Karakteristik Kertas Dokumen Berbasis Pulp Kapas, Selulosa Bakteri Dari Kombucha, dan Kalsium Karbonat Sebagai Bahan Pengisi

Abstract

Research on the manufacture of document paper based on natural pulp consisting of cotton fiber, bacterial cellulose from kombucha, and the addition of calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) as a filler. This study aims to examine the effect of adding bacterial cellulose as a reinforcing material with concentration variations of 5, 10, and 15. Bacterial cellulose was obtained through a static culture method. The papermaking process was carried out by adding 30% calcium carbonate to the total mixture of materials. The resulting paper sheets were characterized by tensile tests, water absorption tests, writing properties tests and SEM. The characterization results showed that increasing the concentration of bacterial cellulose was directly proportional to the increase in tensile strength values. The best results were obtained on paper variations of 55%:15%:30% with a tensile strength value of 1.28 MPa, a strain percentage of 1.08%, and a Young's modulus of 0.118 GPa. The best water absorption percentage analysis was obtained at a variation of 65%:5%:30% of 343.58%. Writing properties of the paper showed that it could absorb water-based ink well. SEM showed that the paper structure became denser and stronger due to the addition of bacterial cellulose and the formation of a homogeneous mixture. FTIR identified the presence of CaCO3 with the appearance of a peak at 1423.8 cm-1 for the CO32- group.