The Malaysian Journal of Analytical Sciences, Vol 17 No 1 (2013): 75 - 84 75 EFFECT OF SODA-ANTHRAQUINONE PULPING CONDITIONS AND BEATING REVOLUTION ON THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF PAPER MADE FROM Gigantochloa scortechinii (SEMANTAN BAMBOO) (Kesan Faktor-Faktor Pemulpaan Soda-Antrakuinon dan Pemukulan Ke Atas Sifat-Sifat Mekanikal Kertas Gigantochloa Scortechinii (Buluh Semantan)) Nurul Husna Mohd Hassan 1 *, Suhaimi Muhammed 1 , Rushdan Ibrahim 2 1 Department of Wood Industry, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA Pahang, 26400 Bandar Tun Abdul Razak, Jengka Pahang 2 Pulp and Paper Programme, Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), 52109 Kepong, Selangor *Corresponding author: afna07@yahoo.com Abstract The effect of soda-AQ pulping conditions and beating revolution on the mechanical properties of paper made from Semantan bamboo (Gigantochloa scortechinii) was studied. The bamboo chips were pulped using MK digester pulping unit with 10 to 20% alkali charge and 150 to 170 o C cooking temperature. The screened yield varies from 38.7 to 48.4%, and each yield went through beating process at 1000 or 8000 beating revolutions. The bamboo pulp was then made into 60 g/m 2 laboratory scale papers and their mechanical properties were assessed conforming to TAPPI standards. The results revealed that tensile index, bursting index, tearing index and folding endurance ranged from 42.04 to 91.09 Nm/g, 2.68 to 7.10 kPa.m 2 /g, 11.03 to 26.64 mN.m 2 /g and 30 to 1127 double folds, respectively. The highest paper properties were found from pulping condition of 15% alkali charge and 150 o C cooking temperature based on the fibre bonding index, with tensile index at 87.71 Nm/g, bursting index at 6.94 kPa.m 2 /g, tearing index at 12.72 mN.m 2 /g and folding endurance at 613 double folds. Such findings indicate that comparable high strength mechanical properties of paper can be produced from Semantan bamboo pulp with more environmentally friendly pulping process compared to the kraft pulping process that had been used in bamboo pulping. Keywords: soda-AQ pulping, Semantan bamboo, beating, paper mechanical properties Abstrak Kesan faktor-faktor pemulpaan soda-AQ dan pemukulan terhadap sifat-sifat mekanikal kertas buluh Semantan (Gigantochloa scortechinii) telah dikaji. Cip-cip buluh dimasak menggunakan unit penghadam MK dengan peratusan alkali 10 hingga 20% dan suhu pemulpaan pada 150 hingga 170 o C. Hasil penskrinan yang diperolehi adalah daripada 38.7 hingga 48.4%, dan selepas itu setiap hasil pulpa menjalani proses pemukulan pulpa pada 1000 atau 8000 revolusi pemukulan. Pembuatan kertas makmal 60 g/m 2 adalah berdasarkan standard TAPPI. Keputusan ujian mendapati indeks tensil, indeks pecahan, indeks koyakan dan ketahan lipatan berada dalam julat 42.04 to 91.09 Nm/g, 2.68 to 7.10 kPa.m 2 /g, 11.03 to 26.64 mN.m 2 /g dan 30 to 1127 kali lipatan, masing-masing. Berdasarkan indeks ikatan antara gentian, sifat kertas yang tertinggi adalah pada tahap pemasakan yang menggunakan alkali sebanyak 15% dan suhu pemasakan pada 150 o C, dengan indeks tensil 87.71 Nm/g, indeks pecahan 6.94 kPa.m 2 /g, indeks koyakan 12.72 mN.m 2 /g dan ketahanan lipatan sebanyak 613 kali lipatan. Penemuan ini membuktikan kekuatan mekanikal kertas yang setara boleh dihasilkan daripada pulpa buluh Semantan dengan proses pemulpaan yang lebih mesra alam berbanding proses pemulpaan kraft yang biasa digunakan dalam pemulpaan buluh. Kata kunci: pemulpaan soda-AQ, buluh Semantan, pemukulan, sifat-sifat mekanikal kertas Introduction Bamboo is one of the most diverse groups of plant in the grass family which belongs to the family of Gramineae and sub-family of Bambusoidae . This fast growing monocotyledon plant can be found in temperate, subtropical and tropical areas. There are 75 genera and 1250 species of bamboo in the world and in Asia alone there are 14