I N

C O O P E R AT I O N

W I T H

T H E

DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLGY

The Feasiblity of Cogon

Grass (Imperata cylindrica) as
an Economical and
Environment-Friendly
Substitute for Cardboard
Food Packaging
ABSTRACT:
The feasibility of cogon grass
(Imperata cylindrica) as substitute for
cardboard food packaging was studied in
this research project. The cogon grass
was cut, boiled, and crushed in order to
get the pulp. The pulp was then subjected
to five different treatments before it was
made into a cardboard-like material. The
amount of resin and other additives were
kept constant while the amount of starch
was varied in every treatment. Treatment
A served as the control and contained
12% water and 7.5% starch.
Treatment B had 5% water and
3.8% starch; treatment C 5% water and
7.5% starch; treatment D, 5% water and

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11.4% starch, and treatment E, 10%

water and 15% starch. The samples
produced were then subjected to different
tests: breaking strength, water retention,
and qualitative tests. The data gathered
from the three tests were then analyzed
using ANOVA and t-test. Result showed
that treatment C was able to withstand
the greatest amount of weight while
treatment D absorbed least of the water
placed in it. For the qualitative test, the
choices of the judges were evaluated with
the use of Friedmanns test and from the
data, treatment B has the most consumer
appeal. Based on the gathered results, the
different treatments were ranked
accordingly and the researchers

FRESHMAN

concluded that treatment C was the best

treatment.
INTRODUCTION
Nonbiodegradable waste is a major
concern everywhere in the world. The
bulk of the worlds waste consists of the
hard-to-breakdown products, such as
styrofoam. Styrofoam is commonly used
as food container in fast food restaurants.
Because it cannot be recycled, this
particular waste contributes largely to the
worlds increasing garbage problem.
To lessen this environmental
problem, one logical solution is to use
biodegradable materials or recyclable
ones. Paper is being reconsidered and
encouraged for use. This material can be

recycled over and over again. However,

trees still need to be cut for paper
production. This spells trouble for the
already depleted forests. Because of this,
the researchers thought of an alternative.
This alternative uses cogon grass for
making the pulp and the paper. Cogon
grass is found abundantly in many places
and is sometimes considered a nuisance.
In this study, the researchers
answered the following questions: Can
cogon grass be made into sturdy
materials for food packaging? What
additives can be used to enhance the
packaging material? What concentration
of these additives is the best to produce a
strong material?
The research was limited to paper
production and three different tests. The
samples produced were not covered with
wax. Therefore, they couldnt be fairly
compared to styrofoam in terms of their
ability to resist water. Also, the products
were tested only for water retention and
not for oil from which most foods are
based.
REVIEW
OF
RELATED
LITERATURE
It was in China in 105 A.D. that
the paper was invented. The inventor,
Tsai Lu, used the inner bark of the
mulberry tree to get fibers. These fibers
were mixed with other substances and
produced smooth pulp that later became
sheets. The Chinese found out later that
rags, hemps, ropes, and old fish nets were
potential materials for good

papermaking.
The spread of education and
industry steadily increased the demand
for paper. That is why the search for paper
materials are carried on until today.
Listed as possible sources are vegetable
fibers such as wood, flax, cotton, and
bagasses. For mineral and nonmineral or
synthetic materials, there are gypsum,
asbestos, glass fibers, and synthetic
fibers.
Plant fibers are not the only
substances needed for making paper pulp
achieve desirable properties. Resin, the
sticky substance from plants, and alum
are added to make the paper resistant to
water. Pigments and dyes give color to
the paper while china clay increases its
smooth texture. These are additives that
are blended together to produce paper.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Dried cogon grass was obtained
from IRRI, Los Baos, Laguna. The grass
was cut into approximately 0.5 inch
strips, using scissors or knife. One
kilogram of this cut cogon grass was
boiled in a stainless steel couldron,
containing 20L of water and about 180 g
of caustic soda. This was allowed to boil
for about 3-4 hours in medium heat. After
which the cogon was washed under
running water and crushed in mortar and
pestle. It was screened from unwanted
materials, yielding a purified pulp. Pulp
was put in a cheesecloth and the excess
water was squeezed out, using a rolling
pin.

For the paper sheet production,

five treatments were prepared. Each
treatment contained 1 kg of pulp, 20 g of
resin and 16 g of powdered alum.
Treatment A contained 12% water and
7.5% starch. Treatment B had 5% starch;
treatment D, 5% water and 11.4% starch;
and treatment E, 10% water and 15%
starch. The materials were mixed and,
using a mold and deckle, were made into
sheets. They were removed from the
mold and put in between cheesecloth. A
rolling pin was used to remove excess
water. The sheets were placed on a flat
surface and were set out in the sun for
dying.
To test the effect of various
concentrations of water and starch on the
strength of the paper, the breaking
strength test was performed. One
member of the group held the paper on
each side. A string was attached through
the middle of the paper. To the other end
of the string, weights were added one by
one until the paper broke. The weight in
which the sheet broke was the breaking
strength.
The moisture retention test used
0.5 mL of water which was poured on
each preweighed sample. After 10
minutes, the excess water was shaken off
and the sheets were again weighed to
determined the amount of water they
each absorbed.
The qualitative test was done by
the 14 randomly-selected people from
Philippine Science High School who
judged the samples appearance and

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Table 1.
ranked them according to their
preference. The Firedmanns test was
performed to evaluate the data gathered.
Statistical test were also
performed on the data obtained from the
first two tests. ANOVA was first used
followed by the t-test.
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
Three different tests were
performed on the sheets produced from
cogon grass. They were the breaking
strength, water retention, and qualitative
tests. Statistical analysis performed on
the data gathered from these tests
revealed treatment C was the best
treatment.
ANOVA test showed significant
differences among the treatments in the
breaking strength test. To determine the
strongest sample, t-test was performed
individually and results showed treatment
C was able to withstand the greatest
amount of weights and was therefore, the
strongest. Similar test performed on the
data obtained from water retention test
showed that treatment D absorbed least
of the water placed on it, meaning it was
the most water-resistant. This may be due
to the presence of starch which D had in
the abundance.
The panelists preferred treatment
B followed by treatments C and A.
All the tests taken into
consideration, the researchers concluded
that the best treatment was treatment C.

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Results obtained from the breaking strength test

TREATMENT

TRIAL
1(g)

TRIAL
2(g)

TRIAL
3(g)

AVERAGE
(g)

365.0

368.2

383.2

372.1

564.4

537.5

542.9

548.3

782.2

790

822.4

798.2

396.5

434

365.0

398.5

307.5

310

322.9

313.5

Table 2. Results obtained from the water retention test

TREATMENT
A
B
C
D
E

TRIAL1(g)
0.35
1.30
0.25
0.02
0.10

TRIAL 2(g)
0.37
1.25
0.23
0.10
0.09

TRIAL 3(g)
0.41
1.23
.027
0.10
0.10

AVERAGE(g)
0.38
1.26
0.25
0.07
0.10

SELECTED REFERENCES
Lampe, Klaus. 1991. Making
Paper from Rice Straw. International
Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Los
Baos, Laguna.
McGraw-Hill Science and
Technology Encyclopedia. 1981. New

RESEARCHERS:
Vanessa Gabieta
Hazel Pascual
Jericho Leo Reyes
Cecily Claire Tiu
Mildred Uy

York: McGraw-Hill Book, Co.

Rakka, M.M. et al. Blending
Rice Straw Pulp with Some Egyptian
Flora. Research and Industry 30(2):
102-106.

FRESHMAN

ADVISER
Ms. Juanita Cruz
Philippine Science High School
Quezon City