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New Uses for Kenaf
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Fifty-five percent of dried kenaf
stalks will be used to make
paper. Waste products from
the process can be made into
fertilizer and feed binder.
(K8982-18) |
Cotton's cousin, kenaf, may be more
attractive than it used to be to farmers because
ARS researchers recently found new uses
for black liquor, a by-product of making paper from kenaf.
"Black liquor is usually burned for fuel or chemical recovery, but small
paper mills can't afford expensive incinerators for its disposal," says
ARS chemist Thomas P. Abbott. He leads research to develop products and markets
for alternative crops.
U.S. farmers could plant kenaf in place of corn, soybeans, cotton, or rice. But
making such a change hinges on getting an economic return on their investment.
To help, employees of ARS and of Vision Paper, Inc., of Albuquerque, New
Mexico, rolled up their sleeves and got their hands dirty. In the end, they
turned a waste product into something of value. |
Chemist Thomas Abbott examines
a bale of mechanically separated
kenaf fiber before it is processed
into commercial paper products.
(K8981-1) |
Abbott found that chitosan—made
from ground-up crab shells—helps transform dissolved kenaf lignin into a
solid cake. Future tests will examine using the solid cake as an animal feed
binder. The remaining soluble black liquor can be converted to a low-sodium,
dry fertilizer containing about 22 percent nitrogen.
"Our process makes nearly one-third of the black liquor solids available
for use as a binder for animal feed and two-thirds for use as a
fertilizer," says Abbott.
A technician for Vision Paper, Inc., JoDean Sarins has worked on the project
side by side with ARS researchers at the National Center for Agricultural
Utilization Research (NCAUR) in Peoria, Illinois, since April 1999.
"We're pleased with the remarkable results we've seen in such a short
time. Our work—to develop products and markets for raw materials of
alternative crops—typically takes a lot longer," says Abbott.
"Developing new crops and new uses takes a commitment to projects that are
long term. No one can reasonably expect that a single new use will change the
status quo of manufacturing processes in just a few years. But changes can be
integrated one step at a time," says Thomas Rymsza, president of Vision
Paper. This work was done through a cooperative research and development
agreement between Vision Paper and ARS. |
In the New Crops Research Unit at Peoria, Illinois, technician JoDean Sarins of
Vision Paper, Inc., examines black liquor waste from kenaf pulping.
(K8981-10) |
U.S. consumers are likely to find kenaf fiber in carpet backing and padding, a
fiber mat in automobiles, roofing felt, fire logs, and cardboard. Copy machine
paper made with kenaf and 30 percent post-consumer waste is also commercially
available in the United States. In Japan, commercial products made from kenaf
include hamburger wrappers, fast-food containers, and wallpaper.
Another U.S. company is putting kenaf into composite board in place of
fiberglass. Kenaf's strength and low weight make it less likely to shatter or
warp under extreme temperatures.
The crop is being grown on about 12,000 acres in Texas, Mississippi, Georgia,
and elsewhere, says Abbott.
A patented process for turning kenaf fiber into newsprint—developed by ARS
scientists in Peoria—was among R&D Magazine's top research
technologies for 1988.—By Linda
McGraw, Agricultural Research Service Information Staff.
The research to develop co-products for alternative crops is part of New
Uses, Quality, and Marketability of Plant and Animal Products, an ARS National
Program (#306) described on the World Wide Web at
http://www.nps.ars.usda.gov/programs/cppvs.htm.
Thomas P. Abbott is in the
USDA-ARS New Crops Research Unit, National Center for Agricultural
Utilization Research, 1815 N. University St., Peoria, IL 61604; phone (309)
68l-6533, fax (309) 681-6524. |
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"New Uses for Kenaf" was published in the
August 2000
issue of Agricultural Research magazine.
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