Newspaper with Coir and Aloe Vera Mucilage to make paper

Problem

What would be the best percentage allotted for the newspaper & coir to make the most durable paper?

Hypotheses
1. The paper made with 100 % newspaper with 15 mL of aloe vera mucilage would be the most durable. (Paper A) 2. The paper made with 25% coir and 75% newspaper with 15 mL of aloe vera mucilage would be the most durable. (Paper B) 3. The paper made with 50% coir and 50% newspaper with 15 mL of aloe vera mucilage would be the most durable. (Paper C) 4. The paper made with 75% coir and 25% newspaper with 15 mL of aloe vera mucilage would be the most durable. (Paper D)

Objectives
This research aims to: 1. recycle materials that are commonly used in the Philippines to help reduce trash, which cause air, water & land pollution 2. use recycled materials in making paper that is durable but cheap

Methodology
A. Materials 1. Old Newspaper 2. Coconut Coir Fiber 3. Aloe Vera 4. Basin 5. Deckle 6. Kitchen Towels 7. Blender 8. Water

9. Cheesecloth 10. Weighing scale 11. Beaker 12. Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution 13. Stove 14. Thermometer 15. Knife

Methodology
B. Procedure I. Disintegration of Newspaper 1. Old newspaper was shredded into small pieces. It was placed in a blender with a ratio of 20 g of paper per 500 mL of water. 2. In another beaker, 7 g of NaOH was mixed with 1000 mL of water. The blended paper was mixed with this. It was put in a clean container. 3. After four days, this was filtered using cheesecloth. The paper was washed for three times using water.

Methodology
II. Extraction of Aloe Vera Mucilage 1. Cut the aloe leaf at an angle close to the plants base. 2. Place it upright in a container in a slightly tilted position for 10 to 12 minutes allowing the sap to drain from the leaf. 3. Place the aloe leaf on a flat surface. Cut off the tip of the leaf and the pointed rough edges on both sides using a sharp knife. Cut both sides of the leaf all the way from top to bottom. 4. Separate the front and back of the leaf by slicing it lengthwise from the inside. 5. Scoop out the slimy mucilage gel and the clear inner gel using a spoon or preferably a butter knife. Press down lightly but firmly, being careful not to remove any remaining sap.

Methodology
III. Preparing the Coir Fiber 1. Boil the coir fiber for 10 minutes at 98 Celsius. 2. The liquor formed after the coir was fully cooked was separated from the cooked coir and discarded.

Methodology
IV. Papermaking 1. Recycled Paper A (100% newspaper): 40 g of disintegrated newspaper was placed in a basin with 500 mL of water for the first batch. This was spread in the deckle, and then 15 mL of Aloe Vera mucilage was added. This set-up was baked for 10 minutes at 180 C and was air dried overnight. 2. Recycled Paper B (25% coir -75% newspaper): 10 g of coir and 30 g of disintegrated newspaper was placed in a basin with 500 mL of water for the second batch. This was spread in the deckle, and then 15 mL of Aloe Vera mucilage was added. This set-up was baked for 10 minutes at 180 C and was air dried overnight.

Methodology
3. Recycled Paper C (50% coir-50% newspaper): 20 g of coir and 20 g of disintegrated newspaper was placed in a basin with 500 mL of water for the third batch. This was spread in the deckle, and then 15 mL of Aloe Vera mucilage was added. This set-up was baked for 10 minutes 180 C and was air dried overnight. 4. Recycled Paper B (75% coir-25% newspaper): 30 g of coir and 10 g of disintegrated newspaper was placed in a basin with 500 mL of water for the first batch. This was spread in the deckle, and then 15 mL of Aloe Vera mucilage was added. This set-up was baked for 10 minutes 180 C and was air dried overnight.

Methodology
V. Physical and Analytical Testing Folding Endurance 1. The sheet of paper was folded into two equal parts and was cut into two. 2. The piece was folded in the middle and reopened. This was done 50 times. 3. These were given to five judges to rate them from 1-10 (1 denoting the most damage and 10, the least damage) 4. Given that this test uses people to rate the papers, the reliability of the judges was determined using Friedmanns test. We consulted a statistician for this. 5. The mean ranks were computed by same statistician using Friedmanns test. The highest mean rank is the least damaged paper and the lowest mean rank is the most damaged paper.

Methodology
Tearing Strength 1. Six samples with a size of 5cmx2cm were cut from each kind of paper. 2. A notch of about 1 cm was cut into each sample to attach a mass of 125g. 3. The sheets were suspended for 5 minutes. Six trials were conducted. 4. The resulting data was tabulated and analyzed in a table. The paper sample with the lowest mean of the vertical tear length would be the strongest paper. 5. The rank of 4 was assigned to least torn paper and 1 to the most torn paper.

Presentation of Data and Results

Average Rating for Testing the Folding Endurance

12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Judge 1 Judge 2 Judge 3 Judge 4 Judge 5

Paper A

Paper B

Paper C

Paper D

Ranked Rating for Testing the Folding Endurance

4.5 4 3.5 3 Judge 1 Judge 2 Judge 3 Judge 4 Judge 5

2.5
2 1.5 1

0.5
0

Paper A

Paper B

Paper C

Paper D

Results of the Endurance Test using the Friedmann Test

Mean Rank
4 3.5

3
2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 Mean Rank

Paper A

Paper B

Paper C

Paper D

Vertical Tear Length (cm) of the Paper

1.2 1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5 Trial 6

Paper A

Paper B

Paper C

Paper D

Mean and Rank of Vertical Tear length of Paper

0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 Mean Paper A Paper B Paper C Paper D 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 Paper A Paper B Paper C Paper D

2
1.5 1 0.5 0 Rank