Utilization of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) stalks in pulp and paper production

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The leaves of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) are used very common in the medicine. However, after the usage of leaves, stalks are useless. In this study, utilization of rosemary stalks in pulp and paper industry is analyzed. For this purpose, chemical and morphological properties were determined. Also, some derived values (slenderness ratio, flexibility coefficient, rigidity coefficient, mühlsteph ratio and F ratio) were found from the fiber properties (fiber length, fiber diameter, cell wall thickness and lumen diameter). Results were compared with other lignocellulosic materials. The stalks composed of 63.6% holocellulose, 36.4% α-cellulose, 26.9% lignin and 1.9% ash. Solubility values were 4.8%, 10.4%, 7.9% and 22.8% as for toluene-alcohol-acetone mixture, hot water, cold water and 1% NaOH, respectively. Fiber length, fiber diameter, cell wall thickness and lumen diameter were found 0.36 mm, 12.84 µm, 4.31 µm and 4.22 µm, respectively. The slenderness ratio, flexibility coefficient, rigidity coefficient, mühlsteph ratio and F ratio were determined in the order of 27.7, 32.87, 33.57, 2.04, 89.20 and 82.72%. According to these results the stalks of rosemary showed similarities with hardwood species with respect to holocellulose, α- cellulose and lignin. However derived values indicated that the stalks of rosemary is not suitable for pulp and paper production.