Reed Canary Grass Pulp Produced on Mill Scale, 1999 Pulping Conference Proceedings

Leena Paavilainen & Jorma Tulppala

Jaakko Pöyry Oy

Michael Finell

SLU

Ove Rehnberg

AssiDomän

Corporate R&D

The intensive development of viable production and processing systems and technology for reed canary grass has reached a stage where reed canary grass pulp was cooked in a digester producing sawdust pulp.

Delayed-harvest reed canary grass, grown by a Swedish farmer, was fractionated using disc mill fractionation. The fibre fraction was briquetted to improve logistics related to transportation and storage.

In June 1999 the AssiDomän Karlsborg mill cooked reed canary grass at the first time in the world in a Tampella-type sawdust digester. The kappa target was reached very soon after after switching from sawdust to reed canary grass pulp. The quality of the pulp produced was comparable with that of birch pulp. Starting of reed canary grass business does not necessarily require large investments; with minor modifications, a sawdust line can be changed to cook reed canary grass.