International Journal of Advance Agricultural Research
ISSN: 2053-1265
Vol. 3(6), pp. 64-72, October 2015

Evaluation of fibre quality of Saccharum officinarum bagasse as a raw material for pulp and paper production

Egbewole Z. T.*, Omoake P. O. and Rotowa O. J.

Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Ecotourism, Nasarawa State University Keffi, Shabu-Lafia, Nigeria.

*To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: tundeegbe@gmail.com.

Received 04 September, 2014; Received in revised form 18 August, 2015; Accepted 26 August, 2015.

Abstract

Keywords:
Fibre length, Wall thickness, Runkel ratio, Flexibility ratio, Felting coefficient.

This study assessed the fibre quality of Saccharum officinarum bagasse as raw material for pulp and paper production. Samples of sugarcane bagasse were collected from Doma, Lafia and Keffi in Nasarawa State. The study was laid out in a 3x15x3 factorial experiment in a completely randomized design (CRD). The treatment was analyzed with respect to 3 locations, 15 stem samples and 3 disc levels while the variable measured were: fibre length, fibre diameter, lumen width, cell wall thickness, Runkel ratio, flexibility ratio and felting coefficient. Correlation analysis was used to access the magnitude and the direction of relationship between the selected variable while the Runkel ratio was predicted using linear regression analysis. The average fibre length was 1.63 mm, 20.78 µm fibre diameter, 13.30 µm lumen width, 7. However 56 µm cell wall thickness, 0.72 Runkel ratio, 64.0 flexibility ratio and 76.82% felting coefficient. The analysis of variance showed that there was a significant difference observed in the fibre length, lumen width, fibre diameter and cell wall thickness both within and between sample stems, while the effects of location and disc levels were not significant on the observed fibre characteristics at p<0.05. The result of the regression analysis on the effects of location, sample disc level and fibre characteristics on Runkel ratio of S. officinarum had coefficient of (R²=0.957), meaning that the assessed fibre characteristics had about 95.7% effects on Runkel ratio of S. officinarum collected from different locations. Detailed analysis should be conducted on bagasse, this will enhance its suitability as a potential source of short fibre non-wood pulp. Pulp and paper industries should harness the potential in sugarcane bagasse as it can be used to revive the Nigerian pulp and paper industry.