Nonwood fiber could play a major role in future U.S. papermaking furnishes Pulp & Paper - Find Articles

Nonwood fiber could play a major role in future U.S. papermaking furnishes Pulp & Paper - Find Articles: "Nonwood fiber could play a major role in future U.S. papermaking furnishes Pulp & Paper, Jul 1995 by Atchison, Joseph E FROM A TECHNICAL AND QUALITY STANDPOINT, any grade of paper or paperboard can be produced using a 100% nonwood furnish containing various plant fibers.

Helge: This article was written 12 years ago. We're digging the web about trends and power shifts in the pulp and paper industry. Searching for weak signals and evidence for change and what direction R&D will take in the coming years. One part of the motivation is to find out what the role of Bitoech and bioreactors are going to take in the next coming years.

Although in the U.S. pulpwood will continue to be 'king' in this regard, some nonwood plant fibers can become important supplementary raw materials. Nonwood plant fibers that appear to have the greatest potential in the U.S. are bagasse, cereal straws, seed grass straw, kenaf, and possibly grain sorghum stalks.

1. Harvest
2. Collection
   

The use of new technology for collecting, handling, and pulping these raw materials has greatly improved their overall economics, especially compared with economics of the time when large-scale use of straw was discontinued in the Midwest after World War II.

SUPPLEMENTARY RAW MATERIAL

Due to extensive USDA support of kenaf, excel. lent progress is now being made toward its increased use as a supplementary raw material in the paper. making process. Already there are four plants operating in the U.S. that separate the long fibered bark of kenaf from its very short fibered core material.

Unfortunately, certain irresponsible claims have been made concerning the merits of using kenaf vs pulpwood. This raw material definitely has a role in the paper industry, but such unfounded claims are detrimental to progress toward its acceptance."