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The search for alternative fiber sources among which non-wood materials have found wide application in pulp and paper
production. Sugarcane leaves can be among non-wood sources for papermaking. Tanzania has a lot of sugarcane leaves,
which are burned during harvesting period in sugar industries. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the Potential of
using sugarcane leaves to produce pulp for papermaking. This will lead to reduced wood consumption as well as minimization
of global warming impact resulting from CO2
emissions as a result of burning of sugarcane fields before harvesting. Pulping
of sugarcane leaves was achieved through chemical pulping method (Soda pulping) with two different effective alkali charges
(EA-12% and EA-18%) and the pulp obtained were tested for their Kappa number (33.9, 20.9), Pulp yield (35.8%, 27.2%),
and Freeness (520CSF and 490CSF). The resulting pulp was used for hand sheet making and the papers obtained were
tested for their mechanical properties; Grammage (58.5, 59.4) g/m2, Tensile index (30.5, 41.1) Nm/g, Tear index (9.4, 9.5)
Nm2/g, burst index (3.3, 4.7) k.pa.m2/g and Elongation at break (2.57, 2.75) %, for papers made from sugarcane leaves
pulp with two different treatments respectively. The overall results showed that Tanzanian sugarcane leaves has a promising
potential as alternatives fibers for pulp and paper making industry |
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