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The Microwave-Assisted Pyrolysis (MAP) method has the potential to be applied for the synthesis of dye adsorbents. In this work, the activated carbon (AC) was synthesized from the paper waste by the MAP method. The deinking paper waste was carbonized and activated using microwave heating with a frequency of 2.45 GHz and various power outputs (450, 600, and 800 W). The activation was carried out using ZnCl2 solution as an activating reagent. The impregnation with ZnCl2 is expected to give a clearer porous structure by absorbing microwave heat from inside and outside at the same time. The heating rate during the activation process can reach 211°C/min, which shows that the MAP method has the potential to provide a faster heating rate and shorter processing time compared to the furnace pyrolysis. The effect of the synthesis parameter such as impregnation ratio, time, and radiation power was studied from the adsorption efficiency on methylene blue (MB) dye. The activated carbon was characterized using the proximate test, SEM, and XRD. Best Result of the MAP method was obtained with a ratio of 1:1 (ZnCl2: Carbon) within 5 minutes of radiating, power of 800 W, with the results that AC can adsorb MB solution up to 2100 ppm with a maximum adsorption capacity of 1036.3 mg/g, and the efficiency of 99.87%.

Oil palm trunk is lignocellulose biomass and agricultural residual waste that has not been utilized to its maximum potential. The feasibility of paper production from oil palm trunk (OPT) was studied for one alternative application. OPT was treated with 8% (w/v) alkaline solution (NaOH), subsequently with a different concentration of H2O2 solution (2, 4, 6 and 8% w/v). The results showed that the brown color of OPP was converted to a pale yellow color after bleaching with H2O2 while hemicellulose and lignin were also removed. Arrowroot flour was used as a binder for mold oil palm paper. The optimum condition for oil palm paper production was 15% (w/v) NaOH for 60 min then 6 % (v/v) H2O2 for 30 min. The obtained OPP paper showed a density of 183.53 ± 1.86 g/cm3, a water absorption of 0.0904 ± 0.0010 mL/cm2, a tensile index of 2.60 ± 0.07 Nm/g and a burst index of 1.22 ± 0.04 kPa m2/g. All value properties of the obtained OPP paper showed that the OPP value was lower than that of available commercial Kraft paper (KI125 and KT125). Meanwhile, this OPP paper process could continuously improve to be a container formation.

The recycling of paper and paperboard waste for obtaining powder cellulose has a positive impact on environmental and economic benefits due to its possibility to be applied in various fields of industry, including the fabrication of wood-polymer composite1,2. The extraction of cellulose from cellulose-containing wastes can be carried out by their mechanical disintegration with acid or alkali hydrolysis. In comparison with the known method3 the proposed method can be realized under more gentle conditions. For this aim, recycled de-inked waste paper was cut into small pieces (d < 5 mm) which were soaked in 0,05% hydrochloric solution at hydromodulus 1/20 (paper/water) for 2 hours at the intensive mechanical stirring for paper pieces disintegration. After soaking, the excessive water was pressed, and the disintegrated paper mass was dried, at first, at 60 °C for 16 hours and then at 120 °C for 2 hours. After drying, the paper mass was milled in a planetary mill for 15 minutes at a moderate rotation speed. The obtained cellulose particles were characterized by physicochemical properties. It was found, that obtained recycled paper particles (RPAP) had a similar contact angles with water compared to reference cellulose powder. However, polarity of RPAP was 20,5%, but of reference cellulose – 43,5%. RPAP could be characterized as more amorphous than cellulose because its crystallinity index was 61%, but reference cellulose powder – 81%. Using laser granulometry, it was found, that 99% of particles were less than 200 μm, and 90% of particles were less than 140 μm.

Several Indonesian paper mills utilize used paper as feedstock as the price is much cheaper and abundant availability, but the strength of the paper product tends to decrease. Xylan which is extracted from corncobs is a potential additive for upgrading the quality by modifying the fibre surface. This research studies the effect of sodium hydroxide concentration for extraction to produce an acceptable strength of paper product. The extraction process is at temperature of 90°C for 2 hours in a stirred tank reactor and the xylan product is deposited with 10 N acetic acid at pH of 4.5 - 5.0. Using 16% of NaOH concentration, the extraction produces 21.82% yield of xylan. With addition of this xylan product at mass ratio between xylan and corncobs of 5% increases 30.1% of the tensile strength and 31.83% of the tire strength. The optimum concentration of the use of NaOH in xylan extraction was at 16% NaOH with the largest xylan yield obtained at 21.82%.

The detection of chemical pollution in an ecosystem requires rapid and accurate analysis in the field. The method presented here can help minimize preparation time and simple detection of the metal ions. Silver nanoparticles are known for their surface plasmon resonance characteristics that visibly display distinctive colors; this makes it possible to develop as colorimetric indicators. In this study, silver nanoparticles were synthesized on paper using velvet apple (Diospyros discolor Willd.) leaf extract as the Ag+ reducing agent. The paper was immersed in the water extract for 1 hour and for 24 hours. The formation of silver nanoparticles was indicated by the change in the paper’s color from white to light brown and dark brown. Furthermore, the paper was tested using several types of metal ions, namely, Cu2+, Mn2+, Pb2+, Zn2+, Mg2+, Ni2+ and Co2+. For all types of metal ions, the paper’s color changed selectively while detecting Cu2+ ions. The paper-based silver nanoparticles were sensitive enough to detect Cu2+ ions starting at concentrations of 100 mg/L. The Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) revealed that the silver nanoparticles tended to aggregate after the addition of Cu2+ ions, which caused changes in the size and LSPR of the nanoparticles. This potential method needs further refinement and development to enhance the sensitivity of the paper-based colorimetric indicator, so that it can detect Cu2+ at lower concentrations.

This work has studied the performance of benzene treatment from cigarette smoke using the prepared CNT/TiO2/PVA loaded on the paper filter in the air purifier reactor. CNT/TiO2 nanomaterial was prepared from a mixture of carbon nanotubes modified with sulfuric acid and titanium dioxide by a simple mixing method in the ambient temperature. CNT/TiO2 nanomaterial was then loaded on the paper filter by a filtrating technique using 12%w/v polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a co-polymer. The weight of CNT/TiO2 loaded on the paper filter was fixed at 3 g. The ratios of CNT: TiO2 was varied at 1:5, 1:10, and 1:15 w/w, respectively. The performance of air purifier using CNT/TiO2/PVA loaded on the paper filter with various ratios was investigated on the photocatalytic activity of benzene treatment from cigarette smoke under visible light. The decreased benzene concentrations were analyzed by GC-FID. As the results, the ratio of CNT/TiO2 loaded on the paper filter at 1:10 showed the highest performance by up to 45%, while the ratio of CNT/TiO2 at 1:15 showed 30% and CNT/TiO2 at 1:5 was the lowest of 22%, respectively. This is because adding the optimum CNT to TiO2 can be improved the adsorption efficiency and the ability to degrade benzene from cigarette smoke. Additionally, CNT also assists in reducing the recombination of TiO2 particles that effect to the high performance on the photocatalytic activity. Therefore, the prepared CNT/TiO2/PVA loaded on the paper filter could be used for the air treatment.

The growing global request to make green materials nowadays expresses in reducing environmental problems and obtaining biomaterials with high-performed properties. Aside from being carbon neutral, the use of biomass for obtaining green materials contributes to energy security and climate change mitigation. The aim of the work was to fabricate and study a recycled polypropylene-based composite filled with recycled waste paper obtained by the acid hydrolysis of de-inked newsprint. It has been found that, with increasing the content of the recycled paper microparticles in the bio-composite, its mechanical and wetting properties deteriorated. The presence of maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene as a compatibilizer increased the homogeneity of the structure of the bio-composite, which improved its mechanical properties and decreased its ability to be wetted with water.

Even though most information is digitized today, paper as a printing substrate is still essential. The quality of the paper depends on whether it has the properties required for its intended use, which will fundamentally rely on the raw materials used. Nowadays, the production of paper and board is increasingly focused on alternative non-wood raw materials. In this context, the main objective of this research is to improve the quality of prints on laboratory-made papers with supplementary barley pulp by coating the surface of the papers with titanium dioxide coating. Since laboratory-made papers were not subjected to the bleaching process and no additional surface treatments were used, TiO2-based coating proved to be one of the ways to improve the quality of the prints on such substrates. In this study, it was concluded that TiO2-based coating did not affect the colorimetric values of the black prints to the extent that it affected the colorimetric values of the magenta prints. However, density of printed inks was increased up to 14% for prints on laboratory-made papers with higher amount of barley pulp and TiO2-based coating in two layers.

Natural fibers have been extensively studied as a reinforcement filler in obtaining composites, replacing partially synthetic fibers. The vast majority of these materials originate from agro-industrial waste with a high content of lignin and cellulose making it a very interesting material with low cost and good mechanical properties. The purpose of the study was to obtain a composite based on alkyl ketene dimer resin, for the manufacture of sustainable packaging, made of paper by adding a 10% (w/w) con-tent of green coconut fiber and sugarcane bagasse fiber, and evaluated the impact of the filler on the mechanical behavior of the systems. The studied material was characterized from mechanical tests, such as Ring Crush Test (RCT) and Concora Medium Test (CMT) evaluating the maximum resistance supported by centimeter in the pre-pared composites, by the specimens. Through the RCT tests, with 10% w/w fibers, it was possible to verify that the fiber from sugarcane bagasse reached an increase of about 1% in the reinforcement effect compared to pure paper, and a difference of up to 2% in strength mechanics in relation to coir fiber, and CMT tests shows the reinforcement effect of the presence of sugarcane bagasse fiber, with an increase of about 3% compared to pure paper, and with a mechanical strength higher by 1% compared to coconut fiber. Therefore, the study was funneled with sugar cane fiber, varying the content by 20 and 30 % (w/w), evaluating the impact on the dispersion of this filler in the polymeric matrix and, consequently, the mechanical response of the composite with these compositions. The conclusion of the study was that the system prepared with 20% (w/w) was the one that achieved the greatest optimization of the mechanical properties, evaluated by the tests. This type of material can be applied to obtain cardboard boxes with resistance to high loads, due to the achievement of good mechanical properties.

Currently, paper pulping production from woody materials has many disadvantages due to its high energy, chemical, water consumption, methane emissions, and deforestation. However, the use of non-woody materials solves these problems. This study focused on the use of non-virgin raw material (Enset leaf fiber) in pulp and paper making. Enset leaf residues are the primary solid residues after the steam plant is used for “Kocho” processing. This leaf fiber has a lignocellulose component, converting this residue into Pulp and paper is crucial in terms of economic and waste management via the Kraft process. It has a higher fiber quality, lower energy consumption, and high recoverability of the chemical raw materials used in the process. The chemical composition of the Enset leaf fiber was analyzed using the Technical Association of Pulp and Paper. It has an excellent fiber length (2.12±1.46mm), fiber diameter (26.55±15.6µm) andacceptable rigidity coefficient (1.05±0.07), and flexibility coefficient (125.23±0.04). The maximum pulp yield was obtained at a temperature of 120°C, NaOH concentration of 8%, and 40 min cooking time off, which was 69.92% w/w. The functional groups of the Enset leaf fiber and morphological characteristics of the fiber were investigated.

This paper is focused on the determination of thermal parameters (thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and specific heat capacity) of electrical insulating paper from various producers. The transient step-wise method was used to determine all thermal parameters simultaneously. Evaluation was carried out using the differential method. Thermal conductivity was determined from the steady-state temperature response on thickness (corresponding to the number of paper layers), while thermal diffusivity and specific heat capacity was obtained from the dependence of derivative maximum and the corresponding temperature on thickness. Four electro insulating papers differing by composition and thickness: materials NKN (Nomex-Kapton-Nomex), DMD (Dacron-Mylar-Dacron), TFT (TufQUIN TFT 50) and TVAR (ThermaVolt AR) were studied. As a result, the highest value of thermal conductivity (0.17 W/m/K) was determined for the DMD. Remaining three materials possessed thermal conductivity about 0.12 W/m/K. However, differences in specific heat capacity and thermal diffusivity were found to be significantly higher. The lowest specific heat capacity was found for the DMD sample (1200 J/kg/K), while the highest specific heat capacity was found for TVAR sample (4000 J/kg/K).

This paper aimed to determine the characteristics of physical and mechanical properties of rice straw hand sheet and investigated the optimal conditions for making rice straw paper. The chemical composition of rice straw determined with the TAPPI standards. The conditions of making paper hand sheet composed of pulping time: 2 hours, 4 hours, pulping temperature: 100°C, 130°C, pulping solvent: 2 wt% NaOH, 4 wt% NaOH and bleaching: unbleached pulp, bleached pulp with 2% H2O2. The paper hand sheet was tested based on TAPPI methods, basic weight TAPPI- T410-om-93, thickness TAPPI- T411-om-89, moisture content TAPPI- T412-om-93, brightness TAPPI T452 om-92, opacity TAPPI standard T 425 om-91, burst strength TAPPI T403 om-97, tensile strength TAPPI T494 om-01, and tear strength TAPPI-T414-om-88. The results showed that the optimal conditions of rice straw hand sheet including pulping time: 2 hours, pulping temperature: 100°C, pulping solvent: 2 wt% NaOH, and bleaching: unbleached pulp gave the highest the physical and mechanical properties form other conditions. This conditions showed as the basic weight 62.27 g/m2, thickness 259.30 µ, opacity 93.34 ISO%, burst strength 64.75 kPa.m2/g, tensile strength 95.33 N.m/g, and tear strength 473.55mN.m2/g. In this condition, the paper hand sheet used at the lowest concentration of pulping solvent and non-bleached, which reduces environmental pollution.

This work developed activated carbon loaded lignocellulosic fibers (kraft pulp) by pulp refining process and used them to form activated carbon paper (AC-paper). AC-paper was used for the removal of dye and heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions. In pulp refining process, kraft pulp was mixed with activated carbon using high consistency refiner with the addition of cationic starch as a binder. The effects of cationic starch and activated carbon concentration on AC-paper properties were investigated. Activated carbon amount of 0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50%, and cationic starch amount of 0, 0.25 and 0.50% (% by oven dried weight pulp) were examined. The AC-paper was prepared at basis weight of 60±5 g/m2. Paper mechanical properties, including density, tensile index, burst index, ring crush index, and tear index, were tested according to ISO 5270. The results show that all paper strength properties declined when the amount of activated carbon was increased. Especially, when the activated carbon content above 30%, paper strength was greatly reduced. The improvement of paper strength was observed when with the cationic starch was added. However, the increased of cationic starch amount from 0.25 to 0.50% showed no significantly difference in paper strength. Paper adsorption of dye (methyl orange, (MO)) and heavy metal ions (zinc and iron) were also studied. The AC-paper prepared from fiber with 50% activated carbon and 0.50% cationic starch provided highest adsorption values of both dye and metal ions from aqueous solutions. In this work, the use of 30% activated carbon and 0.50% cationic starch in pulp refining process was chosen as a suitable condition for the preparation of activated carbon loaded fiber because the activated carbon content above 30% could disrupt paper strength. The fiber obtained from this suitable condition gave the paper with adsorption values of 0.62, 16.38 and 16.72 mg/g for MO, Zn2+, and Fe2+, respectively. The developed activated carbon loaded lignocellulosic fibers could be potentially used for various specialty paper products, such as absorbent paper, filter paper and active packaging, in the future.

The separation of oil from water is significance for environmental de-pollution application. To obtain selectivity of liquid, filter papers were coated to bear highly hydrophobic and oleophilic functionality that can allow only oils to pass through them. The coating solutions were prepared by mixing poly(methylhydro siloxane, PMHS) and fumed silica at various proportions. To determine an optimum coating condition, properties of the treated filter papers were investigated by measuring water contact angle and surface free energy, examining surface morphology and testing for selective removal of diesel oil from water. The optimum coating solution was at the PMHS:fumed silica weight ratio of 1.25:1.00. The treated filter paper exhibited high hydrophobicity with water contact angle of 142.80 ± 0.36 degrees and surface free energy of 0.78 mJ/m2. In addition, it exhibited high selective removal of diesel oil from water with oil absorption capacity of 2.3 g/g.

This work presents an enhancement of the voltammetric signal on an electrochemical paper-based analytical device (ePAD) using a graphene oxide (GO) modified carbon electrode. The ePAD is fabricated using a screen printing technique for fabrication of the hydrophobic area and three electrode strips. The graphene film was directly prepared on ePAD by dropping 2 µL of GO dispersed in water onto the working electrode surface and leaving it to dry at room temperature. The electrochemical reduction process of GO was carried out by applying a constant voltage of -1.20 V (vs. Ag/AgCl electrode strip) in 0.1 M KCl for 800 s. The GO-modified carbon working electrode on ePAD was readily obtained and ready to use after removing KCl solution. We tested the enhancement of the voltammetric signal on ePAD with a 6 mM [Fe(CN)6]4–/3– redox couple in 0.1 M KCl supporting electrolyte solution. Our results obtained from cyclic voltammograms showed that the unmodified working electrode and the GO-modified working electrode on ePAD provided similar anodic and cathodic peaks. Due to accelerated electron transfer process, it was found that the GO-modified working electrode on ePAD provided approximately a 2-fold increase in voltammetric signals when compared to the unmodified working electrode on ePAD. The reproducibility (inter-day precision) of the voltammetric signal measurement using a GO-modified working electrode on ePAD was acceptable. The relative standard deviation (RSD) was 5-8%. Therefore, the GO-modified carbon working electrode on ePAD offers an effective approach to enhance the signal and sensitivity for chemical analysis.

Deforestation issues increased dramatically every year specially to produce paper. Therefore, to supplement the limited wood fibre resources, non-wood fibres especially sugarcane bagasse introduced an alternatives resolve for raw material is considered in paper-based industries. This study addresses the analysis of magnetic sugarcane bagasse materials as substitute fibres in papermaking. Paper is generally made with cellulose fibre which has some specific features used for educational, packaging, and cleaning purposes. Sugarcane bagasse (Saccarhumofficinarum) is popular for its cellulose, holocellulose, and lignin that far more convenient than wood fibres. Meanwhile, the demands of magnetic material in magnetic papermaking industry has increased due to its excellent mechanical characteristics. As the magnetic paper shows some superiority in properties such as renewable use and folding resistance. The used of filler in this study is to alter the properties such as texture, opacity, brightness, dimensional stability, and overall printability. Thus, the used of ferrite (Fe) magnet as a filler can enhance the paper properties. Ferrite is recognized as a hard-magnetic material with distinct properties such as good mechanical hardness and chemical stability, therefore it is a much more convenient material for magnetic paper production. Through the observation under Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), the image obtained shows that magnetics sugarcane bagasse paper was more convenient to be used as an alternative for paper making. Next, Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) recognizes the presence of a functional group of the magnetics sugarcane bagasse paper. Moreover, the chemical properties obtained from this study show that the magnetics sugarcane bagasse was as good as the commercial paper available in the industries. To increase the integrity of the paper, the radiation process by using gamma-ray was done to the paper to see the different for pre and post radiation.

The need for pulp and paper currently in the whole world has become shooting up massively. The generation of the pulp, as well as paper from woody materials, has a challenge due to deforestation, huge chemical and energy consumptions. Now, an alternative source for paper is lignocelluloses wastes, because of low cost, low energy, and chemical consumption. Among them, the banana pseudostem was best for the input of pulp and paper production. This investigation was on the production and characterization of pulp from Banana Pseudo Stem for Paper Making via Soda Anthraquinone pulping process. The amount of cellulose (41.45%), ash (12.4%), hemicellulose (23.37%), extractive (12.72%), and lignin (10.46%) contents were obtained at the initial compositional evaluation of the pseudostem. It has excellent fiber length (1.75mm), fiber diameter (22.15μm), an acceptable Runkle ratio (0.55), and flexibility coefficient (159.64). The effect of temperature (130,140 and 150 °C), cooking time (45, 60, and 75 minutes), the concentration of soda (10, 12.5, and 15%), were examined. The maximum pulp yield and kappa number was 36.7% and 22.8 respectively obtained at 10% of soda concentration, at 150 °C, and 63 minutes of cooking time from oven-dried raw material. The produced paper from the banana pseudostem has a tensile index, tearing index, smoothness, and porosity were 78.75 Nm/g, 19.1 mN.m2/g, 500-530μm, and 50 sec/100ml air respectively. This study indicates that high strength mechanical property and good surface properties paper can be produced from banana pseudostem pulp with a more environmentally friendly pulping process.

Effluents from pulp and paper mill typically consist of high loading of inorganics compounds (e.g., Na2CO3, Na2S, NaOH and NaCl) and organics compounds (e.g., lignin and polysaccharides fragments, alcohols, carboxylic acids) Several methods, such as biological, physical and chemical treatment, have been reported to degrade these molecules. However, coagulation is by far the cheapest, simplest and most common method employed for secondary wastewater treatment to reduce colour and organics. In this research, two most widely used methods were employed to treat a model wastewater of pulp and paper industry, namely a combination of coagulation-flocculation-UV irradiation/H2O2 and electrocoagulation (EC). In the application of coagulation-flocculation-UV irradiation/H2O2 method, the decrease in colour (measured as absorbance at 500 nm) was 71%, and the COD removal was measured to be 38% under the optimum conditions of pH 8, coagulant dose of 700 ppm, flocculant dose of 60 ppm, 130 rpm of coagulant stirring rate, 1 day irradiation time, and 25 mM of H2O2. For the EC method, 91% reduction of color and 84% reduction of COD were achieved at 40 min of electrolysis time, pH of 8, 600 ppm of NaCl concentration, electrode distance of 1.5 cm and 2 V of voltage. The EC method may serve as an efficient method for color and organics removals from pulp and paper mill wastewater.

Seedling bags are low cost and light weight containers used by farmers to germinate and sprout seeds into seedlings before transplanting into the ground. However, cutting and removing seedling bags before the transplantation can damage the plant roots and cause losses in their productivity. In addition, plastics used in conventional seedling bags contribute to more plastic waste during this process. This study offers a solution to these problems with alternative biodegradable materials; i.e. modified papers made from an invasive alien aquatic plant species—water hyacinth—and enhanced with Chitosan solution coating. Papers were made from water hyacinth and dipped or sprayed with Chitosan solution in acetic acid at concentrations of 1% wt., 1.5% wt., and 2% wt. The dipping method showed better water barrier properties than the spraying method in every concentration, with 2% wt. concentration having the best barrier properties. The 2% wt. concentration of Chitosan coating by dipping method changed the water contact angle of the water hyacinth paper from a hydrophilic to a hydrophobic surface. This enhancement in water resistance was confirmed by water absorption time, which reached over 1.5 hours—3 times longer than the spraying method.

Finding an effective framework for the consumption of municipal and construction/demolition wastes has been the main research consideration for decades. For different categories of wastes, there is a need for the development of working systems for cleaner utilization of the materials. This study is focused on the review of composite development using paper waste and pulverized ceramics. The issues discussed comprises; excessive waste production, the building sector’s ecological effects, paper waste availability, and proposed solutions to realizing a sustainable built environment. The study also discussed standard mortar and the various types that exist, lightweight mortar, its nature, intricacies of its production process, and the prior use of waste materials for its manufacture. Paper waste, although not having enough strength as conventional aggregate, but with its filling effect, could fit lightweight mortar production along with other similar aggregates. The study gave an overview of the methodological deficiency found and proposed viable approaches to combat these gaps and further advance sustainable and eco-friendly construction.

Concrete incorporated with waste paper fibres (WPF) was studied to get the initial information of compressive strength before doing further action to solve a critical problem. Problems such as environmental problem, high production cost and concrete distress were solved to minimise the critical problem. The main objective of the preliminary study is to investigate the compressive strength of concrete with WPF at an appropriate percentage. Some review assessments from previous studies, either on industrial fibres or natural fibres with critics, were done to obtain information and upgrade knowledge. The compressive strength and water absorption result were reported for concrete without and with WPF in proportion of 0.2%, 0.4%, 0.6%, 0.8%, 1.0% and 1.5%. From the observation and testing, the compressive strength of concrete with WPF was decreased with increase in fibre percentage in the concrete. Besides, the water absorption, which always influence the compressive strength, was increased when the percentage of fibres increased; thus, some recommendations and adjustments are proposed for the next feat to produce waste paper fibre concrete with better compressive strength and greater water absorption, and thus solve the environmental issues and enable waste material to support sustainable materials in construction and building.

Pulp and paper mills have a process that generates waste with high levels of CaO and SiO2, which can be valued as an alternative mineral source in the cement industry. In this work the lime mud, biomass ashes and WWTP sludge are used in the production of clinker. Analysis of X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the crystalline phases calcite and quartz. Chemical analysis by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) identified Al2O3, CaO and SiO2, providing support for the calculation of theoretical stages by applying the Bogue equations. Five formulations and three processing temperatures (1350, 1400, 1455 °C) were studied. The products obtained and an ordinary Portland cement (OPC) were characterized by XRD with quantification by the Rietveld method. The results showed that the processing conditions used produced belíticos (higher content of C2S) and Portland (C3S content greater) ecoclinker.

Anode surface plays important role for extracellular electron transfer (EET) of exoelectrogenic microbes in microbial fuel cell (MFC). In this report, the electrochemical performance of a TiO2nanorod array modified carbon paper electrode (TiO2NRs/CP) is greatly improved by controlled chemical etching process. The etching process keeps the array morphology but yields obvious hollows on tops of TiO2nanorods. The etched electrode (TiO2NRs-HOT/CP) exhibits better hydrophilicity than carbon paper (CP) and TiO2NRs/CP electrode as seen from smaller contact angle (CA) and more attached microbes S.loihica PV-4. Meanwhile, the hollows allow higher local concentration of microbial self-secreted flavins that can act as electron mediators for interfacial electron transfer of PV-4 through in-direct pathway. Accordingly, PV-4 produces larger current density at TiO2NRs-HOT/CP electrode with maximum current density of 0.038 mA cm–2, which was much higher than that at CP electrode, and almost five times higher than that at un-etched TiO2NRs/CP electrode.

High amount of calcium oxide (CaO) in source material is known to positively influence the mechanical strength of fly ash based geopolymer. This study was conducted to investigate the suitability of paper mill sludge ash (PMSA) to partially replace fly ash in geopolymer mortar based on the characteristic of its degree of reaction. Fly ash was activated by a combination of sodium silicate and 6M sodium hydroxide solution. The mixtures were designed to replace fly ash content with PMSA at 5%, 10%, and 15% (by weight of fly ash). To observe its effect on the degree of reaction, the specimens were cured in three different temperatures, which are 30°C, 60°C, and 90°C for 24 hours. After 24 hours, the hardened specimens were demoulded and stored in room temperature until the testing days. Measurement on fresh geopolymer properties was conducted with setting time and flowability tests, while degree of reaction test was conducted on the hardened specimen at 1 and 28 days. Based on the result, 5% of PMSA demonstrated superior degree of reaction than other mixtures in every curing temperature. It signifies the prospective benefit of PMSA for further use as an additive in geopolymer.

Power consumption is becoming more expensive by the day. This is not far from the fact that power generation is facing a lot of challenges coupled with increasing demand. Industrial sector power demand shares a significant proportion of this generated power. It is therefore a necessary task to manage well industrial energy use through appropriate energy efficiency methods practice so as to minimise energy losses. In this study energy efficiency opportunities in pulp and paper (P&P) mill are identified and the saving potential is then quantified. An energy flow model with the help of an energy audit are used to quantify energy supply, generation, conversion and end use thereby exposing areas of energy losses of the mill. This analysis will serve as an eye opener to future and current P&P making operations in South Africa, and as a base case for stimulating changes toward more efficient energy utilization in the pulp and paper industry. Quite a reasonable energy losses avenues were identified, audited and options of improvements suggested. The results proved that quite a sensible amount of energy is lost in the P&P case study and a near future look into the opportunities and barriers have been noted.

Oil impregnated insulation paper plays an important role in a transformer as it insulates the windings from high voltage and current. Other than the type of paper used, the properties of oil such as viscosity, relative permittivity and dielectric loss play a major factor that contributes to the quality of the insulation paper. This paper discussed the sonication and esterification process on palm oil and treated waste vegetable oil and its’ effects on the performance of oil impregnated paper. Basically through these processes, viscosity of oils will reduce. However, the resultant permittivity and dielectric loss as well as its’ breakdown strength are rarely reported. Experiments were set to process (sonicates and esterify) the natural oils prior to the paper impregnation process. Results show that esterification is more effective than sonication process in reducing insulation oil viscosity, relative permittivity and dissipation factors as well as increasing the breakdown voltage of the oil impregnated paper. Palm oil methyl ester (POME) could serve as an excellent insulation oil which is very suitable as transformer oil as well as the impregnation medium for paper insulation.

Lightweight panels for indoor constructions are typically made from composite materials with honeycomb and corrugated structures. The reinforcements are used in this study, one is fiberglass and the other is cellulose fiber, which cellulose from recycled paper. Experimental results indicate that the weight of honeycomb paper panel is light, only 13.6% of fiberglass composite and 32.6% of plywood. The presence of honeycomb structure has a significant effect on mechanical behaviors of composite panels. Both flexural and compressive strengths increase by replacing corrugated structure into honeycomb structure. During compression, the compressive strength and modulus of two-layer honeycomb/core panel are higher than those of monolayer honeycomb/core. Particularly, the honeycomb cell-wall thickness has a little effect on the weight, but has an important effect on mechanical properties. These results can be created low cost and lightweight environment-friendly panels by using recycled paper honeycomb structure.

In present investigation, an attempt was made to optimise the peak stress for paper laminate composite using FRANC2D software. It was observed that the laminate having the triangular geometry supposed to be most appropriate as it has the lowest value of peak stress contour compared to other models like parallel strip, up-down tapered and down-up tapered. The minimum peak stress was observed for the samples having triangular geometry while the maximum was observed for down-up tapered samples. Therefore, the hypothesis adopted to use in-built materials with variables reinforcement area and strip geometry and length in the FRANC2D software to optimize the sample geometry and then apply it to the paper laminate by considering its mechanical properties might be use to optimize the peak stress of paper laminate composite in tensile loading conditions. It was also observed a length of one-quarter of the length of the plane strip, might be the optimum length of the paper laminate samples. However, it feels that, the above model can be further modified considering a more significant mechanical properties as well as different sample geometries.

The numbers of Malaysian construction industry had been increasing in several years with the large construction building and infrastructures projects had been constructed. Therefore, these developments led to an increase of cement production. The production of cement will cause wider environmental implication such are air pollution, water pollution and soil pollution which are very dangerous for human health. This is due to the manufacturing of cement that release dust, toxic and carbon dioxide emissions, which is a significant contributor of greenhouse gases. To overcome this problem, several researches had been conducted for the past few decade to find a new waste material that have same mechanical properties which can replace cement content in construction. One of the most promising materials that shows great potential is eggshell as a cement replacement. It is reported that the global egg production will increase to about 90 million tons by 2030, therefore the waste of eggshell will be increased too. This paper study the mechanical properties of eggshell as a cement replacement in concrete. Several papers had been reviewed and the results are presented in order to shows the performance of eggshell in concrete. The result shows that the concrete with less than 15% replacement of eggshell produced higher compressive and tensile strength compared to normal concrete. Moreover, the flexural strength of concrete containing eggshell up to 20% replacement shows comparable results with normal concrete. From the results, by replacing cement with eggshell up to 15% show a good performance as well as can reduce the use of cement and reduce the eggshell wasted in landfill.

Tensile strength test for paper has been regularly used in measurement of paper quality in the industry. In this study, changes in properties of paper during biodegradation were compared by measurement of the tensile strength cellulose activity. Samples of filter paper and polyethylene coated paper were digested with cellulose degrading Bacillus isolates. Treatment with water was used as a negative control. The paper samples were cut into precise shape according to the standard protocol of mechanical tensile strength test to measure the maximum tensile force. After removing bacterial biomass, reducing sugars were measured as a surrogate for callulase activity in the spent fermentation broth and the paper samples were subjected to the mechanical strength, breaking load and stretch tests. The results showed the amount of stretch in paper was critically reduced over longer contact time in bacterial culture. Changes in the mechanical strength were apparent within 3-7 days of contact time, whereas changes in reducing sugars were observed only after 7-10 days of incubation depending on the paper type. In filter paper samples, more reducing sugars and less mechanical strength indicated increased biodegradation of the cellulose matrix. Overall, the mechanical tensile strength test was deemed an early indicator for paper biodegradation that may have commercial application.

This paper describes the influence of sintering temperature on phase composition and microstructure of paper-derived Ti3AlC2 composites fabricated by spark plasma sintering. The composites were sintered at 100 MPa pressure in the temperature range of 1150-1350 °C. Phase composition and microstructure were analyzed by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The multiphase structure was observed in the sintered composites consisting of Ti3AlC2, Ti2AlC, TiC and Al2O3 phases. The decomposition of the Ti3AlC2 phase into Ti2AlC and TiC carbide phases was observed with temperature rise. The total content of Ti3AlC2 and Ti2AlC phases was reduced from 84.5 vol.% (1150 °C) to 69.5 vol.% (1350 °C). The density of composites affected by both the content of TiC phase and changes in porosity.

The paper adopts modified carbon fiber with Meldrum's acid and silane coupling agent (KH-550), then add the modified carbon fiber to the paper based friction materials. The paper aims to explore the changes of modified carbon fiber in its surface structure and properties by electron microscopy and infrared spectral analysis, and the effect of anionic microparticle forming retention aid system comprised of lithium soapstone-cationic polyacrylamide (CPAM) on mechanical properties and retention of paper based friction materials. Compared with the addition of unmodified carbon fiber to paper based friction materials, the addition of modified carbon fiber with Meldrum's acid, silane coupling agent, Meldrum's acid and silane coupling agent enhance the tensile strength of paper based friction materials. The tensile index of paper based friction materials was separately enhanced by 64.87 %, 91.38 % and 28.88 %. Compared with the paper based friction materials without the anionic microparticle forming retention aid system, the basis weight of paper based friction materials increased by 13.97 %.

Fabrication and mechanical properties of the bio-composites between water hyacinth natural fiber and paper mulberry have been investigated. The fabrication was performed using the hand lay-up technique. Untreated and treated water hyacinth fiber were used as reinforcements, in the ratio of 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% by weight, with paper mulberry as a biomatrix. It has been found that paper mulberry reinforced with 15 % treated WH fiber showed maximum tensile strength and impact energy. The optical and scanning electron microscopic morphology of the obtained composites displayed a rougher surface and the decrease in the fiber diameter when treated with sodium hydroxide (NaOH). This improved the interlocking between the matrix and its reinforcement.

During recycling of waste paper from private households different fractions containing plastics and polluted paper fibers are received. Those polluted fibers cannot be recycled in the common paper manufacturing process or for energy recovery like in waste incinerating plants due t o economic reasons. Current research at the Institute of Polymer Materials and Plastics Engineering at Clausthal University of Technology evaluated the use of this waste paper recyclate as a substitution for natural fibers as fillers and reinforcements in polypropylene. Special attention was given to the mechanical properties of the composites. Additionally the influence of maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (MAPP) as an adhesive was investigated.

Electrocoagulation technique has been widely used in wastewater treatment because it is considered as safe, efficient and environmentally friendly. In this research, electrocoagulation cell was constructed using aluminum and iron electrodes. These metal plates were cut into three parts and were arranged in parallel modes. The constructed electrocoagulation cells were then utilized for the treatment of wastewater obtained from local paper industry. Some operational parameters namely electrolysis time, pH, applied voltage, and electrode distance were analyzed. It was found that the optimum conditions were electrolysis time of 60 minute, pH of 7, applied voltage of 14 V and electrode distance of 1.5 cm. For iron electrode, percentage removals of conductivity, turbidity, COD and BOD were 62%, 97%, 37% and 30%, respectively. For aluminum electrode, the percentage removals of conductivity, turbidity, COD and BOD were 42%, 98%, 37% and 50%, respectively.

Panicum repens is a species of grass known by many common names, including torpedo grass, creeping panic, panic rampant, couch panicum, wainaku grass, quack grass, dog-tooth grass, and bullet grass. The paper has been made from non-wood materials for long times. This research was used Panicum repens for made grass pulp as non-wood fiber. The influence of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) concentrations on properties of pulp from Panicum repens was investigated under room temperature. NaOH concentration levels were varied at 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%, respectively. Moreover, Paper pulp from Panicum repens was observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). This research has controlled the length of fiber approximately 0.5-2.5 cm before soaked with NaOH concentration at 1 hour and soak with water for controlled pH value at 7-8. Paper pulp was formed on a sieve. The result showed that color of paper pulp made from Panicum repens was light brown and green. SEM showed that NaOH concentration affects the physical properties of paper pulp. Moreover, true density of paper pulp was also investigated in this research.

Paper made from water hyacinth which was modified by PLA solvent coating and the PLA content were varied for finding the most appropriate content. The SEM images of both surface and cross section were carried out for showing the interaction between the water hyacinth paper and PLA film. The water barrier properties of PLA content at 0.4 % (W/V) and 0.6 % (W/V) showed the hydrophobic properties of water hyacinth paper. The modified water hyacinth paper could resist water being indicated by water absorption which was over 90 minute/5µL in any PLA content.

The generation of waste batteries is increasing yearly, and it is more prone to improper disposal resulting in environmental and health concerns. Treatment and handling of this waste are often costly and complex. Hence, an upcycling route to turn such waste into valuable material, specifically the production of graphene from graphite rods of waste batteries, was explored. Graphene dispersions were prepared by the solvent exfoliation of powdered graphite rods. A significant increase in the surface area was observed from 3.75 m2 g-1 (graphite rod powder) to 239.05 m2 g-1 (graphene powder) with a transparent sheet-like appearance. Then, the graphene dispersed in the solvent used for dip-coating of paper, cardboard, and composite plyboard. The tearing strength of paper and cardboard was improved by 70.6% and 31.0%, respectively. The compressive and shear strength of the composite plyboard increased by 14.8% and 72.0%, respectively. These results demonstrate the feasibility of utilizing the graphene solvent from graphite rods of spent primary batteries for the fabrication of composite samples with significantly augmented mechanical properties for various applications.

Silver nanoparticles are well known for their antimicrobial properties and have been widely used in medical and industrial applications to prevent the growth of microorganisms. The effectiveness of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) as an antimicrobial material is influenced by their shape and size; the smaller the size, the more active the AgNPs. To prevent aggregation, the nanoparticles can be maintained by stabilizing agents. This study aims to synthesize silver nanoparticles in situ using cellulose paper and to evaluate their antimicrobial activity. For reduction of Ag+ ions were used propane-1,2-diol. The reduction was carried out at 60, 80, and 100o C to accelerate the reaction. The formation of silver nanoparticles can be seen from the change in paper color from white to yellow or brown. This result is confirmed by the occurrence of the absorption peak in the UV-Vis spectrum between 300-500 nm. The TEM image shows the size distribution of silver nanoparticles affected by their reduction temperature. Antimicrobial tests provide a clear zone from the bottom of the paper to the edge. The reaction temperature at 60o C showed the best antimicrobial activity with AgNPs averaging at 6 nm. This method can be applied to antimicrobial paper preparation with controlled size and distribution.

During transportation, long-term storage and operation metal products are exposed to atmospheric corrosion that leads to billions of losses every year. The urgency of the problem being investigated is due to the fact that export of metal products is mainly carried out by sea through regions with humid tropical climate. The search for new packaging materials is a significant trend in corrosion control. The research of effective corrosion inhibitors that are capable to protect all kinds of metals, such as steel, zinc, copper, aluminum, is actually carried out, as well as the process of development of getting the packaging materials containing the corrosion inhibitors. The purpose of this paper was a research of anticorrosive properties of experimental packaging papers under increased humidity and in the presence of chloride of sodium. In this paper the test conditions which, correspond to the handling conditions of steel products through the zones with tropical climate, were simulated. The studies research found out that the experimental patented corrosion inhibitors do not take protective effect on galvanized steel. The generated corrosion products are incoherent, weakly coupled with metal and easily fall off (crumble), that results in metal loss.

The agriculture waste material can give benefit to many production industries. The studied crop is corn (Zea Mays)stalk. The objective of this work was to analysis the chemical composition; to study chemical pulping and papermaking properties of corn stalk and; to investigate the fiber morphology of properties of those crops. Firstly, the chemical composition of corn stalk were determined and compared with other non-woods. After that, chemical corn stalk was conducted in this analysis followed the physical and mechanical properties. The result showed that, corn stalk have cellulose (39.0%) and lignin content is the lowest (7.3%) content rather than other composition. In chemical pulping, reached high pulp yields had been produced and the strength properties: tear index, tensile index, burst and fold verified that they were of an acceptable quality for papermaking. This crop morphology was observed by Scanning Electron Microscopic (SEM), which showed a condensed composition of fiber structure. This study can developed a friendly product and promote the green technology, suitable to be used as an alternative pulp in paper making industry.Keywords:Fiber, Corn stalk, Composition, Green technology, Pulp and paper making.

Graphene films have been intensively explored because of their unique mechanical and physicochemical properties for potential applications in field of tissue engineering and implants. However, for biomedical applications, it is necessary to fully understand the toxicity and biocompatibility of the prepared graphene films since different synthesis method might lead to different biological properties. Here we report a step-by-step thermal reduction method of preparing reduced graphene oxide (rGO) film directly on various substrates at low heating temperature (below about 200 °C) without requiring any chemical reduction agent like hydrazine or other reductants (therefore we call it green method). Slowly heating GO hydrosol that was coated on the surface of a glass cell-culture dish or inside of a polypropylene tube from room temperature to 60, 100, and 160 °C for 12 h, respectively, a shiny and flat surface without crumpled structure or tiny pores was formed. We peeled it off from the substrate to explore its cytotoxicity. The results exhibited that the rGO film was biocompatible with Cal-72 cell but against Escherichia coli bacteria. Our work confirmed that rGO film produced by the green reduction method is cytocompatible with mammalian cells, which makes this rGO film a promising material for tissue engineering scaffold or as a surface-modification coating of an implant.