Highly Absorbent Fluff Pulp from Refiner Mechanical Pulping of Banana Fiber, 2014 PEERS Conference

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An absorbent material was made from fibers mechanically extracted from the pseudo stems of banana tree agricultural residues. Refiner mechanical pulping, followed by dry fluffing, was used to produce this fluff pulp. The investigated variables included refining conditions (plate gap, number of passes) and dry-fluffing intensity. The pulps were characterized for fiber length, fiber diameter, surface area, pore volume and pore size distribution, absorbency, and water retention properties. The process produced fluff pulp with water absorbency higher than commercial wood-based chemical fluff pulps. Tests confirmed that the new method produces fluff pulps with large surface area and pore volume distributions with high absorption capacity for water and aqueous solutions. It is hoped that this fluff can be used to manufacture inexpensive absorbent and hygiene devices in developing countries, using local materials.