Development of Packaging from Pineapple Fiber for Environmental Conservation

Abstract

Ratchaburi province has an agricultural area accounting for 35.38% of the total area, with pineapple cultivation covering 6.74% of the total area. During the pineapple harvesting process, the leaves must be cut off, leaving a large amount of pineapple leaf waste. Currently, most farmers choose to burn these leaves to prepare for the next planting cycle, causing pollution problems. In this research, pineapple leaves were used to make paper, and the paper properties were improved to be suitable for forming into packaging. The optimal conditions obtained from the packaging production experiment were: paper with a fiber length of 75 mm mixed with 75 grams of stabilizer, and the optimal forming conditions were: temperature of 130°C, pressure of 50 bar, and time of 15 seconds. In addition, the physical and mechanical properties of fiber length and stabilizer were studied, including thickness testing, density testing, water absorption testing, moisture content testing, and tensile strength testing. Statistical analysis using the One Sample t-test revealed that fiber size had a statistically significant influence on all test value (p < 0.05), it was concluded that the difference between fiber sizes influences the test values, and these statistical calculation results were consistent with the physical test analysis results. Furthermore, when testing the cleanliness level of the packaging, the test results showed that the pineapple fiber packaging was clean and free from microbial contamination, making it suitable for food contact. Although pineapple fiber packaging still has limitations in water absorption, the physical and mechanical test results indicate potential for further development to reduce limitations for replacing plastic containers.