Abstract Wood has traditionally been the primary raw material for papermaking, but its use contributes to deforestation. Vegetable waste offers a sustainable alternative for the paper industry. This study explores the potential of cabbage waste combined with wastepaper in varying compositions (20–100 wt% at 20 wt% intervals) for paper production. The prepared tissue papers were evaluated for grammage, thickness, tensile strength, burst strength, moisture content, and FTIR analysis. Results showed that increasing cabbage leaf content led to a decrease in grammage and thickness indicating reduced fibre density and increased porosity. The optimum tensile strength (3.33 Nm/g) and burst strength (6 kPa m 2 /g) were observed at 60 wt% cabbage leaves, suggesting enhanced fibre bonding and structural integrity at this composition. Beyond this threshold, mechanical properties declined due to weaker fibre interactions. Moisture content increased up to 60 wt% (7.4 %), then decreased at higher cabbage leaf proportions, balancing water retention and porosity. FTIR analysis revealed the presence of cellulose fibers and polysaccharide functional groups in the prepared tissue paper. The obtained results showed that 60 wt% cabbage leaf mixtures provide an optimal combination of strength, flexibility, and moisture control, making them suitable for tissue paper applications.
Perumal et al. (Thu,) studied this question.