Papermaking as Potential Use of Fibers from Mexican Opuntia ficus-indica Waste

The papermaking potential of Opuntia ficus-indica (OFI) waste fibers was studied in this research. Alpha cellulose, lignin, hollocellulose, ethanol/benzene extractives and ash content were determined as 53.7±0.1%, 2.4±0.3%, 61.6±5.7%, 7.1±0.3% and 26.4±0.1%, respectively. The average fiber length, width, lumen and cell wall thickenss were found to be 1.1±0.3 mm, 18.8±6.1µm, 12.1±5.4 µm, 4.3±1.0 µm. Soda pulping was conducted using 20 and 28% sodium hydroxide, cooking temperatures of 160 and 175 °C, cooking times of 60 and 120 min, and liquor- to fiber ratio of 9:1. Soda pulping with 28% sodium hydroxide, 175 °C and 120 min showed a lower Kappa number of 29.60±1.7 and a total yield of 32.2±1.6 %. In general, tensile strength index (36.0±5.0 Nm/g), stretch (1.7±0.3%), breaking length (3.7±0.5 km), burst index (3.2±0.4 KPa.m2/g), tear index (7.3±0.0 mN.m2/g), folding endurance (166 times) and porosity (> 120 s) of OFI pulp were comparable with wood and non-wood pulps.