The Use of Banana (Musa balbisiana) Pseudostem and Recycled Paper in Making Cardboard

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Global warming is predicted to have varied effects besides increased temperature. Paper-making from trees contributes heavily to this problem. in this study, the used banana (musa balibisiana) pseudostem together with the recycled paper is considered as the solution in global warming problem. instead of cutting more trees, fallen dried pseudostem and used paper can be recycled to make a cardboard or any source of paper because of their pulps.

METHODS

The dried and fallen pseudostem of the banana underwent sun drying for 2 to 3 days then boiled for 3 to 4 hours until it became smooth, while the used paper was soaked and grinded by the use of a blender to become slurry. After grinding the two materials, they mixed and sieved and added a caustic soda in order to get the pulp that became the cardboard material. The product is tested by a self-test for their durability, usability, and acceptability of the respondents.

RESULTS

Sample A is made up of 67% of banana pseudostem and 33% of recycled paper. Based from the data, sample A has 97.90 grams per square meter (gsm), 0.205 mm thick, 14.80 Nm m2/g tearing index, 43.82 Nm/g tensile index and 247.25 folds under 1kg tension load. If you force to fold it, it will be cut into pieces. in sample B they have the same amount of papers and pseudostem with 50% for each ingredient while for sample C the banana pseudostem is composed of 60% scrap paper and 40% for banana pseudostem.

DISCUSSIONS

The researcher found out that the used dried pseudostem of the banana can also help the environment in terms of reducing the number of trees to be cut to produce cardboard materials. This study was accepted by the respondents in terms of the durability, usability, and acceptability.