Georgia Kenaf Project, 1995 Pulping Conference Proceedings

Brijender Parsad, Sue Jakubsen, Michael Kocurek, Ph. D

Herty Foundation

Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinis) is an annual tropical fiber crop. It has traditionally been a source of bast fibers for the production of cordage and coarse yarns, in countries such as India, China; Iran, Nigeria, and El Salvador. About 4000 acres are now being grown in the Western and Southern United States. In the past there have been numerous attempts to commercially utilize kenaf as a substitute of wood fiber in the production of paper and paper board. In a study conducted by USDA in 1956, the kenaf was selected as having the best potential for the production of pulp in the USA In 1991, the Georgia legislature allocated funding to investigate whether kenaf can be grown in the State of Georgia as a cash crop for Georgia farmers and supplied to the pulp and paper industry economically, as a partial substitute for southern pine and southern hardwood chips. In the year 1993, University of Georgia with Herty Foundation and the Ankal Inc., began a study to determine the technical and economic feasibility of growing and processing kenaf in the state. The study shows that kenaf can be commercially grown in the State of Georgia. The irrigation and fertilizing of kenaf throughout the growing season are beneficial for overall fiber yield, as well as for fiber properties. Yield as high as 10.2 tons per acre can be obtained with 160 pounds of nitrogen application. The processing of the fiber shows very encouraging results[l]. The kenaf core and bark pulp enhance the strength properties of the linerboard when used as a substitute for hardwood for the top liner of a southern pine base sheet. The smoothness of the hardwood top sheet and kenaf top sheet were found comparable. The kenaf pulp need little or no refining to be used as a top sheet for linerboard. The kenafbark pulp can be bleached to the brightness level of 89% ISO using total chlorine free bleaching sequence OQPZEP.