CODE Research Adviser

Mrs. Noemi N. Marquez

Name of Proponent/s Research Project Title
BALINADO, Christian V. Efficacy of Sansevieria trifasciata (Snake Plant) Fiber
BASCO, Hazel Anne C. as a Substitute Component in Making Paper
VILLANUEVA, Kobe Tyron A.

Category Group
___ Individual ✓ Team
___ ✓ Life
___ ___ Applied

BACKGROUND SIGNIFICANCE

FIVE RELATED STUDIES AND LITERATURE

A. FIELD OF INTEREST (Please shade the appropriate circle.)

o Animal Science o Energy: Physical/Chemical
o Behavioral Science o Engineering Mechanics
o Biochemistry o Environmental Engineering
o Biomedical/Health Science o Material Science
o Biomedical Engineering o Mathematics
o Cellular/Molecular Biology o Microbiology
o Chemistry o Physics
o Computational Biology o Plant Sciences
o Earth/Environmental Science o Robotics/Systems Software
o Embedded Systems o Translational Medicine

B. ENGINEERING GUIDE (Please check if your project will involve any of the following.)
___ DEA controlled substances ___ Firearms and explosives
___ Prescription Drugs ___ Alcohol and Tobacco
___ Regulated Drones ___ Radiation
___ Radiation ___ Human Participants
___ Vertebrate Animals ___ Potentially Hazardous Biological Agents

C. APPROVAL

ADULT SPONSOR RSTF FOCAL/EDUCATION PROGRAM SUPERVISOR

 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Nowadays, most people spend a lot of money buying papers just to satisfy their needs
without knowing its quality and its components. Most papers are made out of wood fiber from
trees, which cut approximately 80,000 to 160,000 trees daily worldwide based on the Global
Forest Resource Assessment, in 2015. A lot of people know that Sansevieria trifasciata (snake
plant) are plants that are diverse in the Philippines and can adverse different conditions, can grow
and be found almost anywhere. And according to some research, it contains strong fibers like
other plant fibers.

Based on other research, the snake plant threads were used by early Filipinos as a
bowstring, in addition to the plant’s ornamental purposes and role in air purification. Tests explain
that the snake plant fiber can stretch up to an average of 36.56 percent of its original length almost
near abaca fiber’s elongation limit of 47.49 percent and longer than linen’s limit of 30.51 percent.
Using the strength test, some researchers determined that natural fiber has a breaking point of
1,327 grams. Like abaca, the snake plant fibers smells like paper when burned.

Some researchers said that the government should invest in further research and
development of snake plant as a natural fiber source. Aside from textile production, they
suggested a medical application for the fibers as a thread for surgical operations because it can
easily degrade within the body.

Snake plant contains a lot of fiber which have cellulose that makes the leaves of snake
plant strong. Cellulose makes the fibers strong that it is found in every cell of the plant. Paper can
be made out of these fibers which can be found in plants. Since the snake plant has a lot of
cellulose fiber, the researchers think of it as an essential component in making papers.
 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study is important in order to determine if the snake plant fiber can be made as
writing sheet or papers. This study was anticipated to benefit the following individuals or
organizations.

Environment. The environment will benefit from this study as this can help to lessen
the trees that are being cut down by creating another way of creating paper.

Students and Teachers. This study may help them because the paper is used by
everyone every day. But not all can afford to buy papers, so they can make their own with the
help of this study.

Papermaking Industry. They would have another way of making paper, which would
enable them to make more papers than usual without increasing the trees they are cutting. They
can also earn more income.

Communities. They would benefit in this study because if there are fewer trees need
to be cut down then there will be a low possibility that it will flood. Houses living in the mountains
or near the mountains would also benefit because there will be also the low possibility of having
landslide if we use snake plant fibers to make papers.
 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

Methods of Producing Paper

The modern paper industry uses both mechanical and chemical processes to form wood
pulp. Both processes have the common goal of extracting cellulose from a wood by dissolving the
lignin that binds the cellulose fibers together. Mechanical pulping produces pulp through the use
of mechanical energy instead of chemicals. Mechanical pulps can be produced by grinding logs
or refining chips. Mechanical pulping processes use water for screening, cleaning, and showers
on thickeners and grinding stones. On the other hand, chemical pulping is the process by which
the wood chips are converted into paper pulp for use in papermaking accomplished by chemical
cooking of the chips, as opposed to mechanical pulping. Chemical pulping methods produce high-
quality papers as the chemical cooking dissolves most of the lignin and hemicelluloses present in
the wood, resulting in better separation of the cellulose fibers. There are many variations of
mechanical and chemical pulping methods, and some wood pulping plants combine both
approaches.

Commercial pulping processes cannot remove all the lignin from wood pulp. Because
the residual lignin gives the pulp a brown color, the wood pulp is bleached with chemicals such
as chlorine or sodium hydroxide to remove the residual lignin and whiten the pulp.

From the plant, the pulp is pumped into a paper machine. This machine has a wire-mesh
conveyor belt that allows water to drain from the wet pulp, leaving on the moving screen a mat of
wet fibers. Using air suction pumps, extra moisture is removed from the pulp. After passing
through successive sets of felt and metal rollers, the fibrous mat of pulp presses the mat into
smooth paper. After pressing, most paper is coated with substances such as clay, carbon, or
calcium carbonate to enhance its quality of printing as well as its color, smoothness, and strength.

Non-wood Plants as Source of Fiber

Wood as a papermaking raw material is a relative newcomer, the paper has been made
almost exclusively of non-wood plant fibers for nine-tenths of its history. In the first century, the
paper was first produced in China. Old rags, fishing nets, mulberry bark, and grass produced it.
Paper was produced exclusively from non-wood fibers such as cotton, hemp, flax and grass for
the following 1700 years. The process of pulping wood fibers and making them into a web of
paper was invented in 1857. Wood was quickly established as the primary source of paper fiber
and now provides about 90% of the fibrous raw material used in the process.

Traditional raw materials used in paper and board manufacturing, virgin wood and
recycled paper in the Netherlands are becoming increasingly expensive as the paper and board
industry has to compete with other stakeholders. By subsidizing the use of wood and paper as a
fuel for generating energy (green energy), the Netherlands government has introduced more
competition in a market where costs are highly relevant. The growing international demand for
virgin wood and recycled paper is an aggravating factor. China, for example, has an enormous
need for raw materials to supply packages for its export products. It goes without saying that
China's large demand affects the prices of raw materials worldwide.