Advantages and drawbacks of using non-wood fibre for papermaking

Some non-wood fibres used as raw materials for papermaking have high annual yields per hectare. The average annual yield per hectare of kenaf, a non-wood fibre, is about twice that of fast-growing softwoods (see table below) (Pierce, 1991). Non-woods have lower lignin content than woods and generally it is easier to delignify non-woods, as they have lower activation energies (Bobalek and Chaturvedi, 1989). 

Producing paper from non-wood fibres would help in reducing the need to procure pulpwood from natural forests, and for large-scale plantations. Under certain climatic conditions, non-wood fibre production may be a reasonable alternative to tree plantations. 

Average annual yields of different papermaking raw materials

Plant	Fibre yield	Pulp yield
	(tonnes/year/ha)	(tonnes/year/ha)
Scandinavian softwood	1.5	0.7
Fast-growing softwood	8.6	4
Temperate softwood	3.4	1.7
Fast-growing hardwood	15	7.4
Wheat straw	4	1.9
Rice straw	3	1.2
Bagasse	9	4.2
Bamboo	4	1.6
Kenaf	15	6.5
Hemp	15	6.7
Elephant grass	12	5.7
Canary grass	8	4.0