UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — As the world searches for ways to reduce the use of plastics such as single-use plastic bags, a novel study by Penn State researchers demonstrates a process to make paper bags stronger — especially when they get wet — to make them a more viable alternative.
The study suggests a process for creating paper bags durable enough to be used multiple times and then broken down chemically by an alkaline treatment to be used as a source for biofuel production, according to researcher Daniel Ciolkosz, associate research professor of agricultural and biological engineering.
“When the primary use of these paper products ends, using them for secondary purposes makes them more sustainable,” he said. “Recycling and reducing paper waste also helps in reducing total solid waste destined for landfills. This is a concept we think society should consider.”
Lead researcher Jaya Tripathi, who will graduate from Penn State this spring with a doctoral degree in biorenewable systems and has accepted a position at the Joint BioEnergy Institute in California, devised an innovative process in which cellulose in paper is torrefied, or roasted in an oxygen-deprived environment, to greatly increase its tensile strength when wet.
Paper bags are a popular alternative to plastic bags to reduce the environmental impacts caused by using plastics, she explained, but paper bags have short lifespans due to their low durability, particularly when wet. And a paper bag must be reused several times to reduce its global-warming potential to below that of the conventional high-density polyethylene bag, Tripathi added.
“Reuse is mainly governed by bag strength, and it is unlikely that a typical paper bag can be reused the required number of times due to its low durability upon wetting,” she said. “Using expensive chemical processes to enhance wet strength diminishes paper's ecofriendly and cost-efficient features for commercial application, so there is a need to explore non-chemical techniques to increase the wet strength of paper bags. Torrefaction could be the answer.”
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