CHARACTERISATION OF MORINGA OLEIFERA (DRUMSTICK) WOOD FOR PULP AND PAPER MAKING

Moringa oleifera (drumstick) wood was evaluated in terms of its chemical composition, morphological features, Kraft pulping behavior, ECF bleaching and mechanical strength properties - important parameters for pulp and paper making - in comparison with Acacia mangium. Moringa oleifera was found to have the following composition: holocellulose 65.5%, lignin 20.5%, pentosan 11.6%, alpha-cellulose 40.5% and extractives content of 5.15%, which made it comparable with the Acacia mangium wood sample. The alkali prehydrolysis of Moringa oleifera was carried out using 2% NaOH at 150 degrees C. The prehydrolysis liquor (PHL) was found to contain 50.9 mg/kg of calcium, 5140 mg/kg of potassium and 312 mg/kg of iron content. The prehydrolysis step was followed by Kraft pulping in order to obtain chemical grade pulp of kappa number 15-16 under optimized conditions. The Moringa oleifera pulp was bleached using the DEpD bleaching sequence to reach 85% brightness (ISO). The bleached pulp had an average fiber length of 1.21 mm, which was higher than that of Acacia mangium - 0.782 mm. The mechanical strength properties of the unbleached and bleached pulps, such as tear, tensile and burst indices, were also determined to show their suitability for pulp and paper production.