Logistics and Feasibility of Utilizing Kenaf Fibers, 1998 North America Nonwood Fiber Symposium Proceedings

The future use of non-wood fibers in the USA likely to be determined by the climatic conditions in the North-West and Southern USA. Due to the climate in the South, if land is available, kenaf fibers can be grown in the vicinity of the pulp mills as dedicated fiber resource. In the North West, straw fibers are likely to be used by the pulp industry and these fibers will be the by products of large scale wheat industry operations. The feasibility of using these fibers will depend on the overall cost of fiber required to produce "one ton of pulp." The use of kenaf fibers in an existing pulp mill will create a number of problems. The area which has received little attention so far is the adaptation and the use of existing woodyard operations. The fiber handling facilities for kenaf or other non-wood fibers wil have to be designed and implemented as a separate operation from wood fibers. However, some of the conventional woodyard technology may be adapted (1). this paper will compare the production costs of Sothern Hardwood and Pine with the long and short fiber components of kenaf. This comparison will illustrate little or no variance in the cost of fibers. It will be shown that those pulp mills willing to re-examine the role and use of "fee-land", may obtain a very significant reduction in the overall cost of kenaf fibers, when the wood and kenaf fibers are compared. This reduction of fiber costs could be large enough to justify a partial introduction of kenaf fibers into the furnish (7).