Iñiguez-Covarrubias G, Díaz-Teres R, Sanjuan-Dueñas R, Anzaldo-Hernández J, Rowell R M
Universidad de Guadalajara, Departamento de madera, celulosa y papel, Km. 15.5 carretera Guadalajara-Nogales, Las Agujas, Zapopan, Jal, Apartado Postal 51-93 C. P. Guadalajara, Jal 45020, Mexico.
Bioresour Technol. 2001 Apr;77(2):101-8. doi: 10.1016/s0960-8524(00)00167-x.
The leaves of the agave plant are left in the field after harvesting the heads for tequila production. Different types of agave leaves were isolated, classified, and their content in the total plant determined. The usable fractions were collected and their properties determined. Of the total wet weight of the agave plant, 54% corresponds to the agave head, 32% corresponds to materials which could be usable for sugar and fiber production which leaves 14% of the wet plant without apparent utility. The fractions with higher total reducing sugars (TRS) content were the fresh fraction of partially dry leaves stuck to the head and the leaf bases with a TRS content of 16.1% and 13.1%, respectively. The highest TRS concentration (16-28%) is in the agave head which is used for tequila production. The leaves are 90-120 cm long and 8-12 cm wide and contain fiber bundles that are 23-52 cm long and 0.6-13 mm wide. The ultimate fiber length is approximately 1.6 mm with an average width of 25 microns. There are several types of leaf fibers that can be utilized depending on what part of the plant they come from and what product is desired. Agave leaf fibers were pulped using a soda pulping process and the pulp was hand formed into test sheets. Test sheets made from pulped agave leaf fibers had a breaking length comparable to paper made from both pine and eucalyptus fibers, but the tear index and burst index were lower than the other two papers.
用于生产龙舌兰酒的头状部分收获后，龙舌兰植物的叶子留在田间。对不同类型的龙舌兰叶进行了分离、分类，并测定了它们在整株植物中的含量。收集了可用部分并测定了其特性。龙舌兰植物的总湿重中，54% 对应龙舌兰头状部分，32% 对应可用于制糖和纤维生产的材料，剩余 14% 的湿植物部分无明显用途。总还原糖（TRS）含量较高的部分是附着在头状部分的部分干叶的新鲜部分和叶基部，TRS 含量分别为 16.1% 和 13.1%。TRS 浓度最高（16 - 28%）的是用于生产龙舌兰酒的龙舌兰头状部分。叶子长 90 - 120 厘米，宽 8 - 12 厘米，含有长度为 23 - 52 厘米、宽度为 0.6 - 13 毫米的纤维束。最终纤维长度约为 1.6 毫米，平均宽度为 25 微米。根据它们来自植物的哪个部分以及所需产品的不同，可以利用几种不同类型的叶纤维。使用苏打制浆工艺将龙舌兰叶纤维制成纸浆，并将纸浆手工制成测试片。由龙舌兰叶纤维纸浆制成的测试片的抗断长度与由松木和桉木纤维制成的纸张相当，但撕裂指数和破裂指数低于其他两种纸张。
