The invention generally relates to the field of pulp and paper production. More
specifically, it pertains to manufacturing of chemical free paper from
5 thefibreextracted from the stem of Nerium oleander plant.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Paper industry is quite diversified, as it involves the utilization of variety of raw
10 material for the production of good quality paper. Pulp and papers are basically
prepared using cellulosic fiber obtained from wood, recycled paper, Agricultural
residues, Molasses and Bagasse and from other non- wood fiber such as sisal,
kenaf, jute, hemp, flax fiber etc as raw material.
(Ref:http://kchbi.chtf.stuba.sk/upload_new/file/Miro/Proc%20problemy%20odovz
15 dane%20zadania/Moln%C3%A1r/10_1002@9780470649657_ch2.pdf)
Drawbacks of Existing Raw materials:
Out of various raw materials, wood is the most common and major raw material
20 utilized for paper production, but paper industries result in depletion of large
amount of tress and forest resources for paper production, which as a result leads
to deforestation and contribute to environmental pollution, hence demand for
recycling of paper and production of paper from other raw material such as non
wood fiber or agricultural residues is increasing.
25
Other non- wood fiber such as cotton, bamboo, jute etc require specialized
conditions and massive amount of water for their growth and development, further
maintenance and harvesting of these crops is quite time consuming and labor
intensive. Also, the holocellulose content and cellulose content of some of the
30 plant fibers such as jute, hemp, kenaf, pineapple etc is quite low, hence these does
not result in production of good quality paper.
3
Waste paper can also be recycled and used for production of fresh paper, but
processing of recycled paper such as de-inking or bleaching results in production
as well as discharge of large amount of chemical pollutants and contribute to
liquid and solid waste generation, which are hazardous to the environment.
5 (http://www.paperpulpermachine.com/news/recycled-paper-industry
analyze.html).
Pulping also known as Delignification i.e., removal of lignin from plant fibers is
one of the most important step involved in process of paper making.For
10 preparation of good quality paper, fibers must have lesser content of lignin. But
lignin content of most of the plant based fibers such as lignin content of Jute is 21-
26%, Kenaf 15-18%, Flax 10-15%, Abaca 9-14%, Sugarcane bagasse 19-24%,
Bamboo 21-31% etc is quite high(Ref:
file:///C:/Users/user/Downloads/Nonwood_Plant_Fiber_Characteristics.pdf).
15 Due to higher lignin content of non-wood fiber, the delignification of these fibers
is quite complex and require high amount of chemicals for delignification which
further contributes to environmental pollution and otherwise delignification is
conducted by mechanical or semi-mechanical treatment of fibers, which requires a
lot of energy and produces paper of lower quality.
20
Innovative Approach by Inventors:
In order to overcome the problems associated with already existing raw materials
and method for paper production, inventors in present invention areproviding an
25 innovative approach of utilizing Nerium oleander stem fiber with 81% cellulose
and 5.3% lignin for paper production.
Nerium oleander is small evergreen shrubs belonging to Apocynaceae family.
Nerium oleander is a draught tolerant plant; hence require very less amount of
30 water for growth and development, Moreover, cultivation, harvesting and
maintenance of Nerium oleander is quite easy and does not require labor or other
4
specific conditions. Nerium oleander is majorly used for treatment of various
microbial and fungal diseases because of medicinal properties of this plant. Along
with these properties, it also possesses Larvicidal effects, Anti-diabetic effects,
Anti-cancer activity etc.
5
Rationale being is that for production of good quality paper, the raw material must
comprise lesser lignin content and higher cellulose content. As pulping of paper
aims to delignification of fiber and due to very less lignin content, delignification
is carried out without chemical treatment. Further, higher the cellulose content
10 more will be the fiber-fiber bonding which increases the strength and quality of
paper.
The lignin content of Nerium oleander fiber is 5.3%, which is quite less as
compared to lignin content of other plant fibers. Due to lesser content of
15 lignin, it became possible to delignify the Nerium oleander stem fiber without
utilization of any of the chemical. Hence present invention provide advancement
of already existing paper production process, as in present invention, inventors
are not using any type of chemicals for paper production, moreover the
cellulose content of Nerium oleander stem fiber is quite high, which increases
20 the fiber to fiber binding and results in production of better quality paper.
Earlier, Nerium oleander was commonly used in medicinal sector for treatment of
several of diseases and in textile industry for dyeing purposes, but none of the
prior art discloses the utilization of fiber extracted from Nerium oleander plant for
25 paper production. Hence Present invention is NOVEL.
Before going into the details of the invention, the related prior arts are stated
below:
30 Prior art Patents
5
Patent Application No:US8795469Discloses “Method of preparing non-wood
fiber paper”
The above cited patent discloses a method of producing paper from non
woodfibre, preferably wheat and flax fibre. The method comprises the steps of
5 chopping the dry non wood fibre, wet processing to remove the dirt, fines and
water soluble extracts, dewatering the chopped material, heating the chopped
material in presence of NaOH or anthraquinone for 15-200 minutes, washing of
the heated chopped material, Bleaching of washed material and finally converting
the bleached material to paper product, which could be used as photocopy paper,
10 printing paper, paper in art etc.
The present invention discloses paper prepared from Nerium oleander plant fiber,
whereas in above cited patent, paper was produced from flax and wheat fiber.
Moreover, in present invention, Pulping process was carried out without the use
15 of any of the chemicals, whereas above cited patent involves the use of NaOH or
anthraquinone for pulping process.
Patent Application No: US1780750A discloses “Method of preparing cellulose
pulp”
20
The above cited patent discloses method of preparing cellulose pulp from
cellulose bearing material such as bagasse, straw, grasses, cornstalk etc. The
above cited invention involves steps of cooking, beating and electrically and
chemically treating bagasse, straws, grasses, wood, cornstalks etc with sodium
25 chloride and electric source respectively. After chemical treatment, lime and soda
ash are added to digestor and simultaneously steam is incorporated within the
digestor and it is further rotated.
Present invention differs from the above cited invention, as in present invention
Nerium oleander plant fiber is used for production of paper, whereas in above
30 cited patent, paper is produced using bagasse, straw, grasses etc. Moreover, in
6
present invention no chemical treatment was used for paper production whereas
in above cited patent, chemical treatment along with electrical treatment was used
for pulping.
5 Indian Patent Application No: 201947024350 discloses“Method for
producing paper, cardboard, or paperboard using Baobab tree bark bast
fibers, Baobab fruit fibers, and/or Natal fig bast fibers as papermaking raw
materials”
10 The above cited invention discloses method of preparation of paper, carton and
cardboard by using Baobab fruit fiber and Baobab tree bastfiber or natal fig bast
fiber as a raw material. The process disclosed in the above cited patent involves
certain steps such as fraying the raw material while adding water, heating and
bleaching the fiber pulp using common bleaching agents, applying fiber to sieving
15 means to produce a paper fiber fleece. Further the paper fiber fleece is pressed in
order to obtain finer paper sheets and finally the obtained paper sheet is dried.
Present invention involves the use of Nerium oleander plant fiber as a raw
material. Further in present invention,pulping of fiber was carried out without the
use of any chemicals. Hence present invention differs from the above cited patent.
20
Patent No. US4182349A discloses “Method for making Reconstituted
Tobacco”
The above cited invention related to reconstituted tobacco made by conventional
papermaking process. In this invention, woody stalk portion or leaves of tobacco
25 plant are used for papermaking. The raw material is soaked in hot water to extract
the water soluble portion from it. Further the wood stalk portion or leaves of
tobacco are refined by beating in order to separate the fibers in order to produce
smooth and homogenous paper. Finally the hand sheets were made in noble and
wood hand sheet mould. And 60 GSM paper was produced.
7
The above cited invention involves the use of tobacco plant as a raw material
whereas on other hand, present invention involves the use of Nerium oleander
fiber as a raw material. Hence both inventions differ from each other.
5 Patent Application No: 202111036640discloses “Method for production of
paper from Cascabela thevetia fiber and product thereof” – Dr. Ramratan
and Rohit Kumar
The above cited Indian patent application was filed by same applicants as of the
present invention. The above cited invention discloses a method for production of
10 paper from Cascabela thevetia fibers. The above invention discloses white
colored paper having standard size of 60 to 75 GSM, Tear index of 18.9 ± 0.73,
Tensile strength of 23.6 ± 2.15 and Brightness of about 29%.
Present invention involves utilization of a completely different raw material i.e.,
Nerium oleander stem fiber for production of paper. Moreover, the paper
15 produced in present invention possess 19.3 ± 1.25 tear strength, 24.3±2.32
Tensile strength and 51.5% Brightness, which is quite high as compared
properties of paper disclosed in above cited invention and pure white paper
quality.
20 Journals and Publications
Mahjoub Jabli, Ramzi khiari, Najeh tak: Physicochemical characteristics
and Dyeing properties of Lignin-cellulosic Fibers derived from Nerium
oleander; Journal of Molecular liquids: November-2017.
25
The above cited paper discloses a method for extraction and characterization of
lignin-cellulosic fibers extracted from seeds of Nerium oleander plant. Further,
Morphological studies, chemical composition analysis and FTIR Analysis of
extracted fiber were determined. In above paper, it is mentioned that results from
8
chemical composition investigation discloses that the polysaccharide content of
Nerium oleander fiber is similar to that of wood, which justify the possibility to
isolate cellulose as composite material and paper making and as a substrate for
cellulose derivatives. The cellulose and lignin content of Nerium oleander seed
5 fiber is 45% and 21% respectively.
The present invention differs from the above cited patent as present invention
discloses 60 GSM Paper extracted from Nerium oleander stem fiber and method
of preparation of same, whereas above cited paper discloses the method for
10 production of lignin-cellulosic fiber from Nerium oleander plant seed. In above
invention it is just mentioned that the extracted fiber can be used in paper making,
but actual process or paper properties are not disclosed, whereas in present
invention, process for paper production is disclosed along with properties of
paper.Also the cellulose content of Nerium oleander seed fiber is quite less i.e.,
15 45%, whereas the Nerium oleander fiber which is used for paper making in
present invention comprises about 81% of cellulose content, hence can be used
for production of better quality paper. In the present process of making paper, no
chemical treatment is carried out resulting in more Holo cellulose content i.e.,
77.4% and Tear index 19.3 ± 1.25.
20
Mohamad Aneesul Mehmod, Sartaj A Ganie, ShokatAra, Saakshy Agarwal;
Isolation and Characterization of Lignocellulose fibers from Datura
stramonium pulp: International Journal of advance research in Science and
Engineering: Volume No. 07, March 2018.
25
The above cited paper deals with utilization of Daturastramonium stalks in pulp
and paper industry for production of paper. The method of paper making
disclosed in above cited paper comprises of certain steps such as Chopping of
stalks of plant, oven drying and powdering, digestion with 8% sulphite pulping
30 (5% Sodium hydroxide and 3% Sodium sulphite). Further after washing, pulping
was carried out using 12% sulphite pulping using 7.5% Sodium hydroxide and
9
4.5% sodium sulphite and without chemicals. Finally the cooked pulp was beaten
with a beater to obtain standard hand sheets of 60 GSM.
The present invention involves utilization of a completely different plant i.e.,
5 Nerium oleander for paper production. Moreover, the above cited paper involves
the use of sulphite for pulping of plant material, whereas present invention does
not use any chemical treatment for pulping process. Hence present invention
differs from above cited paper.
10 Zhongliu, Huimei Wang and Lanfenghui: Pulping and Papermaking of Nonwood Fibers; Book Pulp and Paper processing (Intech open)
The above cited invention discloses the utilization of various types of non wood
fiber such as grasses, bamboo, cereal straw, corn stalks, bagasse, flax, hemp, jute,
15 kenaf, sisal, abaca, cotton etc. It also discloses various types of pulping techniques
such as Alkaline pulping, Caustic soda pulping using NaOH and Anthraquinone,
Methanol pulping, ethanol pulping, mechanical pulping, biological pulping,
organic acid pulping, sulfite pulping, etc. Further the process of bleaching and
beating is also disclosed and properties of paper manufactured from different
20 plant fiber are also disclosed.
Present invention discloses the use of Nerium oleander plant fiber having high
cellulose content and low lignin content for the production of paper. Also, the
process disclosed in present invention is quite simple and does not involve the use
25 of harsh chemicals.
Hafeezur Rahmaan Mohd Yassin, Normzian Hassan, Hon Su Sean;
Experiment on Abaca fiber and its implementation in product making;
Advances in social science, Education and Humanities Research, Volume 207.
30
10
The above cited invention discloses production of handmade paper sheet from
fiber of Abaca plant. The process used in above cited research for papermaking
involves basic steps such as fiber cutting, pulping, sheet formation, drying,
pressing etc. Abaca fiber sheet of different thickness was prepared by above
5 method with pressing or without pressing. Further lampshade design from 3mm
sheet produced without pressing was prepared as a decorative product from abaca
fiber sheet.
Present invention involves the use of Nerium oleander fiber as a raw material for
10 production of 60- 70 GSM paper. Hence present invention differs from above
cited research work.
OBJECT OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
15 The main object of the present invention is to disclosea chemical free paper
manufactured from Nerium oleander stem fiber and process thereof
Another object of the present invention is to disclose a good quality white colored
paper with standard size of 60 to 70 grams per square meter (GSM) and tear
20 strength as 19.3± 1.25.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention discloses Chemical free paper manufactured from Nerium
oleander stem fiber and process thereof. Wood is the dominant raw material used
25 for production of paper in paper industry, but it leads to depletion of forest
resources, hence demand for production of paper from non wood raw material is
increasing now days. Nerium oleander plant is evergreen small shrub and does not
require specialized conditions and massive amount of water for its growth and
development. Moreover maintenance and harvesting of Nerium oleander plant is
30 quite easy and does not require any extra efforts.
11
Furthermore, Nerium oleander fiber comprises of high amount of cellulose i.e.,
81% and low amount of lignin content i.e., 5.3%, hence results in production of
better quality paper as high cellulose content increases fiber-fiber bonding to
increase the strength of the paper and due to low lignin content of Nerium
5 oleander fiber, pulping process was carried out without any chemicals.
The method of paper production comprises of simple steps such as extraction of
fibers from the stem of the plant, washing of the fibers, Pulping (Delignification)
of the fibers, Preparation and analysis of pulp pads, Beating of pulp, Preparation
of paper, Characterization of physical properties, optical properties and strength of
10 paper. Characterization studies reveal that present invention results in production
of White colored good quality paper, with 77.4% holo-cellulose content and 19.3±
1.25 tear strength.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
15
Figure 1: Cross-sectional view of raw material Nerium oleander fiber
Figure 2: Longitudinal view of raw material Nerium oleander fiber
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
20 The following description is of best-contemplated mode of carrying out the
invention. The description is made for the purpose of illustrating the general
principles of the invention and should not be taken in a limiting sense.
The present invention discloses chemical free paper manufactured fromNerium
oleander plant and process thereof.
25 Paper making is basically a two-step procedure, first of all the fiber is converted
to the pulp form and further the pulp is converted to paper form. Nerium oleander
fibers comprises of quite high cellulose content which helps in increasing the
strength of the paper and it also comprises of lesser lignin content, because of
which, chemical free pulping was carried out. Hence, the overall process of
12
preparation of paper from Nerium oleander stem fiber is quite simple, Ecofriendly and cost effective.
Methodology:
Example 1:
5 Procurement of Nerium oleander plants: In present invention, wildly grown
Nerium oleander plants were taken fromthe roadsides in Bathinda City of Punjab.
Extraction and washing of fiber: Nerium oleander fibers were extracted from
the stem of the plant. The outer layer of stem is immersed in tank full of water for
the process of water retting, which results in softening of plant tissue and
10 extraction of fiber. Further, the extracted Nerium oleander fibers are washed with
plain water in order to remove dirt or other impurities.
Delignification (Pulping) of paper: Pulping was carried out in order to remove
the lignin content present within the Nerium oleander fibers. Due to presence of
lesser lignin content in Nerium oleander fiber, in present invention, pulping is
15 carried out without using any chemical.
Preparation and analysis of Pulp pads: Powder of the pulp samples was made
using dust making machine for the proximate analysis. The pulp pads were made
of as such pulp received as per the standard procedure (TAPPI T 218 sp- 02) for
the optical properties analysis. The optical properties of pulp pad were analyzed
20 using L & W Elrepho 071 instrument. Further, the freeness of pulp samples were
tested as per T 227 om 17 method. The freeness of both the pulp after beating was
found to be in the range of 360 ± 10 CSF.
Beating:For the process of beating, laboratory valley beater is used in present
25 invention and beating of the pulp was carried out for about 35 minutes after
uniform mixing of pulp.Further, after squeezing the pulp is directly converted
into paper sheet, without any chemical treatment process.
13
Preparation of Paper: The hand-sheets of about 60-70 GSM were prepared in
KCL type automated hand-sheet former as per T 205 sp- 02 standard method.
Flow chart of the Process
5
Determination of optical properties and strength: The hand-sheets were tested
for opticalproperties and strength after conditioning at temperature 27 ± 1º C and
relative humidity 65 ± 2 %.
10 Physical characterization of Paper: Physical characterization studies reveals
that present invention results in production of white colored paper with standard
size of about 60-70 gram per square meter as well as Tear strength of paper is
19.3± 1.25 which is quite high as compared to paper prepared from other
non-wood fibers.(Table 1).
15 Table 1: Results Comparison raw materials for paper sheet
Raw
material
Tensile
Index
Tear Index Burst
Index
Ash Holocellulose
(%)
Bagasse 58.9 3.96 3.73 0.61 64
Hemp 52.9 7.36 6.76 2.17 75
Rice Straw 79.57 3.28 5.70 5.5 60.7
Sisal 50.80 18.73 2.36 0.42 85
Jute 42.7 12.50 5.5 1.2 74.2
14
Wheat
Straw
45.5 3.32 2.66 1.6 54.8
Cascabela
Thevetia
23.6± 2.15 18.9 ± 0.73 1.5 ± 0.16 8.0 80.4
Nerium
Oleander
24.3 ± 2.32 19.3± 1.25 2.03± 0.12 6.72 77.4
Table 2: Results of proximate analysis of pulp samples
Parameters Unit Sample Test Method
Hot water solubility % 9.82 TAPPI T 207 CM 99
N/10 solubility NaoH % 13.4 TAPPI T 212 OM 02
Alcohol Benzene Solubility % 4.36 TAPPI T 204 CM 97
Holo cellulose % 77.4 Wise chloride method
Pentosan % 4.18 CPPRI S Methods (UV
method)
Ash at 525 C % 6.72 TAPPI T 211 om 2
Alpha Cellulose % 71.8 TAPPI T 203 om 99
Table 3: Results optical properties pulp samples
Parameters Unit Sample Test Method
Brightness % ISO 51.5 IS/ISO 2470-1
CIE Whiteness % ISO 17
L* % ISO 82.2
a* % ISO 0.99
b* % ISO 9.42
Yellowness % ISO 20.9
5
Table 4: Other Important parameters
Parameters Paper sheet
Thickness (µm) 140 ± 5
Bulk ( cc/gm) 1.96
15
Double fold (Number) 148 ±36
From the above mentioned parameters, it is clear that present invention results in
production of good quality from Nerium oleander stem fiber. Further, the tear
index of Nerium oleander paper is highest as compared to other paper
5 produced from plant fiber such as Cascabela thevetia, Wheat straw, jute etc.
Because of high tear strength, the said paper is sturdy and can hold weight.
Therefore it can be well utilized as a packaging paper and also in industry for
various applications such as filter paper etc.
Moreover, the overall process is eco-friendly and cost effective, as production
10 process does not involve utilization of any costly or harsh chemicals for pulping,
bleaching or whitening of the paper.
NOVELTY, INVENTIVE STEP AND INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION
NOVELTY
The NOVELTY lies in utilization of Nerium oleander fiber as a raw material.
15 Nerium oleander plant is most commonly used in medicinal sector because of its
medicinal properties, but none of the prior art search discloses the utilization of
Nerium oleander plant in pulp and paper industry for production of paper,
Moreover present invention discloses production of paper without use of any
chemicals for pulping or bleaching of paper. Hence present invention in novel.
20
INVENTIVE STEP
Inventive step in way of economic advantage lies in easy availability of Nerium
oleander plant throughout India and other parts of world. Further, cultivation,
Maintenance as well harvesting of Nerium oleander plant is quite easy and cost
25 effective. Also, Nerium oleander plant is a draught tolerant plant and hence does
not require massive amount of water for growth. Furthermore, the extraction of
16
fiber from Nerium oleander plant stem is quite easy, cost effective and less time
consuming.
Inventive step by way of technological advancement lies in production of paper
without utilization of any chemicals or whitening agents for pulping, bleaching or
5 for brightening and whitening of paper due to lesser lignin content, higher
cellulose content and almost white color of the fiber. Despite using no
chemicals, the obtained paper is of white color and of good quality.
Moreover, the process is quite simple and Nerium oleander is easily available in
different parts of world and does not require special growth conditions or
10 environment, hence present invention is economically feasible. Thus raw material
for making almost white color paper is practically without any cost.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION
Industrial application is duly clear as above invention results in production of 60
-70 GSM paper from Nerium oleander plant fiber which is easily and wildly
15 available and does not need special cultivation. Thus raw material is practically
without any cost, no chemical treatment is required in production and thus any
industry would love to manufacture the paper from this fibre.

WE CLAIM:
1. A chemical free paper from the fibre extracted from the stem of Nerium
oleander plant WHEREIN the same is naturally white in color and has
following characteristic features:
5 Tensile Index : 24.3 ± 2.32
Tear Index : 19.3± 1.25
Burst Index : 2.03± 0.12
Ash : 6.72
Holocellulose (%) :77.4
10
2. The paper as claimed in claim 1 WHEREIN the paper sheet of GSM 60-70 is
characterized as:
GSM : 60-70
Thickness (µm) : 140 ± 5
15 Bulk ( cc/gm) : 1.96
Double fold (Number) : 148 ±36
3. The paper as claimed in claim 1 WHEREIN the same is hand made.
20 4. The paper as claimed in claim 1 WHEREIN the same is machine made.
5. A method of preparing paper as claimed in claim 1 WHEREIN the same
consists of following steps:
- wildly grown Nerium oleander plants are taken ;
25 - Nerium oleander fibers are extracted from the stem of the plant by
immersing the outer layer of stem in tank full of water for the process
of water retting, resulting in softening of plant tissue and extraction of
fiber;
- the extracted Nerium oleander fibers are washed with plain water in
30 order to remove dirt or other impurities;
18
- pulping is carried out in order to remove the lignin content present
within the Nerium oleander fibers without using any chemical;
- beating and squeezing of the pulp is carried out for about 35 minutes
after uniform mixing of pulp;
5 - after beating and squeezing the pulp is directly converted into paper
sheet of 60-70 GSM.