Towards Optimizing Sanitary Pad with Banana Fiber as Absorbent Core

Chellaiah, Bavani (2024) Towards Optimizing Sanitary Pad with Banana Fiber as Absorbent Core. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology.

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Abstract

Menstrual hygiene management is a critical aspect of women's health, and the quest for sustainable and eco-friendly solutions has gained prominence in recent years. This research highlighted the potential of banana-fiber sanitary pads as a sustainable and cost-effective alternative, addressing both menstrual hygiene needs and environmental concerns by exploring the potential of using waste cellulose materials from Cavendish banana pseudo-stem as an alternative absorbent core for sanitary pads. The study also compared the differences on the properties and absorbency of banana fibers between treated and untreated banana fibers by aiming to optimize their suitability for sanitary pad applications.The experimental process involved the extraction and preparation of banana fibers from agricultural waste by immersion in a 5% NaOH solution. Methanolic neem extract (Azadirachta indica) was prepared to evaluate its inhibitory effects of harmful microbial growth in vagina such as Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of neem extract which is 12.5 mg/ml was determined by testing on gram negative and gram positive bacteria with 5 different concentrations through serial dilution followed by zone of inhibition. The chemical and structural properties of banana fiber between treated, untreated and commercial banana fiber sanitary pad (Saathi) were examined by FTIR. Nine performance tests were performed to compare the effectiveness between the commercial pad and the prototype pad. The results showed that the developed pad was significantly better than the commercial pad in absorption capacity test (46.19 ± 6.67 mL) and rewet/wet back test (0.12± 0.07g). However, some tests, such as strikethrough test, retention test as well as leakage proof test, it was observed that commercial pad performed significantly better than developed sanitary pad with the values of (26.7 ± 3.0 s, 91.63 ± 2.6 %, and 3.44 ± 0.94 %, respectively. In the free swell absorptive test, developed pads showed equal effect as the commercial pads. From the observations, the banana fiber has the potential to be used as the absorbent core in sanitary pads with some improvements.