The pseudo stem portion

of the plant fiber is suitable for making ropes and twines (Saikia et al ., 1997). In 135 countries

and territories across the tropics and subtropics, Bananas are being produced. The majority

producers are farmers who grow the crop for either home consumption or for local markets

(Bergh, Picq, & Vézina, 2013). Banana is the second most produced fruit after citrus. It has 16%

contribution in the world’s total fruit production.

It has also stated that India is the most or the largest producer of banana in the world

estimating up to 27% of banana’s production. According to them the banana is useful in every

part just like food, feed, pharmaceutical, packaging, and many other industrial applications

(Debabandya Mohapatra, 2010).

As stated by Vigneswara, Pavithra, Gayathri, and Mythili (2015), banana fibers have a

huge contribution for textile and packaging industry. However, the banana stem forms a major

source of waste material. But today, most of banana fibers are used for making ropes and

cordage. They have compositions, properties, and structures that are suitable for using in

industrial applications (Vigneswara, 2015).

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 Banana (Musa paradisiaca, family Musaceae) is a central fruit crop of the tropical and

subtropical regions of the world grown on about 8.8 million hectares (Mohapatra, Mishra, &

Sutar, 2010). It is possibly the world's oldest cultivated crop (Bhowmik, Duraveil, Kumar, &

Umadevi, 2012). It is one of the tallest herbaceous plants with a pseudo stem. It’s tough treelike

pliable stem is composed of the sheathing twisting leaf bases, which contains fibers of sufficient

strengths to keep the tree upright. In different countries, about 300 varieties of bananas are

grown, of which a vast majority are grown in tropical Asia (Simmonds, 1962).

In spite of these various use of the banana plant, it is seen that huge portion of banana

plants are just dumped as waste causing environment hazards and making ecosystem imbalance.

Currently, millions of tons of banana pseudo stem are dumped in our country as waste and most

of the farmers are facing huge troubles in disposing the accumulated banana pseudo stem.

Therefore, an effective economic means of reducing this environmental problem by extraction of

fibre and production of many essential food products, fertilizer, bio-chemicals, papers, etc. from

banana waste (pseudo stem) can be proposed.

Banana is one of most important fruit crops grown in India. With continuous increase of

production, huge quantity of waste biomass from Pseudo stem, burnt or left situ causing

detrimental impact on environment. They have available technologies for extraction of fibers and

paper making from Pseudo stem, but it is not being adopted in industries due to lack of

awareness (Ravindran, 2016). In the study of Mohiuddin, Saha, Hossian, and Ferdoushi (2013),

Banana is one of the most important fruit crops grown everywhere in Bangladesh. In

Bangladesh, pseudo stem is abandoned and is a hazardous waste while other countries used it to

make different products. The study provided the usefulness of banana, not only the fruit itself,

but also the benefits of recreation through banana pseudostem.

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 They concluded that the research information they gathered will be of immense help to

the farmers, entrepreneurs, planners, scientists as well as the Bangladesh government to take

proper initiatives for the betterment of their nation. The banana plant has a very juicy aerial stem,

properly denoted as the pseudostem, which is a clustered, cylindrical aggregation comprised of

leaf stalk bases of leaf-petiole sheaths (Fanquiero, Mukhopadhyay, Senturk, & Yusuf, 2008).

There is also a subterranean stem, known as the corm, as well as the part that supports the

banana fruit, peduncle, stalk, or rachis. The leaves and stalk of the pseudostem are disposed of

after the fruit has been harvested. Collectively, the waste of banana production is an estimated

220 tons of byproduct per hectare annually (Padam et al ., 2012). Banana has long been

considered a food, fruit and fodder crop. In addition to this, now a day, it is also gaining

importance as a source of fiber. Annually about 1.5 million tons of dry banana fibers can be

produced from the outer sheath of pseudo stem. Being a rich source of natural fibers, the

pseudostem can be profitably utilized for numerous applications and preparation of various

products (Bhowmik, Duraveil, Kumar, & Umadevi, 2012). Banana pseudo stem is a large

biomass resource that is usually wasted, inspite of the possibility that it can be used as a source

of organic compounds such as cellulose and hemicellulose (Pereiraet al ., 2014).

The banana fiber spin ability and weaving performance were invested, so that it can be

used as a good substitute for jute in making of sacks and packaging materials (Sinha, 1973). It

was concluded that banana fiber can replace certain percentage of Mesta, a cellulosic fiber in the

composition of agricultural ropes.

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 The Mesta or allied fibers thus saved could be more profitably be used for packaging

textiles and other materials fiber yarn makes the cloth brighter, impart better dyeing properties

and can also be bleached. This additional outlet for the products of banana plantations would

benefit the farmer, but a prerequisite for economic use of banana fiber will be a steady bulk

supply, initially at a somewhat lower price than that of the existing comparable fibers. The fibers

are 1.5-2.7m long have a tensile strength and are traditionally used for making ropes (Karolia,

2005).

Pseudo stem processing and fiber extraction, the banana fiber can be extracted manually

or by machine. Manual fiber extraction is a cumbersome process. In this process, pseudo stem is

initially cut into pieces of about 60cm length and 7.5cm width. Then the pseudo stem is scraped

and the fiber is separated by using scraper or a flat blunt blade. In manual process, a skilled labor

can produce only 500- 600g of dry fiber in 8 hours’ time. On the other hand, fiber extraction

process by machine can be carried out using cutter machine which facilitates speedy splitting of

pseudo stem into 2 or 4 halves. From these halves, sheaths are separated easily. Such cutter

machine is sufficient for providing sheaths required for four rapider machines (Patil and

Kolambe, 2011). By this machinery process, pseudo stems are isolated from banana tree and

divided into pieces. Then the pieces are passed through the extracting machine, known as

mechanical decorticator and fibers are automatically extracted faster. The mechanical

decorticator contains of a pair of feed rollers and a beater (Mukhopadhay et al., 2008). After

extraction by this technique, the fibers are dipped into bio enzymes to clean and improve quality

in terms of length and softness, strength and colour which finally make the fibers shiny

(Manandhar, 2010).

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 Banana fiber is extensively used as blending material in textile industry in countries like

Philippines, Malaysia, Japan and Korea. It can be easily blended with other fibers such as jute

and mesta being natural fibers. Therefore, lots of industrial products like gunny bags, door mats,

carpets, yarn, ropes, geo-textiles, trivialities, luggage carriers and interior decorative crafts paper,

tissue paper, paper bag, etc. can be made from this fiber, where great strength is required. It has

also some industrial uses such as natural sorbent, as a base material for bioremediation and

recycling and as a natural water purifier (Mohapatra et al., 2010). Among other uses banana fiber

is used in making socks and gloves in European countries.

Banana fiber can be an alternative raw material of paper industries like writing paper,

anti-grease paper, cheque paper as well as hard board industries (Fig. 4) (Muraleedharan and

Perumal, 2010; Mohapatra et al., 2010 and Cordeiro et al., 2004). At first, raw paper materials

are collected from banana plants and fibres are collected afterwards. The collected fibers are

soaked in water prior to make pulp. Later, the extracted fiber is bleached by microbial treatment

using Trichoderma and Pythium for 3-5 days (Muraleedharan and Perumal, 2010). These fungi

act on cellulose and breaks the bonds between lingo cellulosic complex structures and lignin and

hemicelluloses are broken down and leached out (Crouch et al., 1998). It enhances the brightness

of the paper and helps to soften the fiber as well as do pulping process easier.

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Studies

Many authors, who have studied the utilization of banana pseudo stem as a bio resource,

even using a bio refinery, usually consider the whole trunk as a uniform material (Akpabio et al .,

2012). However, the pseudo stem can be separated into several sheaths. The physicochemical

properties of each sheath may be different, because they have different physiological ages and

functions. So, it could be possible to fractionate the same pseudo stem in several sheaths, as a

simple physical pretreatment, and each group of sheaths can be used for the most suitable

application in accordance to its properties instead of using a mixture of all the fractions and

performing chemical treatments to separate each organic fraction (Gabhane et al ., 2014). Pseudo

stem and peduncle are the major source of fiber for banana. These fibers can be used as raw

material for making paper, cardboards, tea bags, and etc. The strong property of pseudo stem as a

fiber is an advantage for it to be a main product for making a rope since it contains a massive

amount of cellulose. And cellulose contains an indigestible or insoluble substance, making it

hard (Preethl, 2013). According to M.K.V Karthikeyan, A.N. D. Balaji and V. Vignesh ( 2016 )

Banana ribbon is a new natural fiber, it has a polyester composites and have more improvement

than a regular fiber, they studied about the fiber and use electron microscope to probe the fiber

matrix interaction, and they learned that mat composites are used to fabricate windshield of cars

and mudguard of two wheelers.

Banana fibers are completely biodegradable, recyclable and are more environment

friendly than synthetic fibers both in terms of production and their disposal (Fanquiero,

Mukhopadhyay, Senturk, & Yusuf, 2008). Therefore, the banana products have export potential.

Unlike synthetic fibers which are largely produced from non-renewable resources, banana fibers

are made of renewable resources

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 Earlier studies relating to the productivity of banana cultivation of different varieties of

banana in various places, importance of banana, uses of the byproducts, factors influencing

banana production and measures adopted for increasing banana production are as follows:

Sangili (1980)1 found that there is inverse relation between the area under banana and

paddy cultivation in Anandanallur Block, Madurai. Another fact pointed out by this study is that

banana is a substitute crop for paddy fields and hence people cultivate more banana. He also

proved that there is a negative correlation between the cost of production and the net profit of

banana. He also pointed out that profitability of banana is higher for owners or cultivators than

for tenant cultivators. Hayeer (1990)2 in his study ‘Fruit growing in India’ studied about the

areas where banana is grown throughout the country and also in foreign countries. He estimated

that the kathali variety is cultivated in half of the banana cultivable areas in Tamil Nadu, Assam

and Travancore. Kathali is a popular variety even today. He has noted that Tamil Nadu has long

dry areas for the cultivation of banana. Having a long dry season through cold winters and hot

wind in summer affects banana cultivation in the northern parts of India.

Pandiyarajan et al., (1994)3 shows how the edible banana is given the name “Musa

Paradisica”. The prominent varieties suitable for export to Central America, South America and

Europe are Rasthali, Red Banana and Ney Poovan. Emile Frison et al., (1998)4 in their article

remarked that bananas and plantains are extremely important crops throughout the developing

countries of the tropics. They are not only a staple food crop for millions of people, but they also

provide an essential source of income through local and international trade. The plant is versatile

and, as well as being an important food source, also provides fibre, starch and alcohol. Different

types of bananas are important in different regions, but everywhere, banana and plantain

producers face growing hardships, as a result of increasing pest and disease pressures, more

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specifically, the rapid global spread of black sigatoka disease, to which many important cultivars

are susceptible. Relatively limited resources are being directed towards banana improvement. So

a considerable investment in this area is still required. It is therefore essential that researchers,

donors, and indeed the general public are made aware of the global importance of this crop, in

order to ensure that a level of resources commensurate with its importance are directed towards

its improvement in the future.

Chadha (1999)5 stated that among fruits banana accounted for the highest production and

they contributed 31 per cent of the total food production. There had been a phenomenal increase

in the production and productivity of banana which rose from 4.0 million tonnes in 1967 to 10.4

million tonnes in 1994 However, there were many problems which require to be addressed

through systematic research.

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 CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the research methodology of the study. This chapter gives details of

the materials and methods used in the process of making eco bags and alternative papers out of

banana pseudo stem. It also discusses the materials used and steps to be conducted.

Method used

This study is a quantitative study that uses experimental method and descriptive of

research to arrive at a product of eco bags and alternative papers.

Research environment

The study was conducted at Jose Rizal Memorial State University Katipunan Campus,

Barangay Dos. Katipunan, Zamboanga Del Norte. Some procedures were conducted indoor at

science building room 2.

Materials Used

Eco bags and alternative papers are made using these following tools and materials:

-2 Basin -Triple beam balance -cloth

-25 ml of Sodium hydroxide -Graduated cylinder

-Blender -Paddle

-Strainer -Containers

-Pot -pale

-Electric gas stove -water

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Data Collection and Sampling procedure

The production of eco bags and alternative papers were produced at Jose Rizal Memorial

State University Katipunan Campus, Barangay Dos. Katipunan, Zamboanga Del Norte, Science

building room 2.

To achieve the desire quality of eco bags and alternative papers out of banana pseudo

stem, process of fabrication and production play an important role on the quality assurance. The

preciseness of each detail process and reinforcement affect the test results. Methods that were

used in the process of production follows the steps below:

Collection of banana pseudo stem: This step involved the collection of banana pseudo

stem from Barangay Dos. Katipunan, Zamboanga del Norte.

Slicing the banana pseudo stem: This step involved in cutting the pseudo stem into tiny

pieces.

Measurement: This step involves the measurement of the kilos (2 kilos) of the pseudo

stem. Involves measuring of (25 ml) Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH).

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