The need for pulp and paper currently in the whole world has become shooting up massively. The generation of the pulp, as well as paper from woody materials, has a challenge due to deforestation, huge chemical and energy consumptions. Now, an alternative source for paper is lignocelluloses wastes, because of low cost, low energy, and chemical consumption. Among them, the banana pseudostem was best for the input of pulp and paper production. This investigation was on the production and characterization of pulp from Banana Pseudo Stem for Paper Making via Soda Anthraquinone pulping process. The amount of cellulose (41.45%), ash (12.4%), hemicellulose (23.37%), extractive (12.72%), and lignin (10.46%) contents were obtained at the initial compositional evaluation of the pseudostem. It has excellent fiber length (1.75mm), fiber diameter (22.15μm), an acceptable Runkle ratio (0.55), and flexibility coefficient (159.64). The effect of temperature (130,140 and 150 °C), cooking time (45, 60, and 75 minutes), the concentration of soda (10, 12.5, and 15%), were examined. The maximum pulp yield and kappa number was 36.7% and 22.8 respectively obtained at 10% of soda concentration, at 150 °C, and 63 minutes of cooking time from oven-dried raw material. The produced paper from the banana pseudostem has a tensile index, tearing index, smoothness, and porosity were 78.75 Nm/g, 19.1 mN.m2/g, 500-530μm, and 50 sec/100ml air respectively. This study indicates that high strength mechanical property and good surface properties paper can be produced from banana pseudostem pulp with a more environmentally friendly pulping process.

This work created, characterized, and used a magnetic biochar catalyst that is both eco-friendly and very effective. Sugarcane bagasse was selected as primary raw material for catalyst preparation, because it is renewable and ecofriendly biomass. Catalyst created by doping sugarcane bagasse biochar with magnetic material in the form of (FeSO4·7H2O). Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to characterize the catalyst. In addition, physical and textural characteristics of the catalyst were identified and interpreted. The characterization outcome showed that the catalyst has good catalytic qualities. For the manufacturing of biodiesel, discarded cooking oil served as the primary feedstock. The experiment was created utilizing the Box–Behnken Design (BBD) technique. There are four variables with the following three levels each: temperature, methanol to oil ratio, catalyst concentration, and reaction time. 29 experiments in total were carried out. Using the RSM function, optimization was done. The optimal conditions for obtaining biodiesel yield—temperature, methanol to oil ratio, reaction time, and catalyst weight—were 43.597 °C, 9.975 mol/L, 49.945 min, and 1.758 wt%. A study of the produced biodiesel using a FTIR showed that the conventional biodiesel IR spectra were confirmed. All physiochemical characteristics found suggested the biodiesel complied with ASTM and EN norms. Overall, the synthesized catalyst had conducted simultaneous reactions in a single batch reactor and had demonstrated suitability for converting used cooking oil to biodiesel.

This work investigates microwave soda pulping of the banana pseudo stem (Musa Cavendish), and process parameter optimization, morphological, chemical, and FTIR analysis. Response surface methodology, Box–Behnken designs were applied to investigate and find optimal microwave-assisted Soda pulping of the banana pseudo stem was carried out under different conditions. The influence of soda concentration (10, 12.5, and 15%), cooking temperature, (130,140, and 150 °C), and cooking time (15, 25, and 35 minutes) on the pulp yield and kappa number are studied. The optimal pulping (Active alkali 12.5%, at 140 °C for 25 minutes) of pulp yields about 37.2%, and a kappa number of 20.3% is obtained. The pulp was then made into 60 g/m 2 laboratory scale papers and their mechanical and surface properties were assessed. The results revealed that tensile index, tearing index, smoothness, and porosity was 79 Nm/g,19.1 mN.m 2 /g, 500-530µm, and 50 sec/100ml air respectively. The morphological analysis showed that the banana pseudo stem has a long fiber length (1750μm), tinny cell wall thickness (9.7μm), large lumen diameter (22.15μm), and thick fiber width (35.361μm) compared to hardwoods, agricultural residues, and bagasse. The chemical analysis revealed that the banana pseudo stem chemical composition includes cellulose (44.93%), hemicellulose (23.37 %), lignin (11.1%), ash (8.1%), and extractives (10.8%) were determined. This study indicates that high mechanical strength and good surface properties paper can be produced from banana pseudo stem pulp.

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