ABSTRACT
Banana is the second largest produced fruit after citrus, and usually after harvesting of banana, the peduncle is discarded as a waste product. Results revealed that the peduncle is very rich in cellulose and its fiber contains approximately 60% cellulose. Reports are available on making packaging material based on cellulose, but there is no such report on cellulose from banana peduncles. The objective of the present work was to make a comparison of nanocellulose paper from peduncle fiber with nanocellulose paper from culinary banana peel and cellulose paper. Extraction of cellulose from peduncle fiber was done and tailored into nanocellulose by ultrasonic treatment and confirmed by transmission electron microscope and dynamic light scattering. The characteristic test of cellulose nanopaper (CNP) evinced increased thermal stability and was evidenced by thermogravimetric analysis. The percent crystallinity also increased in CNP and was analyzed for tensile strength, Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy, and light transmission. The results have the credentials to support that CNP was better than the cellulose paper and comparable with the CNP from banana peel.
