False banana /Ensete ventricosum [Welw.] Cheesman/ is exploited as a food crop in Ethiopia where it represents an important staple food. The plant is harvested and large amounts of biomass residues are originated, mainly from the pseudo stem (i.e., fiber bundles obtained from the leaf sheaths after being scrapped to produce starchy food) and the inflorescence stalk. These materials were studied in relation to their summative chemical composition, composition of lignin, lipophilic and polar extracts. Moreover, their structural characteristics, in view of their valorization, were scrutinized. The analytical studies were performed with the aid of FTIR, GC/MS, Py-GC/MS and SEM. The fiber bundles are aggregates of mainly long and slender fibers with low ash, extractives and lignin contents (3.8%. 4.4% and 10.5% respectively) and high holocellulose and α-cellulose contents (87.5% and 59.6% respectively). The hemicelluloses in the fibers are mostly highly acetylated xylans and the lignin is of the H-type (H:G:S, 1:0.7:0.8). This lignin composition is in line with the FTIR peaks at 1670 cm^-1 and 1250 cm^-1.The inflorescence stalk has high ash content (12.3% in the main stalk and 24.6% in fines) with a major proportion of potassium, high extractives (25.9%), and low lignin and α-cellulose contents (5.8% and 17.9% respectively). The stalk includes numerous starch granules in the cellular structure with the predominant presence of parenchyma. The potential valorization routes for these materials are clearly different. The fiber bundles could be used as a fiber source for paper pulp production with the possibility of a prior hemicelluloses removal while the inflorescence stalk has nutritional value for food and fodder. Furthermore, it can also be used for sugar fermentation products.

Massive tonnes of fibrous residues are produced during the harvesting of the Enset plant for food preparation. The fibers are characterized by high cellulose and hemicellulose content and low lignin and extractive content. These make the fiber a good candidate for its concurrent valorization aimed at dissolving grade pulp and biogas. Prehydrolysis soda pulping was performed using steam pretreatment as a prehydrolysis step at a severity ranging from 2.95 to 4.13. The steamed fiber (PH fiber) was subjected to subsequent soda pulping under mild (160 °C and 16% alkali concentration) and severe (180 °C and 24% alkali concentration) pulping conditions. At higher steaming severity, a pulp with a xylose content of <4% and glucose content of 96% was obtained. A simple bleaching stage was envisaged to develop oxygen-peroxide (OQP₁), oxygen-double peroxide (OQP₂P₂, and OQP₂P₃) and oxygen-peroxide-chlorine dioxide (OQP₂D) sequences. Brightnesses up to ∼85% ISO could be reached for all sequences with CUEN viscosities of ∼350–500 ml g⁻¹. Higher viscosities with higher brightness were achieved mainly by OQP₂D sequence. However, even with OQP₁ and OQP₂P₃ sequences the pulps met the requirements for lyocell production. An intense steam treatment reduces the biochemical methane potential (BMP) of prehydrolysis liquid (PHL) from 462 ml g⁻¹ vs to 315 ml g⁻¹ vs. The reduction might be due to the inhibition effect of furan concentration increase in the corresponding PHL from 2 ppm to 24 ppm. However, due to the higher yield and carbohydrate concentration of the prehydrolysis liquid, the biogas production volumes per initial raw material were still higher at higher steaming severity.

This paper evaluates the modification of fiber morphology and the strength property development of paper from Enset fiber as a function of soda pulping conditions and refining energy. Soda pulping was conducted at pulping temperatures between 160 and 180 °C. The NaOH charge was 16, 20, and 24% based on the initial raw material. The beating of pulp was conducted using a Jokro mill. The refining of pulp was conducted in a laboratory refiner at different refining intensities. The mild Jokro mill beating was not effective on Enset fiber pulp. On the other hand, the laboratory refiner effectively refined the pulp. The fiber morphology was altered in the way of improving the paper formation and strength. The beating degree of the pulp was increased to about 49 °SR. The tensile index was enhanced to around 80 Nm/g using a refining energy input of 250 kwh/t. From the results, it can be concluded that Enset fiber pulp is suitable for packaging papers due to its high strength level. On the other hand, Enset fiber can be a potential raw material for specialty papers like filter paper and tea bags because of its high porosity.