Making paper using only Grass

[faslan]

is it possible to make paper using only grass.if it will we can save millions of tress.

[Phi for All]

I've heard that hemp fibers make great paper. Wood requires a lot more processing.

 

You're absolutely right, we shouldn't be using trees to make paper. I hope this is what you meant by Grass with a capital G, although industrial hemp isn't really called Grass.

[chadn737]

You can make paper from straw, especially flax or wheat. These are grasses.

 

I honestly don't see the real objection to using wood. The vast majority of wood used for paper production (over 90%) comes from tree plantations or stands that are replanted after every harvest. Specifically, most use trees such as eucalyptus that far outyield hemp in per acre/per year production. Furthermore, the actual manufacturing process is less efficient with hemp. Especially with tree plantations, if not growing trees, these would likely be under cultivation for something else, which is potentially more damaging.

 

In contrast, the use of straw from species like wheat and flax are supposedly more efficient in production, but removal of wheat straw has disadvantages, namely erosion and water loss.

[Phi for All]

I honestly don't see the real objection to using wood. The vast majority of wood used for paper production (over 90%) comes from tree plantations or stands that are replanted after every harvest. Specifically, most use trees such as eucalyptus that far outyield hemp in per acre/per year production. Furthermore, the actual manufacturing process is less efficient with hemp. Especially with tree plantations, if not growing trees, these would likely be under cultivation for something else, which is potentially more damaging.

 

Looking at the process as a whole, hemp has advantages over wood. Monolignol content is a fraction of wood, so you don't need bleaching agents that harm the environment (peroxide or oxygen vs chlorine compounds). Hemp's growth cycles are much quicker, and it can be grown with less maintenance almost anywhere. Wood's biggest advantage is that it doesn't spoil as fast, so transport has less pitfalls, but if more facilities start pilot programs using hemp, its ability to grow just about anywhere should offset its distribution problems.

 

To be honest, much of the reason why we still use wood is the same reason we still use many things we should move away from. The infrastructure for processing is firmly established and many of the better fibers for paper won't work in mills meant for wood.

[chadn737]

 

Looking at the process as a whole, hemp has advantages over wood. Monolignol content is a fraction of wood, so you don't need bleaching agents that harm the environment (peroxide or oxygen vs chlorine compounds). Hemp's growth cycles are much quicker, and it can be grown with less maintenance almost anywhere. Wood's biggest advantage is that it doesn't spoil as fast, so transport has less pitfalls, but if more facilities start pilot programs using hemp, it ability to grow just about anywhere should offset its distribution problems.

 

To be honest, much of the reason why we still use wood is the same reason we still use many things we should move away from. The infrastructure for processing is firmly established and many of the better fibers for paper won't work in mills meant for wood.

 

The growing rate of hemp is irrelevant. While trees are slower growing, they produce far more per acre, so when you average out the yield per acre per year, trees still outproduce hemp. This is particularly true of Eucalyptus plantations, which can average anywhere from 16-30 or more tons per acre per year. In contrast, hemp is typically around 5 tons.

 

I also disagree that it requires less maintenance. As an annual, you have to replant every year, prepare the soil, not to mention control weeds, etc. In this it is no different than producing any other annual crop, like corn or soybeans.

 

In reality, with hemp, only ~25% of the dry weight is useful for paper production, the so called "blast fiber". Which would be only ~1 ton per acre per year or less. With wood, ~45-60% is usable for paper production, so the amount produced from wood per acre per year far exceeds that of hemp. You would have to place a lot more acres under tillage to produce the same amount of paper using hemp as you would with wood.

 

Even with Hemp you are not going to avoid pollution, you are talking about a pretty extensive processing system and with the less efficient usage of hemp fibers, I see no evidence that it is superior from any environmental standpoint. I'm not opposed to hemp production or even marijuana usage, but the propaganda about the amazing benefits of hemp is outrageous to tell the truth.