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Unlocking the Suitability and Potential of Agricultural Residues as Sustainable Non-Wood Fibre Sources for Paper Production: A Chemical Composition Evaluation
Subject area: Science,Engineering and Technology · Area of research: Chemical
Abstract
This study evaluated the chemical composition of agricultural residues such as corn sheaths and pineapple crowns in order to assess their suitability for paper production. The analyses of chemical composition of corn sheaths and pineapple crowns were carried out using standard laboratory procedures including TAPPI standards. Corn sheaths exhibited 43.31 % of cellulose; hemicellulose was 16.15%, lignin 6.41%, extractives 14.97% and ash content 7.65%. Hot water solubility, cold water solubility and 1% sodium hydroxide solubility were found to be 25.10%, 17.82% and 64.10% respectively while pineapple crowns exhibited 31.42 % of cellulose, hemicellulose was 15.25%, lignin 5.64%, extractives 5.49% and ash content 4.00%. Hot water solubility, cold water solubility and 1% sodium hydroxide solubility were found to be 17.22%, 11.65% and 63.87% respectively. The cellulose content in corn sheaths was found to be higher than that of pineapple crowns, indicating that corn sheaths will produce more pulp yield than pineapple crowns which shows that corn sheaths are more desirable pulp yield is of essence for in paper production. Hemicellulose contents in corn sheaths and pineapple crowns were found to be 16.15% and 15.25% respectively, an indication that there will be easy dissolution of hemicellulose in alkaline solution during pulping. The ash content and extractives were relatively low, suggesting minimal impurities in both corn sheaths and pineapple crowns. The investigation shows that the chemical composition corn sheaths and pineapple crowns are favourable for paper production. Independent sample student t-test of GraphPad Prism, version 8.2 was used to compare the mean values for significant difference at p˂0.05. This study demonstrated that corn sheaths and pineapple crowns are viable non-wood fiber sources for paper production, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional wood-based pulps.
Keywords
Fibres, Corn Sheaths, Pineapple Crowns, Cellulose, Hemicellulose, Lignin, Extractives.
How to cite this paper
@article{1715910,
author = {Mojibayo Ikusedun, Omolara Omowumi Fatunmibi, Olubisi Adewale Adegbaye, Ogochukwu Ezekiel Olodu, Gregory Odimgbe},
title = {Unlocking the Suitability and Potential of Agricultural Residues as Sustainable Non-Wood Fibre Sources for Paper Production: A Chemical Composition Evaluation},
journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
year = {2026},
volume = {9},
number = {10},
pages = {4164-4168},
issn = {2456-8880},
url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1715910.pdf},
abstract = {This study evaluated the chemical composition of agricultural residues such as corn sheaths and pineapple crowns in order to assess their suitability for paper production. The analyses of chemical composition of corn sheaths and pineapple crowns were carried out using standard laboratory procedures including TAPPI standards. Corn sheaths exhibited 43.31 % of cellulose; hemicellulose was 16.15%, lignin 6.41%, extractives 14.97% and ash content 7.65%. Hot water solubility, cold water solubility and 1% sodium hydroxide solubility were found to be 25.10%, 17.82% and 64.10% respectively while pineapple crowns exhibited 31.42 % of cellulose, hemicellulose was 15.25%, lignin 5.64%, extractives 5.49% and ash content 4.00%. Hot water solubility, cold water solubility and 1% sodium hydroxide solubility were found to be 17.22%, 11.65% and 63.87% respectively. The cellulose content in corn sheaths was found to be higher than that of pineapple crowns, indicating that corn sheaths will produce more pulp yield than pineapple crowns which shows that corn sheaths are more desirable pulp yield is of essence for in paper production. Hemicellulose contents in corn sheaths and pineapple crowns were found to be 16.15% and 15.25% respectively, an indication that there will be easy dissolution of hemicellulose in alkaline solution during pulping. The ash content and extractives were relatively low, suggesting minimal impurities in both corn sheaths and pineapple crowns. The investigation shows that the chemical composition corn sheaths and pineapple crowns are favourable for paper production. Independent sample student t-test of GraphPad Prism, version 8.2 was used to compare the mean values for significant difference at p˂0.05. This study demonstrated that corn sheaths and pineapple crowns are viable non-wood fiber sources for paper production, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional wood-based pulps.},
keywords = {Fibres, Corn Sheaths, Pineapple Crowns, Cellulose, Hemicellulose, Lignin, Extractives.},
month = {April},
}