Chemical Composition Of Sugarcane Bagasse

It is well known that the fibrous raw materials used for pulp and paper manufacture are essentially chemical composites of cell wall components: carbohydrates (cellulose and hemicelluloses) and lignin. Besides these, some extraneous substances are also present. The chemistry of both carbohydrates and lignin is highly species dependent and is also greatly influenced by habitat conditions. Due to this, there exist wide variations in the physical and chemical processing of lignocellulosic raw materials for pulp and paper manufacture. In order to have a preliminary assessment about the quality and suitability of raw materials for pulp and paper manufacture, it is considered desirable to examine their proximate chemical composition in respect to carbohydrates, lignin and extraneous substances. Bagasse has been analyzed for its proximate chemical composition, before investigating its pulping and papermaking properties.