Kenaf is considered to be one of the highest producers of biomass among plants in terms of tons/land/time.
One hectare of kenaf can produce 15-20 tons of dry matter within a short period of only 120 days.
That means that one hectare can yield 6500 – 9000 liters of ethanol.
As Kenaf fibers can be used as raw material for many uses & applications, separating the fibers from the core can be better alternative.
In that case 1 hectare will yield 5 -7 tons of high quality fibers while the yield of ethanol extracted from the core will be 4500 – 6000 litters.
Field trials that were conducted recently on northern zones such as Ontario, Canada, have proved that Kenaf is not a merely tropical crop:
Kenaf can be grown successfully as source of green clean energy all over the world.
Under warm conditions, 2 growing cycles can be achieved for 1 year.
The pulp and paper industry has a long history with wood fibers. Wood became the major fiber source for paper in the mid 1800's
and has remained so until now, but in earlier times, paper was made exclusively from used rags and other fabrics.
This situation changed between 1851 and 1918 when wood pulp was invented, developed, and industrialized.
Growing demand for paper helped spur research into using the fibers of trees for papermaking. All of the major wood pulping processes,
including groundwood, soda, sulphite, and kraft (sulphate), were developed and commercialized during this time.
Wood pulp quickly reduced the cost of papermaking, allowing the use of paper in many areas (not only for printing).
While other materials were used for pulping, including bagasse cactus, cudweed, straw, cornstalks, and even cow dung,
wood pulp quickly became the preferred source of pulp. By the 1870s, pulp mills were springing up in heavily forested areas in the USA &
other Northern countries.
These areas continued to grow as key pulp and paper regions throughout the early twentieth century and most remained so in the early 1990s.
The science of pulping continued to expand along with the growth of papermaking.
New awareness to environment protection through the last decades has lead to shortage of raw material for the paper industries.
Kenaf advantages are as follows:
Today there are several companies like Andritz, that possess the technology of Kenaf pulping. Many studies indicate that Kenaf pulp is equal or even better then wood pulp in some aspects.
Here rises a question: If Kenaf offers such advantages what are the barriers on the way of paper industries to extend the use of Kenaf for pulping?
The answer is hiding above – most of the industry is located in temperate or cold zones.
Also a huge investment is needed for pulping mill set-up.
To enable existing pulping mill to receive Kenaf stalks rather than wood, some modifications should be done.
Those modifications demand expenses as well.
We strongly believe that pulping Kenaf in the tropics could be a an excellent alternative and optimal solution for economic, social & environmental challenges of our time.
