Reuse of Barley Straw for Handmade Paper Production

The main objective of this work is supporting the use of sustainable solutions for the management and reuse of agricultural waste from the cereal harvest, such as oats, barley, and triticale, making sheets of artisan paper, innovating the process with the use of different proportions of cellulose obtained from straw residues. The physical and mechanical properties of the obtained sheets showed that basis weight (66-96 g/m(2)), thickness (19-300 mu m), burst strength (68.9-103.4 kPa), burst index (0.81-1.35 kPam(2)/g) and bulk (2.52-3.12 cm(3)/g), were adequate. Based on what can be observed in the SEM images, it is possible to infer that straw has the function of supporting the sheets using combinations of barley straw and recycled paper. The result of the IR analysis indicated that the sheet with an increase in hydroxyl groups was that obtained with barley straw. Therefore, the treatment was efficient. These results were corroborated by X-ray diffraction analysis, in which the percentage of crystallinity of the barley straw paper was 37.1%. Finally, the results obtained indicated that the crystallinity is better in the sheets containing large amounts of barley straw. The sheet with the highest percentage of crystallinity was that which was made using 100% of barley straw, showing a 37.1 percentage of crystallinity, followed by the sheet made of 100% recycled paper, having a value of 34.4%.

Automated summary

The main objective of this work is to support the use of sustainable solutions for managing and reusing agricultural waste from cereal harvest. Different proportions of cellulose obtained from straw residues were used to make sheets of artisan paper. The physical and mechanical properties of the sheets were adequate, and the straw played a supporting role. IR and X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the efficiency and effectiveness of the paper materials.