EVALUATION OF BANANA FIBER AS A RAW MATERIAL FOR PULP AND PAPER PRODUCTION

                                                                   ABSTRACT

Paper and pulp production in Nigeria has faced challenges due to dependence on foreign inputs and the global paper industry faces increasing challenges in sourcing sustainable and eco-friendly raw maaterials to meet the growing demands for paper products. This research work deals with the feasibility of banana fiber for the production of pulp and paper. Banana pseudo stem was harvested from a farm in Ekosodin village and 35g of extracted oven dried ground fibre was pulped with 250ml of 0.5M sodium hydroxide and 250ml of 0.5M sodium sulfite 100⁰C in a 1:1 ratio for 2 hours at 100⁰C. The pulp yield was reacted with 200ml of 0.5M hydrogen peroxide solution to obtain bleached pulp   The result obtained in the study for the following content, hemicellulose, lignin, cellulose, moisture content and ash content was 35.6%, 17.2%, 44.2%, 10% and 4.20% respectively. Additionally, the low lignin content suggests that banana fiber may require less chemical pulping The physical property test conducted on the resulting handmade paper sheets include grammage and absorbency analysis. The values obtained was 58gsm and 0.08g.  The results indicate that banana fiber possesses favourable content which is critical for paper production.