Abstract

CANCHE-ESCAMILLA, G.; DE LOS SANTOS-HERNANDEZ, J.M.; ANDRADE-CANTO, S.  and  GOMEZ-CRUZ, R.. Production of Cellulose from Banana Plant Agricultural Waste. Inf. tecnol. [online]. 2005, vol.16, n.1, pp.83-88. ISSN 0718-0764.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0718-07642005000100012.

In this work a study on the feasibility of extracting cellulose from banana plant agricultural waste (pseudo stem and pinzote), using a procedure developed at the Scientific Research Center of Yucatán-Mexico, is presented. The four step process included acid hydrolysis, chlorination, alkaline extraction, and bleaching. The cellulose was characterized by thermogravimetry, FTIR spectroscopy and molecular weight measurements. The best yields were obtained when pinzote fiber was used. The cellulose obtained from pseudostem had agglomerated fibers due to the presence of hemicellulose and lignin residues. The chlorination step affected the molecular weight of the fibers obtained from pinzote, with molecular weight of 90.000 obtained when using a pH of 9.2, and 44.000 obtained when using a pH of 8.4 . The FTIR spectra obtained were characteristic of cellulose, fact that indicated the feasibility of using this process to eliminate noncellulosic material.

Keywords : cellulose production; agricultural waste; banana; thermogravimetry.