Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
A. Origin and Justification of the Study
The world today is at its newest generation, full of innovation and
development but yet always progressing (Weaver et. al, 2000). Recycling is one
of the technology of the past that has been developed and processing (Lipsett,
2005). Through modernization, recycling has undergone several transformations
and now has a wide application that serves as a resolution to various
environment issues (Morselli et.al, 2009). One of the issues nowadays is the
large collection of wastes in dump sites (Lemann, 2008). In there, some of the
wastes are; used paper which is manmade, and fallen leaves, which is nature
generated (Cichonski et.al, 1993)
According to Manila Times (2016), approximately 324 liters of waters are
used to produce 1 kilogram of paper. Average worldwide annual paper
consumption is 48 kilograms per person; in North America, average is about 300
kilograms. The US approximately cuts more than 68 million trees each year to
produce catalogues and direct mails. It continues to publish over 2 billion books,
359 million magazines, and 24 billion newspapers every year. And about 4
million tons of office papers are discarded per year. With current technology,
paper has become a cheap commodity. Its disposability has contributed to a high
level of consumption and wastage. Globally, paper consumption has increased
by about 400% in the past four decades.
In addition, Claudia Thompson, in her book entitled Recycled Papers: The
Essential Guide (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1992), reports on an estimate
calculated by Tom Soder, then a graduate student in the Pulp and Paper
Technology Program at the University of Maine. He calculated that, based on a
mixture of softwoods and hardwoods 40 feet tall and 6-8 inches in diameter, it
would take a rough average of 24 trees to produce a ton of printing and writing
paper, using the kraft chemical (freesheet) pulping process.
As stated in industry.gov.ph (2018), current socio-economic conditions in
the country are profitable for businesses in the pulp and paper industry. While
paper and paperboard consumption in the Philippines is still low at 19 kg per
capita, total annual demand is growing at 2.5% per year, with packaging and
tissue grades experiencing high growth rates. Moreover, total paper and board
demand in the Philippines is projected to surpass 2 million tons within five years,
or an additional of 0.3 million tons per year at current consumption levels.
According to Wikipedia (2018), paper is a thin material produced by
pressing together moist fibres of cellulose pulp derived from the wood, rags or
grasses, and drying the minto flexible sheets. It is a versatile material with many
uses, including, writing, printing, packaging, cleaning and a number of industrial
and construction process.
Moreover, owing to the environmental concerns and resources depletion
especially in wood, more attention is being paid to renewable materials as
alternative fibre in the paper production. Therefore, non-wood plant materials
including, annual plants and agriculture residues are potential substitute to
replace the limited wood resources in paper-based industries (Rodríquez et al.
2008 and Ververis et al. 2004).
Through innovation, the researchers tried to formulate a paper that is
environmental-friendly, and economical. As we know, innovation, as emphasized
by Shukla (2009), is defined as utilizing new ideas which leads to the invention or
creation of new products, process or service. It is not just merely inventing new
ideas but rather putting it into market, putting it into application and improvising it
in a manner that leads to new products, services or systems that add value or
improve
quality.
It
possibly
involves
technological
transformation
and
management restructuring. It also means utilizing new technology and employing
not just the usual way of using new ideas to generate new value and to bring
about significant changes in society.
The researchers made innovated paper was taken from the hulls/husks of
the Rice plant. As stated by David and Balisacan (1995), Rice remains the
agricultural commodity with foremost political and economic significance in the
Philippines. As a major staple, rice accounts for 35 percent of average calorie
intake of the population and as much as 60-65 percent of the households in the
lowest income quartile.
As stated in Wikipedia (2018), Rice hulls are the coatings of seeds, or
grains, of rice. The husk protects the seed during the growing season, since it is
formed from hard materials, including opaline silica and lignin. The hull is mostly
indigestible to humans. Winnowing, used to separate the rice from hulls, is to put
the whole rice into a pan and throw it into the air while the wind blows. The light
hulls are blown away while the heavy rice falls back into the pan.
Moreover, Rice hulls are a potential material, which is amenable for value
addition. The usage of rice hulls either in its raw form or in ash form is many.
Most of the hulls from the milling is either burnt or dumped as waste in open
fields and a small amount is used as fuel for boilers, electricity generation,
bulking agents for composting of animal manure, etc. (Bronzeoak, 2003;
Asavapisit and Ruengrit, 2005).
The exterior of rice husk are composed of dentate rectangular elements,
which themselves are composed mostly of silica coated with a thick cuticle and
surface hairs. The mid region and inner epidermis contain little silica (Bronzeoak,
2003). Jauberthie et al., (2000) confirmed that the presence of amorphous silica
is concentrated at the surfaces of the rice husk and not within the husk itself.
The chemical composition of rice husk is similar to that of many common
organic fibers and it contains of cellulose 40-50 percent, lignin 25-30 percent, ash
15-20 percent and moisture 8- 15 percent (Hwang and Chandra, 1997).
With this positive information about the benefits and chemical composition
of Rice hulls, the researchers were confidently motivated to undergo this
innovated paper using this rice milling waste called “Rice Hulls”.
B. Objective of the Study
The primary objective of this study was to determine the acceptability of
rice hulls paper regarding its durability, strength, texture and color.
C. Significance of the Study
This research study assesses the possibility of producing an art design
paper out from re-pulping waste paper and rice hulls. Thus, if this study will be
found acceptable, then it would be significant to the following:
Students and teachers– They can benefit from this study because everyone is
using paper and if they buy paper from the stores it is quite expensive compared
to this experimental sheets.
Community –The community can also benefit from this study because the
utilization of rice milling waste the Rice hulls will reduce the amount of solid
waste in the campus and saves the immediate communities from danger of
flooding during heavy rains.
Economy –The economy can benefit from this study because producing paper
from rice hulls is easy and entrepreneurs will sell the product which can help in
boosting the economic growth.
Entrepreneurs – They can benefit from this study because they can use the
study and produce their own paper and sell it to the community.
DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) – can also
benefit from this study because many trees will no longer be cut for the
production of paper but instead be preserved for the future generations.
D. Scope and Delimitation of the Study
This study is entitled “Paper out of Re-pulping Waste Paper and Rice
Hulls as an Economical and Environment-Friendly Substitute for an Art Design
Paper”
This study was evaluated by twenty (20) respondents: five (5) on SHS,
JHS and College Students and five (5) also on Teachers. This study will be
conducted within the second semester of the academic year 2017-2018 at
Palompon Institute of Technology, Palompon, Leyte.