ECO-FRIENDLY PULPING OF BANANA PSEUDO-STEM WASTES WITH POTASSIUM-BASED PROCESSES

This study aimed to investigate the usability of banana pseudo-stem wastes, remaining from banana cultivation, with eco-friendly K-based pulping processes. Three different K-based pulping processes, KOH, KOH-K2SO3, KOH-NH4OH, and soda process as control were studied. The temperature and the total alkali ratio were kept constant, while the cooking time was varied (60 min and 120 min) for each K-based pulping method. It was found that 60 min at 165 °C with 20% alkaline charge (calculated as Na2O) are the optimum conditions for all K-based pulping processes of banana pseudo-stems. K-based pulps produced under the same pulping conditions were compared with the control soda pulp. The pulp samples were characterized in terms of their mechanical, physical, morphological and optical properties. Also, their Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analysis was performed. Among the eco-friendly K-based pulping processes investigated here, the KOH process can be considered as a promising alternative for pulping banana pseudo-stem waste, due to the excellent papermaking properties achieved.