Department of Chemical and Process Engineering

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Browsing Department of Chemical and Process Engineering by Author "Kanene, Levi Brian"

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    Antimicrobial hand wipes from banana fibres.
    (Busitema University, 2023) Kanene, Levi Brian
    At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the measures for combating the spread was the use of personal decontamination. Whereas sanitizing wipes are among the strategies for combatting COVID-19, there are growing concerns regarding their disposal, due to majority of them being made of non-biodegradable fibres. Additionally, some of the sanitizing solutions used have been found irritant, while some are carcinogenic. In this study, banana fibre wipes, impregnated with an organic antimicrobial formulation were developed as a sustainable alternative to synthetic fibre wipes and synthetic antimicrobial formulations. Banana fibres were extracted from banana pseudostem sheaths and alkali-treated at varying sodium hydroxide concentrations of 5 g/l – 20 g/l, varying temperatures of 85 0C to 105 0C under different immersion times of 60 min to 180 min. Other factors that were varied include the fibre length (20 mm – 40 mm) and the concentration of hydrogen peroxide (5 % v/v – 20 % v/v). Functional group analysis of the alkalitreated samples was done using the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. It was observed that during alkali treatment, the banana fibres undergo a loss of lignin and hemicellulose. Hydro-distillation was used to extract essential oils from the sap of Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis as a specie cited to possess antimicrobial activity. Phytochemical screening indicated that P. caribaea sap contains flavonoids and alkaloids. Extracts from lemon essential oil and cedar oil were equally studied and compared with oil from P. caribaea sap for antimicrobial efficacy. Assessment of the agar plates revealed that the P. caribaea extract did not show inhibitory activity to Escherichia coli (wild), E. coli (ATCC 25922), Staphylococcus aureus (wild), S. aureus (ATCC 25923), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (wild) and P. aeruginosa (ATCC 27853). However, essential oils from cedar and lemon showed inhibitory activity. From the Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis, oil obtained from P. caribaea sap was found to contain 23 bioactive compounds, with sabinene having the highest concentration of 34.24 % followed by βPinene (24.82%). A spunlaced non-woven fabric made from 100% banana fibres was impregnated with a commercial formulation containing essential oils from lemon, eucalyptus, cedar and orange. The antimicrobial efficacy test done on the impregnated wipe showed inhibitory activity against all the bacterial strains. Furthermore, the mechanical properties of the fabric showed that the tensile strength in the wet state increased by 4.29% and 20.414% in both the machine and cross directions respectively. Given that synthetic fibres are used in wipes to achieve a high wet tensile strength since most cellulosic fibres become weaker and disintegrate when wet, it can be concluded that banana fibres can be effectively used in wipes functionality given that they are biodegradable and are stronger when wet. From this study, there is need to carry out more studies on the dispersibility behaviour of the wet banana wipes and their rate of degradation during storage. Keywords: Sanitizing wipes, banana pseudostem, COVID-19, antimicrobial formulation, biodegradability, bio-based, nonwoven, plant extract