Banana Pseudo-stem: An Alternative Raw

Material for Paper-bag Making

(S.Y. 2021 - 2022)

Dela Cruz, Althea Loureen M.

Jove, Ma. Angelina C.
Juaño, Jhana Alysha F.
Leron, Janelle P.
Mendiola, Stefanie Erin Q.

A Research Presented by STEM of

The Faculty of the Senior High School (SHS) Department
Liceo De San Pedro

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements in

Capstone Research Project

San Pedro, Laguna

(2022)
 ABSTRACT

The production of banana in the Philippines is about 8.4 million metric tonnes

from an area of 447,900 hectares. It provides delicious foods and good quality textile

fibre. Banana trees produce natural product only once a year and are then cut down,

taking off plenteous waste in the form of leaves and tree trunks. Banana paper bags

are an environmentally-friendly alternative made from pseudo-stems of the banana

tree. By reusing this by-product fiber into paper bags, it helps prevent excessive

contamination of the ecosystem’s waterways and forests. The production of banana

paper uses less energy compared to traditional paper production as the traditional

paper industry is one of the largest sources of energy consumption. Banana paper does

not require any harmful chemicals to be used during manufacturing. Banana fibers are

highly strong fibers that mix well with other fibers to form composites. They are

lightweight, biodegradable, rapidly renewable, water-resistant, and flame-resistant.

Banana paper is also more durable and lasts longer than regular paper. As a result,

banana paper has a lower impact on natural resources such as forests.The ultimate

objective of this STEM Research Project was to upgrade the knowledge content about

extraction of banana fibre, create awareness and full utilization of banana plants.
 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This study deals with production of pulp and paper from waste banana pseudo

stem and comparison with recycled pulp used for paper making. Banana pseudo stem

was collected from local market of Nagpur and pulped at 120˚C and atmospheric

pressure. The pulp was reacted with peroxide to obtain bleached pulp by keeping in a

thermostatically controlled water bath. The kappa number after bleaching was

observed as 20.43 respectively. Beating of pulp was done in standard lab beater.

Sheets were prepared by using pulp in different blending ratios. Burst factor for sheet

prepared from virgin banana stem was observed as 30.04, higher than the sheet

prepared from recycled pulp which showed burst factor of 18.84. Blending of banana

pulp with recycled pulp (50%:50%) showed burst factor of 40.57, which was quite

impressive.

Deshmukh, G., Sawarkar, H., & Varu, T. (2019) Banana Psuedo-stem: an alternative

raw material for paper making. International Journal of Engineering Applied

Sciences and Technology, 4(4), 68-73. https://www.ijeast.com/papers/68-

73,Tesma404,IJEAST.pdf
 Natural fibres of plant and animal origin have been explored vastly over the

last two decades and are gaining importance over synthetic counterparts owing to

their biodegradability, renewability, lightweight and better biochemical and strength

properties. Plant-based natural fibres such as banana, coir, sisal, jute, kenaf and many

others have been studied for industrial applications. Among these, banana fibre is of

major interest as banana is one of the most consumed fruit worldwide with annual

production of 115.7 million tonnes in the year 2018 and is grown in 130 countries,

which makes banana waste available locally. Various parts of banana plant such as

fruit, fruit peel, flower bud, leaves and pseudo-stem (banana trunk) are utilized for

different industrial purposes. Pseudo-stem is the major portion of banana waste

biomass and yields good quality fibre that has the potential for industrial applications

in the making of sanitary pads, textiles, pulp and paper, food and reinforced

composite materials for automobiles, construction material, aerospace and other

composite materials. Recently, Philippine Department of Science and Technology

prepared masks from banana fibre which can cut the usage of single usage plastic.

This review outlines various methods of extraction of fibre, biochemical and

mechanical properties of banana fibre and its applications.

Balda, S., Sharma, A., Capalash, N. et al. Banana fibre: a natural and sustainable

bioresource for eco-friendly applications. Clean Technologies Environmental

Policy 23, 1389–1401 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-021-02041-y

 Banana fibre is a natural fibre with high strength, which can be blended easily

with cotton fibre or synthetic fibre to produce composite material. In the fiber

extraction process, a substantial amount of lignocellulosic wastes are generated,

disposal of which creates problem in the adjacent area. In this paper, extracted banana

fiber (EBF) and waste banana fiber (WBF) were characterized in terms of chemical

and morphological properties to produce handmade paper. WBF was characterized

with lower α–cellulose, lignin content and longer fiber length. Pulping of EBF and

WBF was carried out with varying active alkali and cooking time at boiling

temperature. Pulp yield of WBF was 35.9% after 120 min of cooking with 8% alkali

charge. In the unbeaten state the degrees of drainage resistance i.e. SR values were 65

and 71 for EBF and WBF, respectively. The tensile, burst and tear indices of WBF

were 23.7 N.m/g, 2.2 kPa.m2/g and 5.0 mN.m2/g, respectively; these were much

lower as compared to EBF. These values however, meet the requirement for

handmade paper.

Arafat, K., Nayeem, J., Quadery, A., Quaiyyum, M., & Jahan, M. S. (2018).

Handmade paper from waste banana fibre. Bangladesh Journal of Scientific

and Industrial Research, 53(2), 83–88.

https://doi.org/10.3329/bjsir.v53i2.36668
 OBJECTIVES OF THE STEM CAPSTONE PROJECT

1. Helps prevent excessive pollution of the ecosystem’s rivers and forests.

2. They are 100% biodegradable, reusable and recyclable.

3. Banana paper has a lower density, higher stiffness, higher disposability, higher

renewability, and higher tensile strength compared to traditional paper.

4. To upgrade the knowledge content about extraction of banana fibre, create

awareness and full utilization of banana plants.

5. Eliminates the need for single-use plastic bags that have proven to harm the

environment.
OUTLINE OF THE PROJECT
 TIMETABLE

Time and Date Task or Process