Assessment of Fibre Characteristics and Suitability of Maize Husk and Stalk for Pulp and Paper Production

Abstract

Maize husk and stalk were assessed for their fibre characteristics and suitability for pulp and paper production. Fifteen (15) fibres were randomly selected and measured from each representative sample. It was observed that fibre length of maize husk was 1.37mm and that of maize stalk was 1.52mm. The fibre diameter (D) was 30.19 μm for each of the samples. The values of cell wall thickness and lumen width (d) for each sample were 8.82 μm and 13.67 μm respectively. Runkel ratio for maize husk and maize stalks was 1.23 each. This implies that they are feasible for pulp and paper production. The felting rate (slenderness ratio) was 45.93 for maize husk and 50.34 for maize stalk. The elasticity coefficient was 45.30% for maize husk and maize stalk and rigidity coefficients for maize husk and maize stalk was 29.21%. T-test showed that fibre length of maize husk and maize stalk were not significantly different.

Keywords: Maize, husk, stalk, pulp, and fibre length.