Tambayan ng Kaalaman Tungkol sa Pilipinas
Uses of Banana (from Belgium)
In the Philippines where banana is grown abundantly, there are places, like Manila, where
because of prohibitive price, bananas get rotten and thrown into waste. In the provinces,
where there is oversupply, bananas are fed to the hogs.
Banana or Plantation Rope
There are various uses for rope or twine about the house or farm but one can hardly find one
when needed. In Nigeria, rope is made from banana or plantation trees. The twine produced
can be used for tying bundles together or tying plants to stakes. For example, Nigerians used
this cord to secure your plants against stakes and to attack yarns to vertical poles for storage.
The central stem of the banana tree is surrounded by leaf sheaths or sections. Once the fruit
has been harvested from the tree the stem can be made into rope.
Paper from Banana Stalk
Researchers from Japan’s National Chemical Laboratory for Industries discovered how to
make paper using sugarcane bagasse and banana stalk.
No poisonous chemical is used unlike the commonly used sodium suphide, sodium hydroxide
and chloride. Such method is expensive and pollutes the environment.
In the newly discovered method, no bleaching is needed. The chemicals used can be reused.
Because of very minimal capital, this could be a good small industry.
Source:
Tech Monitor
May-June 1980
Paper from Stem of Cotton Plants
The stem of the cotton plant is rich in cellulose, a good material for papermaking. This process
came from the Cotton Technological Research Laboratory in Bombay, India which taught
papermaking from cotton plant stems – such as writing paper, wrapping paper, and newsprint.
They used soft green stems with 70% moisture.
Procedure:
1. Boil the chopped stem in 6% alkaline.
2. Wash the cooked material and place in a beater to separate the fibers.
The resulting product a good quality yellow pulp.
Source:
Indian Farming
V. 40, Feb. 1991