Vertical and Horizontal Cell Structural Appraisal of a 9-Year Cedrela odorata L. (Miliaceae) for Pulp and Paper Making

Paper is a material of importance in human life and produced from wood. However, is not all wood that have the qualities to be used for paper production. This study assesses the suitability of a 9-year old Cedrela odorata wood in both vertical (bottom to top) and horizontal (sapwood to heartwood) directions for pulp and paper making. Specifically, we evaluated the variations in fibre dimensions and other derived technical requirements needed for wood to be used for paper production. Franklin’s maceration process was adopted for the study. Collected data was subjected to statistical analysis using IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17.00. Mean fibre length was found to be short (i.e., ranged from 0.822 ± 0.142 mm – top heartwood to 1.142 ± 0.144 mm –base heartwood) which were all less than 1.6mm (1600μm). Runkel ratio was highest in top heartwood (0.26 ± 0.08); Flexibility Coefficient was highest in bottom sapwood (0.83 ± 0.05); and Slenderness Ratio was highest in bottom sapwood (49.18 ± 10.42). The derived fibre values were all within acceptable standard ranges for wood to be used for paper production: runkel ratio <1.0, Coefficient of Flexibility >75%, and slenderness ratio >33 indicating that the 9-year old Cedrela odorata hardwood in Ghana is a potential species to be used to produce pulp and paper of desired qualities, especially when it is mixed with other long fibre wood species. Thus, the 9-year fast grown Cedrela wood species is recommended for consideration among other known species for paper manufacturing in Ghana and elsewhere.