Coconut Husk, a Lignocellulosic Biomass, as a Promising Engineering Material for Non-wood Paper Production

ABSTRACT

Plant fiber classified as environmentally friendly material is a promising renewable engineering material rich in lignocellulose that can be employed in the pulp and paper industry as a substitution to wood which has been entailing negative environmental impacts due to acute deforestation. This paper assesses the feasibility of manufacturing biodegradable, writable and eco-friendly papers from waste coconut husk which is a low-cost and locally available biomass. The biomass was used along with wastepaper in different ratios. Papers of 60 gm⁻² were produced with and without binder. Starch was added as binder to strengthen the paper and increase its resistance to bursting and abrasion. The properties of the paper were assessed through physical and mechanical tests. The mean thickness of the unreinforced and starch reinforced papers were 0.267 ± 0.012 mm and 0.282 ± 0.016 mm respectively. The reinforced 100% coconut husk paper specimens demonstrated greatest tensile and burst index of 19.25 Nmg⁻¹ and 2.266 kPam²g⁻¹ respectively requiring the highest number of 125 turns to get abraded. Unreinforced 60% coconut fibers showed lowest absorbency rate implying that it is 35 times more absorbent than 60 g/m² normal paper. The paper specimens having highest mean recovery angle suitable for writing materials were the reinforced 60% Cocos Nucifera and 40% wastepaper (77.6°).

摘要

植物纤维是一种很有前途的可再生工程材料, 富含木质纤维素, 可用于制浆造纸工业, 作为木材的替代品, 由于严重砍伐森林, 对环境造成了负面影响. 本研究以低成本, 当地可利用的废椰壳为原料, 探讨了利用椰壳制备可生物降解, 可书写, 环保纸的可行性. 生物质与废纸按不同比例混合使用。用粘合剂和不使用粘合剂生产60gm-2的纸张. 添加淀粉作为粘合剂, 增强纸张的强度, 提高纸张的抗爆裂性和耐磨性. 通过物理力学性能测试, 对其性能进行了评价. 未增强纸和淀粉增强纸的平均厚度分别为0.267±0.012mm和0.282±0.016mm. 增强100%椰壳纸试样的最大拉伸和爆裂指数分别为19.25Nmg-1和2.266kPam2g-1, 需要125圈的最高磨损次数. 未增强的60%椰子纤维的吸收率最低, 这意味着它比60g/m2普通纸的吸收率高35倍. 适合书写材料的平均回收角最大的纸样为60%椰子纤维增强纸和40%废纸 (77.60%).

KEYWORDS:

• Biodegradability
• kraft process
• tensile strength
• burst index
• abrasion resistance and loss
• Cocos Nucifera

关键词:

• 生物降解性
• 硫酸盐法
• 抗拉强度
• 爆破指数
• 耐磨损

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the University of Mauritius and the Tertiary Education Commission for funding this research project.