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The potential role of perennial grasses in the pulp and paper industry

Pulp & paper Canada, 2000-10, Vol.101 (10), p.53-55

2001 INIST-CNRS ;Copyright Southam Business Communications, Inc. Oct 2000 ;ISSN: 0316-4004 ;EISSN: 1923-3515 ;CODEN: PPCADD

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  • Title:
    The potential role of perennial grasses in the pulp and paper industry
  • Author: GIROUARD, P ; SAMSON, R
  • Subjects: Applied sciences ; Exact sciences and technology ; Fibers ; Grasses ; Paper making ; Paper, paperboard, non wovens ; Polymer industry, paints, wood ; Pulp manufacturing ; Wood. Paper. Non wovens
  • Is Part Of: Pulp & paper Canada, 2000-10, Vol.101 (10), p.53-55
  • Description: Wood established itself as the dominant fibre source in the pulp and paper market in the last century. Technological innovations resulted in the economic preference of wood over agricultural fibres that were used previously in the industry. Agricultural sources of fibre for papermaking are being re-evaluated in Europe and North America as an option to improve the competitiveness of the pulp and paper industry, particularly as sources of wood fibre become increasingly scarce. Agricultural fibres in North America include residues from food crop production such as cereal straw, annual dedicated fibre crops (crops planted with the sole purpose of fibre production) such as hemp, kenaf and fibre flax and, more recently, perennial warm-season grasses such as switchgrass. This article discusses the place that perennial grasses could have in the future portfolio of fibre sources available to papermakers in North America. The long-standing economic and technical barriers for the use of agricultural fibres are first discussed, followed by a review of current research on perennial grasses and their potential role in the papermaking industry. The main advantage of perennial grasses is that they can produce more fibre per hectare of land than hardwood trees in most of North America and that they can be harvested each and every year. Coupled with production in close proximity to pulp and paper mills, this could result in a significant competitive advantage in the medium and long term for a number of North American facilities. In southwestern Quebec and southern Ontario, annual switchgrass yields, from 6 to 13 ODT ha[Symbol Not Transcribed]yr[Symbol Not Transcribed], can be achieved with current cultivars, depending on the harvest regime. The more humid regions of the southern US are the most productive in North America for switchgrass, with yields of up to 25 ODT ha[Symbol Not Transcribed]yr[Symbol Not Transcribed] produced in research plots in Alabama [8]. [Reed] canarygrass usually produces between 7 to 11 ODT ha[Symbol Not Transcribed]yr[Symbol Not Transcribed] in North America, however, similar to short rotation forest, productivity is frequently limited by soil moisture availability. Reed canarygrass would probably be the best candidate species for pulp mills in northern regions of Canada. In warmer regions, particularly Canada's corn growing areas, the climate is ideal for growing switchgrass successfully. Switchgrass, in comparison to reed canarygrass, has higher productivity, lower feedstock production costs and reduced ash content, which over-all makes it more attractive in regions where both species can be grown. The key to the production of a long-term, stable, low-cost supply of agricultural fibre for the pulp and paper industry is the development of high-yielding crops adapted to lower-quality farmland. Perennial grass fibre crops such as switchgrass meet both criteria. The main role perennial grasses can play in the future portfolio of fibre sources in North America is to provide a large amount of hardwood substitute fibre within a relatively small radius of pulp mills located in agricultural regions. Traditional barriers to the use of agri-fibres such as low pulping yields, high ash content of feedstocks and weak supply logistics have largely been overcome. In the coming years, concerns over the rising cost of wood fibre in Canada combined with minimal real growth in pulp prices will require innovation in the Canadian pulp-and-paper industry. The potential exists for a significant cost reduction in pulp- and papermaking through the use of furnishes including low-cost fibre derived from perennial grasses. In the long-term further advances in plant breeding, material handling, as well as in pulp- and paper-making technologies will be essential for agri-fibres to reach their full potential in the North American pulp and paper industry.
  • Publisher: Don Mills, ON: Southam
  • Language: English
  • Identifier: ISSN: 0316-4004
    EISSN: 1923-3515
    CODEN: PPCADD
  • Source: ProQuest Central
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