Physical Properties of Banana Stem and Leaf Papers Laminated with Banana Film.

A sustainable development requires the use of bio-based packaging materials because of ready availability and limited environment impact. The porous structure and hydrophilic nature of cellulose in paper based materials needs to be combined or laminated with other materials to overcome these limitations. The fiber found in the banana stems and leaves, it is possible to use these raw materials in pulp processing and banana flour can be produced into an edible film. The aim of the study was to discover a suitable method (wet lamination or dry lamination) for producing paper (stems, leaves, or a 1:1 ratio of mixed stems and leaves) lamination with banana film and to study their physical properties for packaging application. Banana flour (4%) solution was used as adhesive media between paper and film for wet lamination process where as the heating and compression were applied for dry lamination process. The results showed the efficiency of banana stems for paper production. However, there was an improvement in results when a 1:1 ratio of mixed stems and leaves was used due to an increase in tensile strength, elongation, and the L value. There was no significance in the water vapor permeability in all treatments. All treatments of paper lamination expressed 6 - 13% moisture content. The separation of film and paper layers occurred in dry lamination samples. The wet lamination of the leaf paper and mixed paper caused high tensile strength and elongation. Therefore, it could be used as an alternative and environmentally friendly method in the application of packaging materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]