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PULP PRODUCTION FROM BANANA PLANT STEM, Musa sp.

Conference Paper · September 2000

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 PULP PRODUCTION FROM BANANA STEM, Musa sp.

Maria de Lourdes Aparecida Prudente Soffner* ; Francides Gomes da Silva Junior **

(*) Graduate Student, Wood Science and Technology - LCF/ESALQ/USP-Brazil –

lourdes@dombosco.merconet.com.br
(**) Professor – Forest Science Department – Univeristy of São Paulo- Brazil - fgomes@esalq.usp.br

ABSTRACT: The banana stem, is normally discarded after the fruit harvesting, where it is considered a
residue due to the great volume generated. For this reason and for being made of fibrous material, stem
was evaluated for pulp production. The stem in natura presents 93 % of humidity, parenchymatics cells
in abundance, 7,4% of lignin, 47,0 % of total extractives and 45,6% of holocelullose. Stem desintegration
(bagasse production), washing and pre-hydrolysis were used as pre-process steps in order to reduce the
amount of extractives on the banana stem bagasse. The washing process were conducted at 4% of
consistency and the pre-hydrolysis at 100 oC for 100 minutes; the original bagasse and the ones obtained
after the pre-process steps were submitted to the CaO pulping with 8, 10, 12 and 14 % of CaO, at 120 oC
temperature during 120 minutes in rotating digester. The results showed that the application of washing
and pre-hydrolysis reducted about 50% in the initial mass of bagasse. Considering the pulping conditions
and also the chemical composition of the banana stem bagasse the pre-process steps evaluated did not
present a significant effect on the cooking process itself. For the banana stem pulping a CaO process can
be considered a alternative for pulping.
Keywords: Banana stem, depithing, pulp, residues of banana plant.

1. INTRODUCTION
The world production of banana was estimated in 58.4 million t/year, being India the greatest
producer, with 11 million t/year, followed by Ecuador with 6.4 million t/year. Brazil occupies the third
position, with about 5.6 million t/year (1). In Brazil, Musa cavendishii is the most cultivated specie (2).
A banana plantation can supply up to 200 t/ha/year of cultural residues; these residues are the
stems, leaves and pseudostems. Most of them are left on the ground as a mulching cover to keep the
humidity, to prevent soil erosion, to control the weeds and to return part of the nutrients, contributing to
the reduction of the fertilization costs (3).
The banana stem, grain stalk that supports the banana fruits, is normally discarded after the fruit
harvesting, either in the “packing houses” or in the delivering centers, where it is considered a residue due
to the great volume generated.
Considering the fibrous constitution of the stem, its use as a raw material for pulp production is a
possibility that has to be considered; to guide this research some specific topics should be considered:
- the seasonability of the banana production;
- the availability of the stem;
- the banana production is generally conducted in small farms;
- low investment and production costs;
- the pulp production process should be suitable for small production units and
environmentally friendly.
According to the topics presented the objective of this research was to evaluate the banana stem,
Musa sp, as raw material for pulp production using the CaO as an alkali source.

2. MATERIAL AND METHODS

2.1. Material
For this research, in natura Musa cavendishii stems were used. The stems were collected after
the harvest of the fruit, in the city of Registro, São Paulo, Brazil. After harvesting, the stems were
transformed into bagasse (4). The bagasse was air-dried and stored in plastic bags.

2.2. Methods
Considering the anatomical and chemical characteristics of the stem bagasse (3), three
operations were considered in order to develop a pulping process for banana stem bagasse: washing, pre-
hydrolysis and cooking. Each step was evaluated individually and in combination with the others.
- bagasse washing: the bagasse was submitted to a washing process at 4% consistency in a
laboratorial hydrapulper for 5 minutes;
 - pre-hydrolysis: the pre-hydrolysis were conducted in a rotative digester with 8 individuals
reactors; the pre-hydrolysis was conducted at 100oC for 100 minutes and the liquor/bagasse ratio was 6/1.
- pulping: the cookings were performed in a rotative digester with 8 individual reactors under the
following conditions:
- raw material: 40 g o.d.
- CaO, %: 8, 10, 12, 14
- cooking temperature: 120oC
- liquor/bagasse: 6:1
- time: 120 min.

2.2.4 Analysis
After each stage, pulp samples were collected, weighted, moisture content determined and stored
for further analysis. The chemical analysis of the pulp were conducted following the TAPPI Methods (5).

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The banana stem bagasse is not a conventional raw material for pulping production; the CaO
process is not a conventional process due to its limitation regarding the delignification rate. These
constraints guided this research, where technical alternatives were considered in order to use the banana
stem bagasse as a raw material for the CaO pulping process.

3.1. Bagasse Washing

The banana stem bagasse has in its chemical composition a large content of extractives, 47,0%;
most of them are water-soluble, 46,5% (3); this aspect associated with the fact that the bagasse has a
larger superficial area when compared to the stem, the washing of the bagasse can help the removal of
part of the water soluble extractives.
The results of the bagasse washing process are presented on Table 1.

Table 1. Stem bagasse washing – yield and chemical composition

PARAMETERS
Average 60.78
Yield, % Standard-deviation 2.8045
Coefficient of variation 4.61
Extractives content, % 16.83
Lignin content, % 11.76

The results presented on Table 1 show that the washing of the bagasse could remove almost 40%
of the organic material; this may be related to the water soluble extractives content of the raw material.
The analysis of the chemical composition of the bagasse after the washing shows a great
reduction on the extractive content, what is in accordance with the yield obtained after the washing
process.
Considering all the results presented on Table 1, a single washing process for the banana stem
bagasse can remove a great amount of undesirable materials for the cooking process; this removal can
lead to a reduction on the alkali charge needed for the cooking process in order to achieve a target degree
of delignification.
Another important topic is that the filtrates obtained after the washing step have a large content
of organic matter and therefore they may be spread over the banana crop as fertilizers.

3.2. Pre-hydrolysis
The pre-hydrolysis was also considered as a single pre-process for the bagasse.
Table 2 presents the results of the efficiency of pre-hydrolysis for the bagasse and washed
bagasse.
 Table 2. Pre-hydrolysis yield – bagasse and washed bagasse

Parameters Pre-hydrolysis Washed-bagasse

Pre-hydrolysis Global
Yield 59.46 84.23 51.19
Standard-deviation 0.6744 1.7295 -----
Coefficient of variation 1,13 2.05 -----

The pre-hydrolysis process can remove approximately 40% of the organic content of the banana
bagasse; considering that the water soluble extractives content of the bagasse is almost 47% we can see
that a great part of the water soluble extractives were removed. The removal efficiency of the pre-
hydrolysis should also consider the removal of part of the hemicelluloses content, since the process
conditions allow it.
The main objective of the two pre-processes tested, washing and pre-hydrolysis, was the removal
of part of the extractives.

64,00

60,00

56,00

52,00

48,00

44,00

40,00

36,00
yield, %

32,00

28,00

24,00

20,00

16,00

12,00

8,00

4,00

0,00
washing pre-hydrolisis washing/pre-hydrolisis

Figure 2. Banana stem bagasse pre-processing – yield

The results on Figure 2 show that washing and pre-hydrolysis have almost the same efficiency in
terms yield, almost 40%. When the pre-hydrolysis follows the washing process, can be observed that
there is a significant reduction on the yield. The lower yield obtained on the pre-hydrolysis process of the
washed bagasse is probably due to the degradation of hemicelluloses, what is undesirable since it can
lead, in addition to yield loss, to a reduction on pulp strength properties.

3.3. Pulping
Considering all the banana production aspects and the environmental topics related to the
utilization of the banana stem bagasse as a raw material for pulping production, the definition of a pulping
process should consider fundamentally these aspects; therefore, on this research calcium was selected as a
source of caustic charge for an alkaline pulping process.
The cooking step is, obviously, the most important one in a pulping process; on this research the
efficiency of the CaO pulping of the banana bagasse step was evaluated considering different charges of
CaO and the materials obtained after the washing, pre-hydrolysis and pre-hydrolysis following a washing
stage. The cooking efficiency is the effective evaluation of the possible beneficial effects of the washing
and pre-hydrolysis stages.
Figure 3 presents the results of the cookings related to residual lignin content, considering
different charges of CaO and different stages of the bagasse: washing, pre-hydrolysis, washing-followed
by pre-hydrolysis and non-treated banana stem bagasse.
 14

12

10
residual lignin, %

2
8% CaO 10% CaO 12%CaO 14%CaO 12% NaOH

washed pre-hydrolised non-treated washed/pre-hydrolised

Figure 3. Pulp lignin content – different cooking conditions and raw material pre-
treatments

The results presented on Figure 3 need a careful analysis in order to define the best process for
CaO pulping banana stem bagasse.
To improve the analysis of the results presented on Figure 2, the data obtained on the washing
step, yield and chemical composition of the washed bagasse, should be considered. The results presented
on Table 1, associated with the results presented in (3) show that the washing step of the banana stem
bagasse leads to the following removal efficiency:
- Lignin – 3.41%
- Total extractives – 78.24%
- Holocelullose – 4.82%
The previous removal efficiency figures shown confirm that the washing step is really efficient
for extractive removal, but does not alter significantly the lignin and holocelullose content.
As a consequence of this observation, the relation between CaO charge and lignin content in the
raw material (washed bagasse and non-treated bagasse) can be determinant on the delignification rate.
Table 3 presents the relation between the CaO charge and the lignin content of the raw material.

Table2. CaO/lignin ratio – washed bagasse and non-treated bagasse

CaO Charge Washed Bagasse Non-treated bagasse

8% 0.680 1.081
10% 0.850 1.351
12% 1.020 1.622
14% 1.190 1.892

Considering the process steps evaluated on this research, it can be observed on Table 3 that the
CaO cooking using the non-treated bagasse lead to the best results in terms of delignification rate. These
results may have as possible explanation the following:
- the ratio CaO charge/lignin content is much higher on the cookings that used bagasse
without previous treatment; this fact can lead to an increase on the delignification rate.
- the low cooking temperature and the extractives characteristics do not improve the reactions
that consume alkali.
- the high liquor/bagasse ratio associated with the low temperature and the high content of the
water soluble extractives may be performing a hot washing during the cooking step.
The delignification rate itself is not sufficient to evaluate a pulping process; the yield is a very
important parameter once it has relations with the economics aspects. Figure 4 presents the total yield
results of the cookings, considering different charges of CaO and different stages of the bagasse: washing,
pre-hydrolysis, washing-followed by pre-hydrolysis and non-treated banana stem bagasse.
 55

50

45

40

35

total yield %
30

25

20

15

10

0
8% CaO 10% CaO 12%CaO 14%CaO 12% NaOH

washed pre-hydrolised non-treated washed/pre-hydrolised

Figure 4. Total yield – different cooking conditions and raw-material pre-treatments

The yield is an important parameter to evaluate a pulping process because it is related to the
consumption of raw material; generally, raw material is main component of pulp production costs;
therefore the yield is important to the economic viability of a pulping process.
The results presented on Figure 4 show that the CaO pulping process for banana stem bagasse
has a higher yield when compared to a typical soda process. The CaO cooking process for the banana
stem bagasse without treatment, can be considered a technical alternative for the use of the banana stem
due to its higher yield at the same delignification rate when compared with a soda process.

4. CONCLUSIONS
The conclusions obtained from this research are:
- the washing and pre-hydrolysis steps show similar efficiency for extractives removal from
the banana stem bagasse . The implementation of a washing stage is simpler when compared
to a pre-hydrolysis stage.
- the washing stage followed by a pre-hydrolysis stage can lead to an undesirable removal of
hemicellulose without significant gains in extractives removal.
- Considering the cooking conditions on this research, the CaO cooking step itself shows a
delignification rate for the banana stem bagasse similar to a soda process.
- the CaO cooking (12% CaO) using banana bagasse as a raw material can be considered a
technical alternative for pulp production.

6. REFERENCES

1 - FAO – Banana production. Yearbook. FAO, 1999.

2 - ARRUDA, S.T.; PÉREZ,L.H.; BESSA JUNIOR, A.A. A bananicultura no Vale do Ribeira:
características dos sistemas de produção. Agricultura em São Paulo, São Paulo/Brazil, 40 (1):
1-17, 1993.
3 - MOREIRA, R.S. Bananas: teoria e prática de cultivo. Fundação Cargil, 1987.
4 - SOFFNER, M.L.A.P.; SILVA JR, F.G.; BRITO, J.O.; PEREIRA, L.L. Avaliação do beneficiamento
do engaço de bananeira, Musa sp, para produção de polpa celulósica. Seminário de Polpação
Não-Convencional – ABTCP (Associação Brasileira Técnica de Celulose e Papel),
Piracicaba/São Paulo/Brazil. ps. 118 a 123. 1999.
5 - TAPPI Testing methods, Volume I, 1998.

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