Low-cost banana fibre extractor
A LOW-COST, user-friendly device for extracting fibres from the psuedostem of banana has been developed through an inter-institutional project by the scientists from the Central Tobacco Research Institute (CTRI), Rajahmundry and the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA), Hyderabad.
"It is a simple mechanical contraption, and it can extract 15 to 20 kg fibres from the banana wastes in a day as compared to 500 g a day through the laborious manual process," says Dr. V. Venkatasubramanian, one of the inventors of the machine and a Senior Training Organizer at the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Kalavacherla in AP.
The machine consists of a rigid frame on the roller rotates. The roller is made of horizontal bars with blunt edges, and it is driven by a one hp single-phase electric motor. For feeding the banana psuedostems, adjustable guiding rollers are provided. All safety provisions are incorporated to make a "user-friendly" machine with high efficiency, according to Dr. Venkatasubramanian. The cost of the machine is Rs. 15,000. The department of Agriculture, AP, has offered a 33 per cent subsidy to popularise the machine, according to him.
The labour-saving machine for extracting banana fibres.
"The machine reduces the drudgery, and provides a clean working environment for the labourers. It increases the fibre production by fifty times. The machine-extracted fibre is of superior quality in terms of length, softness, strength and colour," explains Dr. Venkatasubramanian. The fibre fetches up to Rs. 50 per kg and it is extensively used for making high quality special paper and decorative papers. Special fabric woven using banana fibres is popular in the Philippines, Malaysia, Japan and Korea. It can be easily blended with other fibres such as jute and mesta.
Banana fibres are generally extracted through a cumbersome process. In the existing manual process, the pseudostems are cut in to bits 60 cm long and 7.5 cm wide. By using a metal scraper (flat and blunt blade), the psuedostems are scraped and the fibre is removed.
An expert worker can extract between 500-600 g of the fibres in a day of eight hours. The process is also messy, as it will blacken the hands of the workers, and result in mail ulcers. The spillage of the juice and the waste pith will also pollute the working environment.
The new machine will offer a clean atmosphere for work, and it will help the workers to produce more fibres as well as get increased income.
The machine will provide excellent opportunity in by-product utilization in banana, and it will come in handy when the crop gets damaged due to cyclones and floods. It will ensure an additional income of Rs. 7500-Rs. 12,500 per hectare for the banana growers, according to Dr. Venkatasubramanian.
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