Valorization of Ethiopian Sugarcane Bagasse to Assess its Suitability for Pulp and Paper Production

Abstract

This research provides an assessment of the Ethiopian sugarcane bagasse (ESCB) and examines its suitability for the pulp and paper production. The study is focused toward carrying out the physical fractionation pretreatment on the ESCB aiming at the reduction of its lignin, extractive, silica and ash content. A measurement on the chemical composition was carried out to determine the cellulose, lignin, holocellulose, ash and silica content. Furthermore, cold and hot water solubility, 1% NaOH solubility and the presence of ethanol–toluene extractives were measured. Chemical composition analysis of sugarcane bagasse revealed a good level of cellulose (≈ 50%) and Klason lignin content (< 30%). The measurement of the ESCB fiber dimensions (fiber length of 1.86 mm, fiber diameter of 30.02 µm, cell-wall thickness of 2.53 µm) advocates its application in the paper and pulp industry. The physical fractionation pretreatment had a significant effect on reducing the lignin, extractive, ash and silica content in the ESCB, as could be evidenced from the FTIR analysis. These results demonstrate the efficacy of Ethiopian sugarcane bagasse and validate it as a suitable raw material for pulp and paper industry.