An automated banana pseudostem fiber extraction site has been set up in Pingtung County to promote the circular use of bananas, the Agriculture and Food Agency said, hailing the site as a first for Taiwan.
Bananas have a total harvest area of more than 14,000 hectares in Taiwan, the agency said.
Their pseudostems, which look like the trunk, typically go onto waste heaps after harvest, but the fibers can be repurposed, it said.
Photo: Screen grab from the Ministry of Agriculture’s Web site
The site at the Taiwan Banana Research Institute is expected to offer fast and stable production of high-quality banana fibers, it said, adding that it would promote the use of banana pseudostem fibers in fabric and textiles.
Institute director Lee Wen-li (李文立) said most automated fiber extraction equipment can only extract 1 percent of fibers from banana pseudostems.
However, the institute has developed techniques that can process the remaining 99 percent, Lee said.
The residue is dried, ground and repurposed into biodegradable products as alternatives to plastic products, he said.
The biodegradable products include bags, egg cartons and packing materials, he said.
The site would also be a teaching and training facility for agricultural workers and students from the National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Lee said.
Last month, the agency announced that Yunlin County had set up its first automated pineapple leaf fiber extraction site.
The facility is the result of cooperation between the government, industry and academia, the agency said.
Like banana pseudostems, pineapple leaves and stems used to be considered waste, but they can be upcycled into high-value plant fiber products with the extraction technique, it said.
Pineapple plantations in Yunlin County cover more than 870 hectares, the agency said.
Fibers extracted from pineapple leaves can be processed into yarn for making textiles such as clothes, hats or woven bags, it said.
The residue from the fiber extraction process can also be repurposed into value-added products such as fermented liquids, animal feed or synthetic leather, it said.
The whole-plant utilization of pineapples has been achieved with a local circular industrial chain, it said.
The Ministry of Agriculture has identified zero-waste circular agriculture as one of its major administrative targets, the Agriculture and Food Agency said.
The automated fiber extraction sites help capitalize on surplus resources of bananas and pineapples, it said.
They also help reduce Taiwan’s reliance on the petrochemical sector, it said, adding that it expects such collaborations to expand.
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