Preparation of Compounded Papers Using Wasted Tea Leaves.

An attempt to develop a paper making method for a functional paper containing green tealeaves wastes disposed in industrial use was made. The authors successfully produced papers containing wasted green tealeaves ,not exceeding 60wt%, grounded by a mass-colloider. Antibacterial properties of these papers were investigated. Regarding the papers in a dry condition, the tensile index and bursting index were not significantly different depending on the kinds of tealeaves. The strength was decreased as increasing in the content of tealeaves. The tensile index of the papers were markedly lower in a wet condition when compared in a dry state. By addition of latex binder at a content of 0.3 wt%, the tensile index of the papers was 8.5-15.8 N-m/g in a wet condition for all kinds of the papers, which was similar to that for a paper made from 100 wt% pulp. Antibacterial test for Staphylococcus aureus was performed with various kinds of papers containing wasted tealeaves. Growth inhibition effects on the bacterium were noted in the papers containing wasted tealeaves, but not recognized in papers made from 100 wt% pulp. In particular, the antibacterial effects for a paper containing wasted black tealeaves were fairly high. It was demonstrated that the antibacterial effects were not reduced even by mixing a latex binder at 0.3 wt%. Further, the fiber assembled structure of the papers was observed by optical and scanning electron microscopes to be a multi-layered structure by stacking with a thin layer of pulps including the grounded tealeaves. These findings suggest that the tealeaves-containing papers with the unique layered structure can be a functional material for environmental friendly and sanitary usage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]