Assessment of Fibre Characteristics and Suitability of Maize Husk and Stalk for Pulp and Paper Production

Maize husk and stalk were assessed for their fibre characteristics and suitability for pulp and paper production. Fifteen (15) fibres were randomly selected and measured from each representative sample. It was observed that fibre length of maize husk was 1.37mm and that of maize stalk was 1.52mm. The fibre diameter (D) was 30.19 μm for each of the samples. The values of cell wall thickness and lumen width (d) for each sample were 8.82 μm and 13.67 μm respectively. Runkel ratio for maize husk and maize stalks was 1.23 each. This implies that they are feasible for pulp and paper production. The felting rate (slenderness ratio) was 45.93 for maize husk and 50.34 for maize stalk. The elasticity coefficient was 45.30% for maize husk and maize stalk and rigidity coefficients for maize husk and maize stalk was 29.21%. T-test showed that fibre length of maize husk and maize stalk were not significantly different.Keywords: Maize, husk, stalk, pulp, and fibre length

Potentials of agricultural waste and grasses in pulp and papermaking

Potentials of some agricultural waste and grasses were investigated. Potassium hydroxide from wood ash was used as alkali for pulping. Results from visopan Microscope showed that banana stalk has the highest fibre length of 2.60 mm and Bahaman grass has the least fibre length of 0.85 mm. Runkel Ratio (RK) for banana stalk, banana leaf, giant bluestem, gamba grass and bagasse was 0.8 (RK<1) while pineapple leaf and maize stalk have Runkel ratio of 0.9 (RK<1). Peel from maize cob and Bahaman grass have Runkel Ratio of 1 (RK=1). Calculated fibre derivatives indicated that the non wood raw materials were good in pulp and papermaking

Density, Shatter index, and Combustion properties of briquettes produced from groundnut shells, rice husks and saw dust of Daniellia oliveri

Objective: This study investigated the potential use of sawdust of Daniellia oliveri (African Copaiba Balsam Tree), Rice husk and Groundnut shells to make briquettes for energy generation.Methodology and Result: Doughnut shaped briquettes were produced from three biomass materials at 15%, 25%, and 35% level of starch binder in binary and tertiary combinations. Density, Shatter index and Combustion properties of the briquettes were investigated. The compressed density of Daniellia oliveri + Groundnut briquettes was highly significant (P<0.01) at 2.32g/cm3. The relaxed density was highly significant (P<0.01) among the biomass materials and binder levels. Daniellia + Groundnut briquettes recorded the highest relaxed density of 2.46g/cm3 at 25% starch binder. Daniellia + Groundnut briquettes recorded the highest shatter resistance of 90.4. The specific heat of combustion of briquettes ranged from 4455.0Kcal/kg to 4734.0Kcal/kg.Conclusion and Application of Results: The relative high heating values of the briquettes biomass materials indicate that they can be a very good alternative source of energy for domestic cooking. It is therefore recommended that sawdust of Daniellia oliveri, Rice husk and Groundnut shells that are usually discarded as waste in Nigeria could be converted to briquettes, which will serve as alternative source of energy for domestic cooking