Pulping and Papermaking of Non-Wood Fibers

In general, the main raw materials of pulp and papermaking industry can be classified into three categories: wood, non-wood, and non-plant (mainly wastepaper), of which non-wood fiber material is an important fiber source in the areas where forest resources are scarce. Nowadays, in the total pulp consumption of the world, the proportions of wood pulp, wastepaper pulp, and non-wood pulp are 63, 34, and 3%, respectively. The effective use of non-wood fiber resources, especially grasses, cereal straws, corn stalks, bamboo, and bagasse, would play a major role in optimizing papermaking raw materials. On the other hand, there are non-wood fibers such as flax, hemp, jute, kenaf, cotton, sisal, and abaca with properties as good as or much better than softwood materials.