All of the samples could be best described as
various shades of gray; however, substitution level
affects some individual components of color.
According to Newhall (1957), humans have
difficultly quantifying small differences in color.
Therefore, the differences shown on the lightness
graph are likely negligible, as are the changes in
hue angle, which while as high as 9.1°(from 79.0
to 88.1), all remained in the green spectrum.
The chroma changes are more marked than other
measures of color, but this should not negatively
impact consumer opinion, as Jung, et al. (2012)
found that consumers have a greater tolerance for
variations in the color of paper products that they
know were recycled. Overall, as the percent
substitution increases, water absorbency and water
solubility both increase. However, there is no
significant difference for these samples compared
to the newsprint control. Based on this data, it
should be possible to replace at least 40% of the
newsprint pulp with pineapple pomace or cornhusk
pulp. However, additional testing should be
performed to determine if the product has sufficient
mechanical strength.
Development of Sustainable Fiberboard
Packaging Material from Food Industry Waste Emily Bender† and George Cavender‡
†- Department of Biological Systems Engineering, ‡- Department of Food Science and Technology
Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank UCARE for providing funding for this research and
Nathalia Soibelman for her assistance in performing tests.
Results
Abstract
Discussion & Conclusions
Introduction
Fiberboard is an important packaging material in
the food industry. Unfortunately, the production
price has increased due the decreasing access to
affordable pulp. The price is expected to
continuously escalate due to the growing demand
of recovered paper (Szabó et al., 2009).
Additionally, there is an excess of waste in the
agricultural and food industry. This waste is often
used in a manner that provides little to no value.
However, with minimal processing, value can be
added. Vegetable and fruit byproducts can provide
a source of pulp. Specifically, corn stover and fruit
pomace can be utilized in the production of
fiberboard; this both increases the value of the
waste and improves the sustainability of the
fiberboard. The aim of this project is to determine
the feasibility of producing fiberboard containing
these food industry waste products, as well as
determine an appropriate formula.
Decreasing affordable access to fiberboard pulp has escalated the significance of developing a
sustainable fiberboard material. Food industry waste can provide a source for a more
sustainable, affordable pulp. Utilization of waste such as fruit pomace and corn stover adds
value as well as decreases the excess of waste in the food and agricultural industry. In this
study, varying substitutions of pineapple pomace and cornhusk pulp were combined with
newsprint pulp and pressed into fiberboard samples. Commercially manufactured fiberboard
as well as 100% recycled newsprint fiberboard were used as controls.
Water absorption, water solubility, and colorimetry tests were performed on the samples. The
data show that water absorption for each test sample stayed relatively consistent up to 40%
substitution, with the corn husk samples having the highest absorption. The solubility for the
commercial product was comparable to the pineapple samples up to 40% substitution and to
the corn samples up to 50%. The color tests revealed that as the percent substitution
increased for the samples, the color became less similar to the newsprint sample but more
similar to the commercial sample. Additionally, while the differences in the lightness and hue
are negligible, the change in chroma intensity, while marked, should not negatively impact
consumer opinions of the product. Based on the results, we suggest that pomace and/or corn
waste can be substituted for paper pulp in this type of packaging, at levels as high as 40%,
with negligible effect on packaging properties.
References
Jung, H., Suk, H., Kitaguchi, S., Sato, T., & Kajiwara, K. (2012). Color tolerance
prediction for recycled paper based on consumers' awareness. Color
Research & Application, 37(4), 272-280.
Newhall, S., Burnham, R., & Clark, J. (1957). Comparison of Successive with
Simultaneous Color Matching. Journal of the Optical Society of America,
47, 43-54.
Szabó, L., Soria, A., Forsström, J., Keränen, J. T., & Hytönen, E. (2009). A world
model of the pulp and paper industry: Demand, energy consumption and
emission scenarios to 2030. Environmental Science & Policy, 12(3), 257-
269.
Methods and Materials
Tests:
-Water absorption: dried sample immersed in water
for 2 hours, initial and final weight measurements
recorded
-Water solubility: dried samples soaked in distilled
water for 2 hours, samples discarded, water placed
in 90C oven, change in weight recorded
-Color: tested all samples for L*, c*, and h* values
using a Minolta Colorimeter
According to the data, water absorption was in the low 300% for the newsprint control, commercial
control, and pineapple sample up to 40% substitution. The corn sample had a greater water absorption
from the beginning. However, both the pineapple and corn samples had a relatively consistent water
absorption up to 40% and then increased. The data shows that the water solubility for the newsprint
control was near 0 grams soluble per 100 grams total, and it was slightly higher for the commercially
manufactured sample at about 1.7 grams soluble per 100 grams total. The solubility remained near the
commercial product for the pineapple samples up to 40% and for the corn samples up to 50%. Following
these percentages, both products resulted in increasing water solubility.
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%
∆E
Percent Substitution
Absolute color difference (∆E) Compared to Commercial Sample
Pineapple
Corn
Newsprint
The color testing data reveals differences in the
sample colors. The pineapple pomace and the
cornhusk samples start out near the newsprint;
however, the ∆E value decreases as the
substitution percentage increases. The lightness
graph’s relatively consistent trend does not greatly
fluctuate as substitution increases, while the
chroma increases for both the pineapple and the
corn samples. The hue angle graph shows slightly
inconsistent results for the pineapple and corn
samples; however, these values are contained in a
small range slightly above the commercial value.
Results
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
0% 20% 40% 60%So
lub
ilit
y (
g S
olu
ble
/100
g T
ota
l)
Percent Substitution
Water Solubility of Fiberboard Samples
Pineapple
Corn
Newsprint
Commercial
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
0% 20% 40% 60%
Wa
ter
Ab
so
rpti
on
(%
)
Percent Substitution
Water Absorption of Fiberboard Samples
Pineapple
Corn
Newsprint
Commercial
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0%
Lig
htn
ess (
L*)
Percent Substitution
Lightness
Pinapple
Corn
Commercial
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0%
Ch
rom
a (
c*)
Percent Substitution
Chroma
Pinapple
Corn
Commercial
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0%
Hu
e a
ng
le (
h*)
Percent Substitution
Hue angle
Pinapple
Corn
Commercial
Newsprint vs. pineapple
pomace substitutions
Newsprint vs.
cornhusk substitutions
Water Newsprint/ Corn waste/
Pineapple pomace
115 g slurry
(97.7% water)
placed in press
8-12 h
Drying Oven
(90 C)
Demolding
