This chapter explores the characteristic potentials of alkaline sulfite anthraquinone and methanol (ASAM) pulping of bamboo culms (Gigantochloa scortechinii) in the industrial production of pulp and paper for packaging. The biometric characterization results of the bamboo culms show that bamboo has fiber length of 1980-4000 μm, Runkel ratio of 0.86, and flexibility ratio of 50.19, while the chemical compositions of the bamboo contain 47.67% cellulose, 68.33% holocellulose, 26% lignin, and 3.69% solvent extractive, which give good paper quality fiber and also falls within the range of wood from softwoods species. The study revealed that the optimum ASAM pulping parameters was at 16% NaOH and 90 min cooking time, resulting in Kappa number of 14.17 and pulp yield of 49.06%, while the paper tensile index of 20.86 Nm/g, tear index of 22.64 mN.m2/g, and brightness of 39.32% were obtained. The biometric and chemical characterizations of the ASAM pulped bamboo have shown that ASAM pulped bamboo produces high-quality pulp and paper suitable for packaging and printing paper. Hence, the use of bamboo materials can reduce the burden on the forest, due to the increasing demand for paper and paper products, while supporting the natural biodiversity.

Alkali ratios and cooking time of the alkaline sulfite anthraquinone (AQ) and methanol (ASAM) pulping process of bamboo (Gigantochloa scortechinii) were studied. Bamboo chips were cooked at three different levels of sodium hydroxide and cooking time, namely 14, 16, or 18% for 60, 90, or 120 minutes. Pulping parameters that remained constant were the use of 0.5% ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA), with an 80/20 ratio Na 2 SO 3 /NaOH, 0.1% anthraquinone, 15% methanol, and a temperature of 170 °C in the cooking process. Samples prepared using 14% NaOH and 90 min of cooking time resulted in the highest pulp yield, 52.4%, and a Kappa number of 18.1. It seems that 16% sodium hydroxide and 90 min of cooking time are the most appropriate cooking conditions, giving a 49.1% pulp yield and 14.2 Kappa number. The quality of bamboo pulp produced by the ASAM pulping process was found to be beneficial for the use in paper and board manufacturing.

The performance of coir fiber in the production of linerboard made from soda-anthraquinone (soda-AQ) pulp was evaluated. Based on chemical analysis, the composition of coir fiber is suitable for the pulping process. Out of nine pulping conditions characterized, a pulping condition of 18% active alkali for 90 min cooking time was chosen. These conditions provided the highest screened yield (48.99%), a low rejection yield (0.27%), high viscosity (11.73 cP), and a kappa number (41) that is acceptable for unbleached linerboard production. Beating strengthened the coir pulp. Analyzing the beating revealed that coir pulp was optimized at 1000 to 2000 revolutions, based on a graph of freeness vs. burst index. For all beating conditions (1000 to 8000 revolutions), FESEM micrographs showed the presence of internal and external fibrillation of the fiber, which gradually increased fiber conformability and improved the inter-fiber bonding within the paper formation. Based on its burst strength of 4.57 kPa.m 2 /g and ring crush test of 1.76 Nm 2 /g, which complies with the minimum requirement of the industry standard, coir fiber can be considered an alternative fiber source for linerboard production.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the mechanical and optical properties of paper made from alkaline sulfite anthraquinone and methanol (ASAM) unbleached pulp from bamboo (Gigantochloa scortechinii). The bamboo pulps were beaten using a PFI mill at 10,000 revolutions. To determine the properties of unbleached bamboo ASAM paper, handsheets with a density of 60 g/m 2 were formed with 14 to 18% NaOH, 80/20 Na2SO3/ NaOH, 0.1% AQ, 0.5% EDTA, and 15% methanol pulping conditions. Pulping at 18% NaOH for 120 min cooking time produced paper with properties of 24.8 Nm/g and 43.02% for the tensile index and ISO brightness, respectively. Cooking at 16% sodium hydroxide for 90 min rendered the best results for mechanical and optical properties, with results of 20.86 Nm/g, 22.64 mN.m 2 /g, and 39.32% ISO value for the tensile, tear indices, and brightness, respectively. High quality bamboo paper produced by the ASAM pulping process was beneficial for producing highly durable paper and paperboard.

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Diverse renewable resources, especially those obtained from residual agricultural wastes, are being exploited to reduce the impact of environmental damage. This study presents a method to produce purified cellulose extracted from locally planted pineapple leaves (Ananas comosus). The cellulose was extracted by maceration pretreatment. The heating times were varied. This method is a simpler and more effective approach to delignify the pineapple leaf fibers compared with conventional chemical pulping and bleaching processes. The chemical composition of the cellulose was investigated according to TAPPI standards and by structural analyses, namely Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results indicated that the hemicellulose and lignin were partially removed from the cellulose. Chemical analysis confirmed that the cellulose content increased from 25.8% (pineapple leaf fibers) to 70.9% (macerated cellulose). The optimum heating time was 3 h. However, XRD showed that the extracted cellulose had a higher crystallinity index than the initial pineapple leaf fibers. These results indicated that pretreatment via maceration has good potential applications in the production of macerated cellulose.