Fabricating bio-active packing material made from alkali-steam exploded agro-waste using natural colorants

In this paper, effect of alkali-steam explosion pre-treatment on various agro-waste raw materials was evaluated for enhancing the quality of recycled paper. The alkali-steam explosion had a minimum cellulose reduction in the case of sugarcane bagasse (3.8 ± 0.21) and arecanut fibers (4.5 ± 0.83%) and identified as a good fiber sources for paper making in terms of strength and final quality of recycled papers. X-ray diffraction pattern study exhibited that there was an enhanced intensity of cellulose content. Coloring on recycled paper with natural pigments could be used as a packing material with bactericidal activity. This forms the first report on the application of stable pigments for value addition in paper industry which increases the marketability of recycled paper.