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Tissue paper from cabbage leaf – waste paper mixtures

  • Muthumari Perumal EMAIL logo , Varalakshmi Varatharajan , Senthil kumaar Jayalakshmi Sellappan , Kiruthick Balu Kaliraj and Madhavan Seenivasan
Published/Copyright: August 8, 2025
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Abstract

Wood has traditionally been the primary raw material for papermaking, but its use contributes to deforestation. Vegetable waste offers a sustainable alternative for the paper industry. This study explores the potential of cabbage waste combined with wastepaper in varying compositions (20–100 wt% at 20 wt% intervals) for paper production. The prepared tissue papers were evaluated for grammage, thickness, tensile strength, burst strength, moisture content, and FTIR analysis. Results showed that increasing cabbage leaf content led to a decrease in grammage and thickness indicating reduced fibre density and increased porosity. The optimum tensile strength (3.33 Nm/g) and burst strength (6 kPa m2/g) were observed at 60 wt% cabbage leaves, suggesting enhanced fibre bonding and structural integrity at this composition. Beyond this threshold, mechanical properties declined due to weaker fibre interactions. Moisture content increased up to 60 wt% (7.4 %), then decreased at higher cabbage leaf proportions, balancing water retention and porosity. FTIR analysis revealed the presence of cellulose fibers and polysaccharide functional groups in the prepared tissue paper. The obtained results showed that 60 wt% cabbage leaf mixtures provide an optimal combination of strength, flexibility, and moisture control, making them suitable for tissue paper applications.


Corresponding author: Muthumari Perumal, Department of Biotechnology, P.S.R Engineering College, Sivakasi, 626140, Tamilnadu, India; and Department of Autotronics, Saveetha School of Engineering, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences (SIMATS), Chennai, 602105, India, E-mail:

Acknowledgments

The authors have no acknowledgments to declare for this study.

  1. Research ethics: This research was conducted following ethical guidelines and standards. No human or animal subjects were involved in this study.

  2. Informed consent: Not applicable, as this study did not involve human participants.

  3. Author contributions: Muthumari Perumal: Conceptualization, Writing – original manuscript, Validation and Supervision. Varalakshmi Varatharajan: Methodology. Senthil kumaar Jayalakshmi Sellappan – Reviewing. Kiruthick Balu Kaliraj and Madhavan Seenivasan – Editing.

  4. Use of Large Language Models, AI and Machine Learning Tools: No AI, machine learning, or large language models were used in the research process or manuscript preparation.

  5. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest related to this study.

  6. Research funding: The authors received no financial support for this research.

  7. Data availability: The data generated and analyzed during this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Received: 2025-04-04
Accepted: 2025-07-31
Published Online: 2025-08-08
Published in Print: 2025-12-17

© 2025 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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