Lamela Cornstalk and Wheat Pulps: An Alternative to Hardwood Market Pulp, 1996 Pulping Conference Proceedings

Pierre Lavoie

Centre Spécialisé en Pates et Papiers

Denis Mondor

Centre Spécialisé en Pâtes et Papiers

Claude Mercier

Mercier, Lamontagne et Associés

Claude Lamontagne

Mercier, Lamontagne et Associés

To reduce the load on our declining forest resources, the wheat straw (and other residues from agriculture) can be substituted for wood in pulping. Recently, a new high-yield pulping process developed in Trois-Rivières has been patented. It combines the advantages of high-yield and low-yield processes, utilizes the simplicity of conventional pulping equipments and meets the new tendencies for environment: no sulfur, no chlorine, no effluent, with a high yield. It is a pulp that is suitable for different end-applications (e.g. tissue papers, fine papers, etc.), mixed in proportions to suit the end-product specifications. The production cost is very competitive because of the low energy requirements, the simplicity of the process and the low capital cost. Moreover, it is Totally Effluent Free (TEF) and the rejects from the plant become a by-product that can be sold as a fertilizer. The pulp quality stands close to hardwood market pulps as BCTMP and hardwood kraft or even deink pulp. Moreover, the pulp, termed Lamela pulp, is accepted as a recycled fiber as its raw material is a residue from farming operations, and it is bleachable to as high as 80-85% brightness as nonwood lignin contents stay fairly low.