Introduction to sugarcane,properties,characteristics,composition,extraction,application and sugarcane in pakistan

1. Sugarcane
Sugarcane is a natural plant fiber, which is collect from the sugarcane plant. Sugarcane is an
oldest crop known to man, a major crop of tropical and sub-tropical regions worldwide. Sugar
cane is the most efficient biofuel feedstock in commercial use today and sugar cane ethanol will
contribute to reduce greenhouse gas up to 90% compared to conventional fuels.
• Mainly sugarcane fiber is called the “bagasse
Bagasse
Bagasse is the fibrous material that remains after sugarcane are crushed to exact their juice from
sugarcane. It is dry pulp residue left after the extraction of juice from sugarcane.

2. What is it used for?
This pulp has long been burned by sugarcane processors as fuel to run factories. in fact, one of
the largest biomass energy in the U.S. is run by a sugar company. Bagasse is much cleaner
burning than fossil fuels and is considered carbon neutral since the amount of carbon released is
the same as the amount of carbon the plants absorbed during growth. There is also research being
done on using bagasse as a source of ethanol with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions
by as much as 85% over gasoline.
Another use for bagasse, and the most important one for everyday consumers, is as a source of
pulp for paper. The fibers in bagasse can be used as an alternative to wood in the production of
paper products like tissues, napkins, toilet paper, stationary, and cardboard without any loss in
the quality of the product.
Sugarcane Production In Pakistan
Sugarcane is an important industrial and cash crop in Pakistan and in many countries of the
world. It is grown in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world in a range of climates from
hot dry environment near sea level to cool and moist environment at higher elevations. Besides
sugar production, sugarcane produces numerous valuable byproducts like, alcohol used by
pharmaceutical industry, ethanol used as a fuel, bagasse used for paper, and chip board
manufacturing and press mud used as a rich source of organic matter and nutrients for crop
production.
Pakistan occupies an important position in cane producing countries of the world. It ranks at the
fifth position in cane land and production and almost 15th position in sugar production.
Characteristics of sugarcane fiber
•Crystallinity: between 63 % - 68%
• Fiber fineness: according to maturity level.
• Moisture absorption: no chance 13% - 18%
• Elastic recovery: 50 % - 60%
• Torsional rigidity: varies between maturity level
• Flexural rigidity: 0.015 g/𝑐𝑚2 to 0.032 g/𝑐𝑚2

3. Chemicalcomposition
The composition of sugarcane is below
a. Cellulose 50%
b. Hemicellulose 25%
c. Lignin 25%
Extraction of sugarcane fibers
 At first juice are extract from the sugarcane
 After extraction of juice the bagasse are collected for extraction of fiber
 The soft core part pith is removed from the bagasse manually to get outer hard ring
 The samples are then taken into hot water treatment
 The samples are then dried in the sunlight
 Then these samples treated with NAah for 4 hours
 After chemicals treatment the fibers are separated

4. Properties of sugarcane fiber
1. It has moderately high crystallinity which is between 63% and 68%.
2. Outer bundle of sugarcane is composed of short thin walled parenchyma cells.
3. The moisture regains of sugarcane lie between 13% and 18% and there is no difference in
moisture regain between varieties and different levels of maturity levels.
4. Tensile property of sugarcane is dependent on maturity level and sugarcane fiber has strong
cellulosic fiber in the category of coir which means, it has high value of tendency.
5. The elastic limit of sugarcane fiber is about 50% to 60% which means it has high elastic
recovery at given extension.
6. The flexural rigidity depends on different levels of maturity which is ranging from 0.015 g-
cm2 to 0.032g-cm2 which enable it to use in manufacturing of nonwovens.
Advantages of sugarcane fiber
• Made from agricultural waste
• Low cost
• Bio degradable
• Comparatively high tensile strength
• High impact strength
• Weight is low
• Easily available

5. Applications of sugarcanefiber
Sugarcane fiber is used in manufacturing of paper.
It is used in apparel industry for the production of rayon fibers.
It is used in building material to increase the crack control, ductility and brittle concrete. We can
use it for light weight concrete having high compressive and tensile strength.
It has potential to be used as reinforcement in composite due to its reasonable tensile strength
and modulus.
It is also used in Alcohol, Fuel, Board, Pulp, Plastic, Board and Feed.