Development of an innovative water retainer made of banana pseudostem pulp

Abstract

This work presents the development of an innovative water retainer prototype for reforestation, mainly made of banana pseudostem pulp obtained as a subproduct of banana fibre extraction. Apart from this main component, other natural materials such as starch and pine resin were tested as binder and water- proofing agents, respectively. Two different production methodologies were tested: wet moulding (pulp, starch, and water) with pressure, and dry flat moulding (pulp and pine resin) with pressure and high tem- perature. The results suggest that wet moulding facilitates the procedure, but cracks appear after drying. However, with dry flat moulding the process is more complex but the retainer is more compact. Regarding the waterproof agents, the solution of pine resin with turpentine works better than with alcohol because the latter absorbs moisture over time.