Japan invents banana fiber to make bags

Recently, Prof. Morishima of the University of Nagoya City, Japan, has developed a method to use paper making (a type of Japanese paper) technology to produce a high-strength paper from banana waste. Banana fiber is very hard. Whether it can treat its fiber as smooth as a cotton fiber is the key to the technology. Director Mok-Tong of the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Industrial Technology researched and developed a processing method that can be mass-produced. The skin on the banana stem was peeled off and dehydrated using a press made of sucrose. The dehydrated stems are then fermented in water or soaked in alkaline water. The opener used for the production of fibers such as cotton and hemp was reconstructed and several rotary knives were mounted on it. With such an opener, 100% banana fiber can be made. The banana cloth made in this way feels like hemp and can be used to make export coffee packaging bags.