Processing of Elephant Dung and its Utilization as a Raw Material for Making Exotic Paper

Paper is one of the most in demand commodities of the world. Excessive deforestation has led to scarcity of wood resources, and it is needed to conserve them to protect the integrity of the ecosystem. The pulp and paper scientists are continuously struggling for non-wood raw materials that can be pulped in to exotic papers of high value. In the present study, an attempt was made to investigate the potential of elephant dung as a non-conventional raw material to make exotic paper. For this purpose, elephant dung was dried under sun for 4-5 hours and then in oven at 105°C for 30 min. The dung sample was then cooked by chemithermomechnical (CTMP), semi-chemical and chemical soda-anthraquinone pulping processes in different experimental trials by varying the alkali dose. The papers were then tested for different physical and optical properties to estimate the quality of the elephant dung paper. In the current study, the optimum cooking conditions to make elephant dung paper in terms of maximum properties was 14.0% NaOH and 0.5% Anthraquinone (AQ) on o.d.p. Different type of exotic papers can be produced from elephant dung such as writing sheets, diaries, scrap books and greeting cards in a wide variety of styles and colors that could attract the attention of tourists and art lovers; resulting in revenue generation that could be used for the betterment of elephants and their owners.