 Industrial
usage of rice straw - Limitations and opportunities
Alfred Wong, Arbokem Inc., Vancouver, Canada
ABSTRACT. Rice is a significant food crop, for different social-political
reasons, in several developed countries such as Italy, Spain, Japan,
Australia and the United States. The management of rice straw in many
of these countries remains a contentious issue from the environmental
and economic perspectives. The simple "plough-under" straw
disposal approach may result in a significantly greater emission of methane
to the atmosphere. The peculiar chemical and physical properties of rice
straw limit the practicable options available for large-scale off-field
uses. In California, political-economic and social factors have also
contributed to the failed realization of any viable commercial facilities
using rice straw as feedstock, after more than 10 years of government-assisted
developmental activities. Practical industrial usage of rice straw would
need to be re-designed to deploy the technical shortcomings of the rice
straw as desired attributes. The co-manufacture of paper and energy from
rice straw is an example practicable approach to overcome these obstacles.
(AK22218W)
Paper proposed for presentation at the Science and Technology Conference
on Biomass Conversion, Victoria, BC, August, 2004.
 Alkaline
sulphite pulping of Spartina grass (Spartina alterniflora Loisel.)
Al Wong and Chen Chiu, Arbokem Inc., Vancouver, Canada
ABSTRACT. A pulping study was undertaken in the laboratory to evaluate
the potential of spartina pulp as a papermaking furnish. Samples of spartina
grass harvested from Willapa Bay by concerned citizens in collaboration
with the former Clean Washington Centre (State of Washington, USA), were
pulped using the alkaline sulphite method. Preliminary test results indicated
that unbleached spartina pulp had very low basic physical strengths.
Although its specific morphology, i.e., very short length and very narrow
width, limit its commercial opportunity, spartina pulp could be used,
possibly up to 30%, for blending with bleached old corrugated containers
(OCC) pulp, in the manufacture of high-quality printing paper. (AK21002W)
Proc. Tappi Pulping Conference, Seattle, Washington, USA, November,
2001
 Alkaline
sulphite pulping of Red Fescue (Festuca rubra L. var. Boreal) straw
Al Wong and Chen Chiu, Arbokem Inc., Vancouver, Canada
ABSTRACT. Preliminary pulping studies were made on straw of red fescue
(Festuca rubra L. var. Boreal), which is a commercial crop grown in the
Peace River region of British Columbia and Alberta, Canada. The potassium-based
alkaline sulphite pulping method was selected for use. Bleaching was
typically completed using a single-stage hydrogen peroxide treatment.
The fibre morphology was examined to assess its potential papermaking
characteristics. The strength properties of red fescue pulp were found
to be comparable to those of a classical blend of 75% hardwood kraft
and 25% softwood kraft pulps. This finding provides an opportunity to
use the red fescue pulp as a single furnish for the manufacture of uncoated
offset printing paper. Tonnage-scale pulping trials were conducted successfully
at the Arbokem demonstration-scale agri-pulp mill in Vulcan, Alberta.
(AK21001W)
Proc. Tappi Pulping Conference, Seattle, Washington, USA, November,
2001
 Alkaline
sulphite pulping of Abaca (Musa textilis Née) from the Philippines
and Ecuador
Al Wong and Chen Chiu, Arbokem Inc., Vancouver, Canada
ABSTRACT. Preliminary pulping studies were made in the laboratory on
samples of decorticated fibres from abaca crops grown in the Philippines
and Ecuador. Test results showed that good quality unbleached pulp of
high yield and high brightness could be achieved when cooking was completed
using the alkaline sulphite method. Ecuador fibres gave higher pulp yield
and higher pulp brightness than Philippines fibres. Tonnage-scale pulping
trials were conducted successfully at the Arbokem demonstration agri-pulp
mill in Vulcan, Alberta. (AK21000W)
Proc. Tappi Pulping Conference, Seattle, Washington, USA, November,
2001
Alkaline sulphite pulping
of Hesperaloe, an arid-zone native fibre plant from Northern Mexico
Al Wong, Arbokem Inc., Vancouver, Canada and Steve McLaughlin, Bioresources
Research Facility, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
ABSTRACT. University of Arizona researchers have discovered a native
plant, viz., various Hesperaloe species from Northern Mexico, which offers
exceptionally balanced properties for the manufacturing of high-quality
paper products. The domestication of these plants has been in progress
at the University of Arizona's College of Agriculture since 1993. The
most promising species appears to be Hesperaloe
funifera.
Laboratory-scale chemical pulping studies have been undertaken on hesperaloe
fibres. Preliminary assessment indicated that the alkaline sulphite pulping
approach can provide superior physical strength and brightness of unbleached
pulp. The alkaline sulphite-cooked hesperaloe pulp was found to be very
amenable to peroxide bleaching to high brightness.
It is anticipated that this super-strength pulp could provide a practical
means to overcome the technical barrier in the manufacture of ultra lightweight
coated and uncoated printing paper. (AK19833W)
Proc. Tappi Pulping Conference, Boston, MA, November, 2000.
Alkaline sulphite pulping of
sisal fibres grown in Brazil, China, Kenya and Madagascar
Alfred Wong, Arbokem Inc., Vancouver, Canada
ABSTRACT. Sisal (Agave sisalana) is grown commercially in many tropical
regions of the World. Preliminary pulping studies were made in the laboratory
on samples of decorticated fibres from sisal crops grown commercially
in Brazil, China, Kenya, and Madagascar.
Because of the relatively low lignin content of the raw fibres, alkaline
sulphite cooking was selected for evaluation. The physical properties
of the alkaline sulphite pulps were found to be comparable to those of
sisal pulps made by the more severe soda cooking method. Unbleached pulp
with 82+ brightness could be achieved with the alkaline sulphite cooking
process. This finished pulp is a chemical-grade papermaking pulp. (AK19881W)
Proc. Tappi Pulping Conference, Boston, MA, November, 2000.
 Alkaline
pulping of kenaf bark fibre from crops grown in Australia and China
Alfred Wong and Chen Chiu, Arbokem Inc., Vancouver, Canada
ABSTRACT. Laboratory pulping and bleaching studies have been completed
on samples of kenaf bark fibres obtained from Northern Territory, Australia,
Anqing (Anhui), China and Yucheng (Shandong), China. The pulping methods
evaluated were alkaline sulphite, soda and kraft.
The test results showed that the alkaline pulping method would provide
higher unbleached pulp yield and pulp brightness than either the soda
(with and without anthraquinone addition) or the kraft process. In particular,
alkaline sulphite bark pulp may be bleached in a single-stage hydrogen
peroxide treatment to surpass the 85% brightness threshold. The physical
strength properties were largely the same for all three types of bleached
pulp made from Anqing, Shandong or Northern Territory bark fibres. These
findings suggest that both soda and kraft pulping techniques may be too
severe (and unnecessary) for the pulping of kenaf bark fibres. (AK19168W)
Proc. 4th International Non-Wood Fibre Pulping and Papermaking Conference,
CTAPI, Jinan, China, September 18-21, 2000. pp. 243-252.
 Potassium
based sulphite pulping of straw
Al Wong, Arbokem Inc., Vancouver, Canada
ABSTRACT. Straw contains high contents of silica and potassium. Its
accumulation in the mill processes can render a conventional chemical
pulp mill to be inoperable. Potassium alkaline sulphite pulping appears
to be most suited to alleviate the basic problem of straw pulping. Straw
has a natural high content of silica and potassium. This pulping system
can also meet the criteria of a) high pulp strength, b) high pulping
yield, c) easy-to-bleach pulp, and d) zero-effluent capability. (AK15371W)
Paper presented at the TAPPI Pulping Conference, San Francisco, California,
USA, October, 1997.
 Pulping
and bleaching of hemp (Cannabis sativa)
Al Wong and Chen Chiu, Arbokem Inc., Vancouver, Canada
ABSTRACT. Hemp (Cannabis sativa) is a recognized papermaking fibre which
can be grown in most regions of North America. There are many citizen
groups lobbying for the repeal of the Narcotics Act for the growing of
fibre-grade hemp. For papermaking purposes, hemp bast fibre is used interchangeably
with flax bast fibre. The latter can be readily sourced from oilseed
flax cropping. There are over 1 million hectares of oilseed flax grown
annually in North America. Both hemp bast fibre and hemp hurds (core)
can be used for the manufacture of papermaking pulps. Despite its low
lignin content, hemp bast fibre is somewhat difficult to pulp and bleach.
(AK13158W)
Proc. Tappi Pulping Conference, Chicago, Illinois, USA, October, 1995.
Alkaline pulping of linen and
oilseed flax fibres
Alfred Wong, Arbokem Inc., Montreal, Canada
ABSTRACT. Linen and oilseed flax fibres are commonly used for the production
of specialty pulp in the manufacture of high-quality cigarette, currency
and thin papers. Most flax pulp mills use either the kraft or alkaline
sulphite cooking procedure. The yield of pulp from fibres is dependent
mainly on the specific cooking procedure and the quality of fibre raw
material. For a given quality, the alkaline sulphite technique will provide
a significantly higher pulp yield. (AK3816)
Proc. 1988 Tappi Pulping Conference, New Orleans, USA, November, 1988.
pp. 251-254
Back to Top
|
