FEASIBILITY OF BANANA PEEL; ALTERNATIVE MATERIAL MAKING

SUPERMARKET PAPER BAG

A Research Proposal

Presented to the Faculty of Senior High School

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Strand

Basic Education Division, University of San Carlos, Cebu City, Philippines

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for

STEM Research Project

Carado, Ali Matthew

Caramelo, Dominique Dale

Mendoza, Ralf Adrianne

Plenos, Hani

Ursaiz, John Cave

November 2019
Table of Contents
Table of contents ................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
CHAPTER 1 ....................................................................................................................... 3
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 3
Abstract ........................................................................................................................ 3
Rationale ...................................................................................................................... 4
Statement of the problem ............................................................................................. 6
Significance of the study ............................................................................................. 7
Scope and Delimitations .............................................................................................. 8
Conceptual Framework................................................................................................ 9
CHAPTER II ..................................................................................................................... 10
Review of Related Literature ........................................................................................ 10
References ................................................................................................................. 13
Deffinition of Terms .................................................................................................. 17
CHAPTER III ................................................................................................................... 18
METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................ 18
Research Design ........................................................................................................ 18
Materials and equipments .......................................................................................... 18
Drying of banana peels .............................................................................................. 19
Extraction of lignin .................................................................................................... 19
Boiling the banana peels ............................................................................................ 19
Blending the banana peels ......................................................................................... 19
Making the pulp into paper ........................................................................................ 20
APPENDIX ................................................................................................................... 21
BUDGETARY REQUIREMENTS ........................................................................... 21
Work Schedule .......................................................................................................... 22
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Abstract

Pollution and other waste products are prevalent, making global warming and

environmental issues rampant in our world today. Two commonly disposed materials in

the Philippines are waste paper and food wastes. Based on the records from the

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), the DENR stated that Metro

Manila alone produces about 8,400 to 8,600 tons of trash per day. This study determines

the effectiveness of using banana peels and waste paper as an alternative paper for

producing supermarket paper bags. This study also focuses to lessen the disposal of waste

paper and food waste, and to maximize the source of abundant supply of banana peels in

the country. The data presentation of this research quantitative experimentation is with a

table set of precisely recorded values for determining the weight capacity, water

resistance, and flexibility of the formulated paper and seeks different result based on the

time spent in blending, boiling and drying, and the adjustment in concentrations of the

caustic soda (NaOH) sodium hydroxide to extract the fibers of the banana peel to remove

lignin that causes the banana peels’ rigidity. This said literature reveals the effectiveness

of the banana peels effectiveness as a substitute material in making supermarket paper

bags. Thus the production of the said paper is not costly and does not use several

processes in contrast to the typical commercially formulated supermarket paper bags.

Rationale

In our world today, the threat of global warming and other environmental issues

caused by pollution and other waste products is prevalent. Two of commonly disposed

materials in the Philippines are waste paper and food waste. Based on the records from

the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), the DENR stated that Metro

Manila produced about 8,400 to 8,600 tons of trash per day. Half of which are

biodegradable waste such as food scraps and leftovers, while 17% of the trash are paper

(Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2011). Despite the Philippines’ policies and repeated

campaigns to reduce, reuse, and recycle, Filipinos sadly still seem slow to adopt a

“recycling culture,” especially at home. It’s an issue which Department of Labour and

Employment (DOLE) Philippines, through a recently launched sustainability initiative,

hopes to address with the help of a group of people whom they believe have the most

power to influence their families the youth. (Business Inquirer, 2017).

By diverting food waste away from the landfills we can reduce our carbon

footprint, capture the renewable energy, and restore the essential nutrients back to the

soil. Food waste is recyclable and hence must be used smartly in order to trim down the

greenhouse emissions that come from landfills through composting the kitchen and

garden scrap, donate waste for animal feed, and reuse the food packaging material.

Convert food scrap into biogas. (Conserve Energy Future, n.d.) It is indicated the source

that a banana peel, could take up to two years of decomposition. Even though banana

peels decompose more quickly than materials like plastic or glass it will still stick around

for a while, in a popular area that sees dozens of visitors per day even a handful of people
leaving behind food waste can add up to a big pile of decomposing garbage

(blog.nols.edu, 2017).

Bananas are one of the most common and widely grown fruit crops in the Philippines.

There are over 57 varieties of bananas worldwide; 5 of which are common in the

Philippines namely saba, lacatan, latundan, bungulan, and 5ocuments. It is also one of the

country’s major dollar earners and has consistently ranked next to coconut oil and prawns

in terms of value earnings during the last five years (Banana Production Guide, 2016).

The Philippines is one of the top five exporters of bananas, with some 2.85

million metric tonnes exported in 2017 and in 2018. The country produced some 9.36

million metric tonnes of bananas on 447,889 ha, with 5ocuments (Musa 5ocuments

Cavendish) cultivars accounting for about 52% of total banana production, saba (Musa

5ocuments balbisiana) (27%) and lakatan (Musa 5ocuments) (10%) (OpenSTAT, 2017).

There for instead of throwing banana peels away the researchers find an alternative way

in reusing and reducing waste of banana peels through formulating a paper out of the 3

banana species namely lakatan(Musa acuminate) ,latundan(Musa sapientum) and

saba(Musa 5ocuments balbisiana).

Paper is a thin material that finds its main uses in writing, drawing, and

wrapping. It’s typically produced by pressing together the moist cellulose fiber that can

be found in a number of organic materials such as inner bark, leaves, and grasses. Since

fiber is basically what is needed in paper making banana peels contain about 20-30%

fiber and banana fiber is known to be a natural fiber making them recyclable and

biodegradable (An Overview of Banana Fiber, 2014).

 The production of banana paper has already been done. Banana paper is

commercially sold for varying purposes. The main raw material used for it is banana

pseudo-stem (Banana paper making, Hussain & Tarar, 2013). The process of making this

paper requires the use of Caustic Soda or Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) in order to extract

the banana’s fibers (Ebisike et al. 2013). Since Sodium Hydroxide is a hazardous material

the researchers opted on the use of waste paper as a safer and more accessible alternative.

The purpose of this study is to prove whether it is possible to make banana

paper out of banana peel instead of banana bark and leaves, as well as how effective the

end product would be in terms of packaging compared to super market paper bags.

Statement of the problem

This study determines the effectiveness of using banana peels and waste paper as

an alternative paper. The study also aims to lessen the disposal of waste paper that can

contribute to environmental issues and maximize the source of abundant supply of

banana peels in the country. Lastly, this research seeks the appropriateness of the banana

peel paper for packing grocery materials, to determine the durability of the formulated

paper in terms of weight capacity, water resistance and flexibility, if there are any

significant difference in the result based on the time spent in blending, boiling, drying

and concentration of NaOH, and does the species of banana have varied results in its final

product.
Significance of the study

The study would be beneficial for several people, businesses and most especially

the environment which is at risk for humanities unlawful actions. This study will also

serve as an encouragement to the readers to innovate renewable and eco-friendly products

to lessen waste disposal of paper and food.

The poor, the banana peel paper is possible to be made by anyone also for it is

simple that would not need a production line in order to craft a paper bag out of banana

peels. Pollution will be lessening: carbon dioxide emissions, food wastes that would take

years to decompose and the demand and production of paper would somehow lessen. For

the banana peels will be utilize in making paper.

Farmers, they will be encourage to plant more banana barks in order to sell their

fruits, for it is possible to increase its demand if this product will be known to all. Also

planting plants will be good for the environment that will possibly omit the upcoming of

climate change.

Businesses, being green and eco friendly are social trends in today’s generation

against the war on global warming. Through this product businesses will be able to sell

banana peel paper bags to supermarkets or grocery stores and also people would be

encourage to buy daily necessities in those stores for this product would be for a cause in

saving our planet.

Future researchers, by knowing the capacities of the products durability in terms

of weight, water resistance and flexibility adding new knowledge to their research. Also
the researchers will be able to improve this research through adding different experiments

and be inspired to create studies that would benefit the present and future generation.

Scope and Delimitations

The study will only be about the three common types of banana species that grow

in the Philippines namely the lakatan(Musa acuminate) ,latundan(Musa sapientum) and

saba(Musa 8ocuments balbisiana). The experiment will only be about the appropriateness

of the said banana paper for packing as a substitute for supermarket paper bags through

durability in terms of water resistance, weight capacity and flexibility. The research also

tackles the effect of the different concentration (0, 10, 30) % of caustic soda NaOH in the

extraction of lignin present in the banana peel.

 Conceptual Framework

VARIABLES

INDEPENDENT DEPENDENT

Banana peels from: Appropriateness of the

banana peel paper of
lakatan, latundan and saba
making supermarket
paper bags from different
species of banana.

EXPERIMANTAL GROUPS

INDEPENDENT INDEPENDENT INDEPENDENT

Lakatan: Latundan: Saba:

Dried, Blended, Dried, Blended, Dried, Blended,

Boiled and drenched Boiled and drenched Boiled and drenched
in NaOH in NaOH in NaOH

DEPENDENT

Final Products’ durability and

appropriateness
 CHAPTER II

Review of Related Literature

The purpose of this literature review is to provide the reader with general

overview of (recycling). It provides a discussion on the importance of this study to the

existing literature. The content of this chapter were gathered from past studies such as

books and different thesis projects.

Food waste has become a complex phenomenon attracting the attention of

scientists, consumers and activists alike. It’s been termed as a global paradox regarding

the manner in which emphasis is put on agriculture to improve food security and then a

third of all the food produced ends up as waste. (Food and Agriculture Organization of

the United Nations, 2013).

An orange peel takes up to six months to decompose depending on the

environment, while a banana peel takes up to two years. Orange peels and banana peels

still stick around for a while even though these things can decompose more quickly than

materials like plastic or glass. Even a handful of people leaving behind food waste in a

popular area that sees dozens of visitors per day can add up to a big pile of decomposing

garbage. Herber, M. (2016 October 4).

Bananas plantains are best known as a food crop, almost every part of the plant

can be used in one way or another. It is both cheap and full of nutrients are rich in

nutrition, fiber, vitamins and minerals. Various parts of the banana plant itself can also be

used for different purposes all over the world. As a very good replacement for wood pulp

in paper industry, as it has high cellulose content, thus reducing the Environmental
impact of deforestation. Banana fiber can be an alternative raw material of paper

industries like writing paper, anti-grease paper, cheque paper as well as hard board

industries It can be easily blended with other fibers such as jute and mustard being

natural fibers. Therefore, lots of industrial products like gunny bags, door mats, carpets,

yarn, ropes, geo-textiles, trivialities, luggage carriers and interior decorative crafts paper,

tissue paper, paper bag, etc. can be made from this fiber, where great strength is required.

It has also some industrial uses such as natural sorbent, as a base material for

bioremediation and recycling and as a natural water purifier. Yadav, A., Kumari, R.,

Yadav, A., Mishra, J.P., Kumar, R. (2016).

Mankind has been strongly dependent on plant fibers for all kind of purposes. In

earlier days, natural fibers served a crucial role mitigate the everyday needs in a wide

range of uses. But in recent years the arrival of synthetic products is dominating over the

natural fiber, due to the low cost. But the synthetic fibers are nondegradable and causing

serious pollution problems. Banana is one of the earliest and important fruit crops

cultivated by man in tropical parts of the world. Banana is one of the important fruit

crops cultivated in tropical parts of the world. Banana farming generates huge quantity of

biomass all of which goes as waste and the above ground parts like pseudo stem and

peduncle are the major source of fiber. Banana fiber can be used as raw material for

industry for production of range of products like paper, cardboards, tea bags, currency

notes and reinforced as polymer composite in high quality dress materials (Mohapatra et

al., 2010).
Banana fiber is a kind of new-type natural fiber. Banana fiber is extracted from bark of

banana tree, it belongs to bast fiber. The appearance of banana fiber is similar with

natural original bamboo fiber and ramie fiber, but fineness and spin ability of banana

fiber is better than natural original bamboo fiber and ramie fiber. Banana fiber had a very

limited application and was primarily used for making items like ropes, mats, and some

other composite materials. With the increasing environmental awareness and growing

importance of eco-friendly fabrics, banana fiber has also been recognized for all its good

qualities and now its application is increasing in other fields too such as apparel garments

and home furnishing. (Preethi & G, 2016).

The banana plant has long been source of fiber for high quality textiles. It is used

in the production of paper. Banana as fertilizer work out with a number of plants.

Bananas have a lot of health benefits. Using banana skin fertilizer is also a great way of

recycling kitchen waste (Robert Marcello, n.d.). Banana peels add several important

nutrients to fertilizer including calcium, magnesium, sulphur, potassium phosphate and

sodium.
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Deffinition of Terms
 CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

Research Design

This research is a form of a quantitative study in which the researchers used the

banana peels from 3 species of banana that are wildly grown in the Philippines in order to

seek its appropriateness as an alternative material in making supermarket bags. Thus the

study also tackles the effects of prolonged boiling, drying and blending, and drenching in

different levels of concentration of NaOH to the banana peels in the formulation of

banana peel paper bags. Lastly, the experiment contains nine variables in where as the

three species of banana peels will be exposed to the said effects being mentioned in this

paper.

1st Experiment

Materials and equipments

The materials for the experiment are the following Banana Peels, Sodium

Hydroxide (NaOH), tap water(𝐻2 𝑂), sharp knife or scissors, pot, spoon, measuring cup,

paper making mold and deckle, large plastic basin, blender or food processor, large damp

cloth strainer or cheese cloth, digital Scale, gloves and mask.

Drying of banana peels

Remove the stem and blossom of the banana peels. Place them in a net bag under the sun

to dry for a couple of hours or until there is no moisture left and are dark in color. (For

drying in convection oven or broiler, set the temperature to 140°C for 30-60 minutes or

until the peels are dry and hard).

Extraction of lignin

Once the bananas peels have dried, cut them into ½ pieces, take about ½ cup of

the dried peels and set it aside. Create a 15% NaOH(sodium hydroxide) solution in a

beaker or glass container by having 15g of NaOH per 100ml of water. Be sure to wear

gloves and a mask when doing this and stir until solution is clear.Soak the dried banana

peels in the solution for 4-5 or more days in an enclosed container to soften. Drain the

Sodium Hydroxide from the banana peels by pouring it in a fine mesh cloth. Once they

have been separated, run the banana peels through water to remove excess solution.

Boiling the banana peels

Place the banana peels into a pot or container and pour some of the solution until

it submerges the peels. Boil it for 20-30 minutes making sure to remove the scum that

floats on the top. Drain it again and run it through water and dispose of the leftover

solution by drying it.

Blending the banana peels

Place the banana peels in a blender and add water, twice the measurement of the

peels. Blend it for several minutes until smooth.

Making the pulp into paper

Place your mold and deckle in the bottom of a plastic basin with the wired frame

facing up. Slowly pour the banana slurry inside the mold while concurrently raising the

double frame so all excess water in the mixture drains through. Make sure the entire

surface area of the mold is covered with the pulp by pressing it into place. With a large

damp cloth covering the table, place the mold/deckle on top so the deckle frame can be

immediately removed, followed by the mold itself. What will remain is a somewhat solid

sheet of paper. Allow it to dry for approximately 24 hours or until completely dry

2nd Experiment

TO BE CONTINUED…………………….
 APPENDIX

BUDGETARY REQUIREMENTS

Materials Unit Price Quantity

Amount

Banana peel N/A

Net Bag 10 15 PHP

150

NaOH N/A N/A N/A

Butane 25 2 50

Blender N/A 1
N/A
Work Schedule

Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr

1. Preparation of materials

needed

2.Collecting of banana peels

3.Drying of banana peels

4.Extraction of lignin fibres

5.Preparing the materials needed

in the experiment

6.Doing the experiment (3trials

for each 3 species of bananas)

7. Testing its durability

8.Data Gathering

9.Overall analysis and Treatment

of Data

10.Creation of Full paper

11.Thesis Defense

12.Revision of Thesis paper

13.Submission of Thesis book