Development of reinforced paper and mitigation of the challenges of raw material availability by utilizing Areca nut leaf

Abstract

Paper industries are facing a raw material crisis and searching for alternate raw materials that may be able to help mitigate the issue. Many industries use agro-waste as a raw material, irrespective of it having low bleachability and poor mechanical strength. Areca nut leaf (ANL) is a nonwood-based material that may be acceptable as an alternate source of raw material that contains 61.5% holocellulose and 13.6% lignin, which is comparable to other agro-wastes and hardwood pulps. Kraft anthraquinone pulping with 20% active alkali as sodium oxide (Na2O), 25% sulfidity, and 0.05% anthraquinone produced 15 kappa pulps with about 38.5% pulping yield. The bleachability of ANL pulp was good, and 83.5% ISO brightness could be achieved using the D0(EOP)D1 bleaching sequence. The ANL fiber has 33.8% better tensile, 54.5% better tear, and 15.2% better burst index than hardwood fiber. Similarly, 60.4% better tensile, 56.5% better tear, and 21.7% better burst index were observed in ANL than in wheat straw. Thus, the study revealed that Areca nut leaf can be used as an alternative raw material for papermaking, as well as to improve the physical property of paper products by blending it with inferior quality pulp.