Moringa Oleifera as Fibrous Raw Material for Production of Handmade Paper and Packaging Materials

Abstract

The aim of this research paper is to find suitability of wood chips of Moringa Oleifera tree for paper and packaging materials as this plant is cultivated in large area of India and many other tropical and sub-tropical areas for its products like drum stick, leaves and seeds. Again, the tree is trimmed every year for better quality of its products. But the tree branches cut are mostly used as fuel material, so this biomass can be better utilized in production of natural cellulosic fibers having good fiber length and used in paper and packaging materials production. The study assessed the fiber characteristics of Moringa oleifera branches for pulp and paper production. Samples are collected from Moringa oleifera trees grown in nearby areas of Sangrur, Punjab. Moringa Oleifera has potential for the Paper Making as it has good fiber length, fiber length to diameter ratio, flexibility and very low percentage of ash. This is supported by relevant analysis of raw material along with several with testing of paper hand sheet samples prepared in paper technology lab. The plant has several medicinal, antibacterial, antioxidant properties, which can be further explored for making specialty paper and packaging materials. This beneficiation of the moringa tree biomass will increase the income of farmers and provide a new potential fibrous raw material for pulp and paper industries which is facing scarcity of good fiber length lignocellulosic raw materials.