Investigation of physical properties of paper produced by blending of water hyacinth and dried flowers.

Abstract

The production of paper is a key component for global civilization. Around 300 million tonnes of paper are produced every day globally, with matured pulpwood being the major contributor. Due to rising demand for paper and the depletion of available wood resources, researchers are now focused on finding alternative non-wood resources that are suitable for pulp and paper production. The current study aims to produce eco-friendly and biodegradable paper using a combination of Eichhornia crassipes (water hyacinth) and dried flowers. Water hyacinth is considered as a lignocellulose plant which contains 57% lignocellulose, and dried flower contains 40% cellulose, which is the prime source for paper production. Various sections of water hyacinth, including wet and dry petiole, leaves, and root, were blended with dried flowers through the soda process. Then, the physical properties and FTIR analysis was carried out to identify the quality of the paper produced. The paper produced from root and dried petiole has a lower thickness (1.0mm and 0.5mm) than other mix proportions. The opacity of the leaves was found to be 0.5% (light passing) and forthe root 0.7% (light passing). Also, the dry petiole and root paperhave a good dry tensile strength of 1.30Kpa and 1.20Kpa, respectively. Hence, paper made from dry petiole and root was found to be efficient and suitable for the paper industry.