Send Orders for Reprints to reprints@benthamscience.

net
1570 Current Organic Chemistry, 2013, 17, 1570-1576

Pulping of Non-wood and Its Related Biorefinery Potential in Bangladesh: A Review

Md. Sarwar Jahana,b*, Bilkis Rukhsanab , Mir Mojtaba Baktashb, Laboni Ahsanb, Pedram Fatehic and Yonghao Nib

a
Limerick Pulp and Paper Centre, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of New Brunswick, NB, Canada E3B 5A3; bPulp
and Paper Research Division, BCSIR Laboratories, Dhaka, Dr. Qudrat-E-Khuda Road, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh; cChemical Engi-
neering Department, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, P7B 5E1

Abstract: There is a world- wide growing interest in using lignocellulosic raw material for the production of fuels and chemicals, par-
ticularly related to the pulp and paper industry, and this is no exception in Bangladesh. On the other hand, Bangladesh and other South-
east-Asian countries are densely populated, forest deficient, thus heavily dependent on agriculture residue for such a purpose.

This study reviews the availability and suitability of nonwood raw materials for pulp production following the biorefinery concept in
Bangladesh. The problems related to non-wood pulping are also discussed. Non-woods like bagasse, corn stalks, straw, Saccharum spon-
taneum etc. are composed of vascular bundle surrounded by parenchyma cell. So they are easy to delignify but create problems in pulp
washing, screening, and paper machine runnability due to high drainage resistance (0SR). Pre-extraction prior to pulping of these raw ma-
terials improved the drainage resistance and also increased the value by extracting acetic acid, chemicals and energy from the pre-
extracted liquor. The amount of non-wood available in Bangladesh is not sufficient to run an economically viable mill based on a single
raw material. Research results showed that the organic acid-based fractionation is technically feasible using non-wood to produce pulp,
together with lignin and sugars as by-products, which are starting raw materials for biomaterials, fuel and chemicals. Non-wood biomass
can be used as the raw material following the integrated biorefinery concept if a suitable pulping process is correctly selected.

Keywords: Non-wood, Biorefinery, Drainage resistance, High ash, High fines, Lignin.

INTRODUCTION characteristics were studied by Kulkarni et al. [21]. In the conven-

Bangladesh and most of the South Asian countries are densely
populated and forest deficient countries. Therefore, it is critical to
find alternative fibrous raw materials from forest. Papermaking
started from non-wood materials in China almost 2,000 years ago,
when paper itself was invented. Cereal straw, reeds, grasses, and
sugar cane bagasse have been used in pulping and papermaking
ever since, especially in Asia. Now the basic raw materials for pulp
and paper industries come from forest. Currently, 90% of chemical
and mechanical pulps are produced from wood. Non-wood raw
materials account for less than 10% of the total pulp and paper pro-
duction worldwide [1]. This is made up of 44% straw, 18% ba-
gasse, 14% reeds, 13% bamboo and 11% others. The production of
non-wood pulp mainly takes place in China and India [2]. China
accounts for more than two thirds of the non-wood pulp produced
worldwide [3].
Many studies have been carried out on non-wood fibrous raw
materials like jute, dhaincha, banana stem, corn stalks, Saccharum
spontaneum, bagasse, cotton stalks, okra plants, straw etc. that
could be used as alternative fibrous maw materials in Bangladesh
[4-19]. Most of agricultural wastes like straw, corn stalks, kash,
bagasse etc. contain considerable amounts of pith, fines, and ash
which hinder pulping processes. As an example, approximately 33-
35 % of the oven-dry weight of sugar cane bagasse is pith, while
corn stalks have a pith content of approximately 21 % [20]. It was
observed that pith content in kash was about 25%. The problems
associated with the presence of pith on pulping and on black liquor
*Address correspondence to this author at the Limerick Pulp and Paper Centre, De-
partment of Chemical Engineering, University of New Brunswick, NB, Canada E3B
5A3 and Pulp and Paper Research Division, BCSIR Laboratories, Dhaka, Dr. Qudrat-
E-Khuda Road, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh; Tel: 1-506-451-6860;
E-mail: sarwar2065@yahoo.co.uk
tional moist/dry depithing process, fibers can suffer a considerable
damage. The mechanical depithing process contributes to an envi-
ronmental disposal problem. In the conventional depithing process,
fibres are damaged during hammering and some useful fibre is lost
with pith. This removed pith creates heavy disposal problem.
Chemically, pith is similar to lignocellulosic materials, but it does
not have fibrous structure [22].
There has always been interest in the efficient removal of this
pith from the fibrous portion of bagasse, corn stalks and kash so
that they could be used for making high quality pulp and paper. In
our earlier investigation, it was observed that pith could be effi-
ciently removed from bagasse by pre-extraction [23] and conse-
quently increased percentage of sugars in the pre-extracted liquor.
Corn stalks and kash pith contains a high amount of hemicelluloses
[24] that are valuable raw materials for many value-added products.
Straw is one of the most important raw materials for the pulp
and paper industry in Asian countries. The major problems in straw
pulping are: 1) silica- related deposition, which inhibits the recov-
ery of black liquor in alkali pulping processes; 2) high amount of
fines, which causes drainage problem. Many attempts have been
made to solve these problems [25-30]. Pre-extraction prior to soda-
AQ pulping solves this problem to a considerable extent [31]. Or-
ganic acid pulping processes dissolved both silication and fines
associated problem [25-30]. In both processes, biomass fractionated
and converted into products including pulp, lignin and hemicellu-
lose, which will add value through conversion to liquid transporta-
tion fuels, chemicals and extract components.
Alkaline or acidic extraction of high pith containing raw mate-
rial prior to pulping may reduce pith and increase sugars in the pre-
extracted liquor. Hemicelluloses can be used directly in polymeric

1875-5348/13 $58.00+.00 © 2013 Bentham Science Publishers

Pulping of Non-wood and Its Related Biorefinery Potental in Bangladesh Current Organic Chemistry, 2013, Vol. 17, No. 15 1571

form for novel industrial applications such as biopolymers [32], Table 1. Availability of Nonwood Fibers in Bangladesh and World
hydrogels [33], or thermoplastic xylan derivatives [34], or, once
hydrolyzed, they can serve as a source of sugars for fermentation to World Production, Production in Bangladesh 000,
Nonwood
fuels, such as ethanol [35]. Pre-extraction may serve for both pur- Million Ton Metric Ton
poses of fines and pith removal and recovery of the valuable hemi-
Jute
2.8 963
celluloses for value-added products.
Cotton stalks 68 36
The objective of this paper is to review on the selected proc-
esses of non-wood pulping for a particular approach to biorefinery. Corn stalks 750 128
In this review, an attempt has also been made to integrate non-wood Bagasse 102 700
pulping with biorefinery concept that will dissolve the problem
Bamboo 30 -
associated with non-wood processing and possibility of biobased
chemicals and energy from non-wood. Rice straw 360 34,020

Wheat straw
600 25.8

NONWOOD FIBERS
Lignocellulosic fibers areclassified into wood and non-wood.
The term ‘nonwood’ was distinguished from the two main sources
of wood fiber, hardwoods and softwoods. Nonwood or agro-based
fibers are derived from selected tissue of various mono- or dicoty-
ledonous plants and are categorized botanically as grass, bast, leaf
or fruit fibers [36].
Nonwood fibers are also classified according to their origin; ag-
ricultural wastes- such as corn stalks, cotton stalks, cereal straw,
okra plant etc., industrial crops – such as jute kenaf, hemp etc., and
naturally growing plants such as- dhaincha, reeds, grass etc. The
industrial crops are cultivated for the sake of their fibers. Therefore,
industrial crops are expensive as compared to agricultural wastes
and natural growing plants.
GLOBAL AVAILABILITY OF NONWOOD FIBER
Long term supply of resources must be assured in commercial
development. In order to insure a continuous fiber supply, man-
agement of the agricultural producing land should be proactive in
land management whose goal is both sustainable agriculture and the
promotion of healthy ecosystems. An estimated 2,500 million ton of
non-wood material is available worldwide annually [37], capable of
yielding some 1,000 million ton of pulp and even more paper, well
above current paper consumption, which is in the order of 330 mil-
lion ton. In principle, the entire world’s paper could be produced
from non-wood materials without touching the diminishing forest
resources.
(Table 1) shows the estimated globally available non-wood fi-
brous raw materials. Corn stalks contribute the highest amount of
Dhanicha - 50
Golpata fronds - 60
ADVANTAGES OF NONWOOD FIBER
Many non-wood fibers are derived from annual plants. The ad-
vantage of annual plants is that they can be grown on farmland and
harvested each year with high yields (3-18 t/ha) [39]. (Table 2)
shows some typical annual yields of some various papermaking raw
materials. Non-wood species used in papermaking grow within a
short time relative to wood species. So the crop returns profit to the
grower quickly. Utilization of agricultural residues such as bagasse,
straw, cotton stalks, corn stalks, etc. in pulp mills has the greatest
advantage in the disposal of wastes before harvesting new crops,
and farmers also will earn extra money. It is, therefore, evident that
new domestic sources of pulping raw materials would not only
reduce imports, but they would also provide an economic incentive
to the agricultural and industrial sectors of Bangladesh. A charac-
teristic of non-wood is its lower in lignin content, which makes the
fibers easy to pulp. Non-wood with long fibers (industrial crops)
such as jute, flax, hemp, cotton linter, etc. have low lignin content
and high cellulose content. Due to the low lignin content and a fa-
vorable plant structure, many non-wood fibers require a less drastic
treatment than wood chips.
Table 2. Annual Yields of Various Nonwood and Corresponding
Pulp Yield [39]
Plant Annual Fiber yield, t/ha Annual Pulp yield, t/ha
Jute 15 7

non-wood fiber. Among the straw fibers, wheat straw contributes Cotton stalks 8-10 3.5-4.3
the largest amount followed by rice straw. Corn stalks 8-10 3.2-4.3
Bagasse 9 4.2
AVAILABILITY OF NONWOOD FIBER IN BANGLADESH Bamboo 4 1.6
(Table 1) also shows the availability of non-wood fiber in Rice straw 3 1.2
Bangladesh. There is no data available on agricultural wastes gen- Wheat straw 4 1.9
erated in Bangladesh. Data reported here are based on the produc- Dhanicha 15-18 7-9
tion of crops [38]. Agricultural wastes were calculated by the ratio
of crops and wastes from one acre of land. Straw is produced at the
DISADVANTAGES OF NONWOOD FIBER
rate of 1.4-1.5 MT/ ton of grain. It is clearly seen from the (Table 1)
that the rice straw is the most abundant agricultural waste The logistics needed for annual plants are a major problem for
(3,40,20,000 MT) followed by jute (9,63,000 MT) and bagasse the introduction of non-wood based fibers into the paper industry.
(7,00,000 MT). In Bangladesh, 64,000 MT of corn is produced, Large stocks and adequate storage with constant quality by drying
which estimated about 128,000 MT of stalks. Considerable amounts or ensilage may be necessary to service large-scale operations.
of other non-woods are also present in a large quantities as shown Non-wood is grown in scattered locations, so collection of raw
in (Table 1). material is difficult. Pulp mills based on non-wood need to be kept
1572 Current Organic Chemistry, 2013, Vol. 17, No. 15 Jahan et al.

small to minimize transport costs of raw materials. On a fiber-basis,
straw or other non-wood bales take about 2-3 times as much space
as logs, so transport is 2-3 times as expensive. This considerably
limits the supply radius for a non-wood-based pulp mill. In addi-
tion, the bales are bulky and are more difficult to handle than wood
chips. Small size mills cannot, however, benefit from the econom-
ics of scale enjoyed by more transport-efficient wood-based mills.
Non-wood fibrous materials normally have higher ash and silica
contents (Table 3). Most of the silica dissolves during alkaline
cooking and remains as an undesirable constituent of the spent liq-
uor, which causes many problems (such as scaling) in the chemical
recovery process. It reduces the efficiency of some equipment and
plugs tubes and increases viscosity of black liquor, making it diffi-
cult or impossible to pump the black liquor to some parts of the
recovery process. These problems make chemical recovery diffi-
cult, less efficient, and more costly as compared to recovery of
black liquor from wood [40]. Another property very different from
hardwood fiber is that the water retention (de-watering or drainage)
capacity of pulp from straw, corn stalks, bagasse etc. is much
higher than that of wood pulp. The high proportion of hemicallulose
and parenchymatic cells of these pulps are the main reason of slow
drainage. Slow drainage pulp makes the process difficult in wash-
ing, screening, and paper machine running.
FIBER PROPERTIES OF NONWOOD
The properties of non-wood fibers vary from geographical loca-
tion. But presented data in this article mostly are from our experi-
mental data and from Hurter’s results [41]. Generally, non-wood
plant fiber can be grouped into two broad categories based on their
fibre length. Common non-woods such as cereal straw, sugar cane
bagasse, reeds, grasses, jute stick, cotton stalks, corn stalks etc be-
long to the category of hardwood substitute. The other non-wood
such as jute fiber, kenaf fiber, flax, hemp, sisal bamboo, cotton
linters etc. belong to the categories of softwood substitute. In com-
parison to wood pulps, non-wood pulps produced from specific
plants are more heterogeneous. They contain many types of fibers
and high fines content is typical for certain non-wood pulps, par-
ticularly grass [42-44]. (Fig. 1) shows the anatomical structure of
non-wood. Anatomical structure of some non-wood such as cotton
stalks, jute stick, dhaincha etc are similar to hardwood. They com-
posed of vessel, fiber and ray cell. Other non-wood such as straw,
corn stalks, bagasse etc. is consists of vascular bundles surrounded
by parenchyma cell [45]. Most of non-wood contain lower lignin
and higher or similar to hardwood cellulose [17, 23, 31, 46]. The
chemical and morphological properties also vary between different
parts of the plant (stem, leaf, sheath) within the stem and between
species and varieties [47, 48]. Different growing conditions help
account for this, but the variations are also dependent on the devel-
opment stage of the plant at the time of the harvest [47]. Non-wood
raw materials contain lower lignin as compared to wood (Table 3).
Ash content is higher as compared to wood, which creates difficul-
ties during recovery. Rice straw contains the highest amount of ash.
Most of the non-wood lignin is rich in syringyl unit and syringyl to
guaiacyl ratio is high [49, 50], which makes it easier for delignifica-
tion.
NON-WOOD BIOREFINERY
The power of the biorefinery concept is supported by econo-
mies of scale and by efficient use of all incoming bioresources. The
concept shift from petroleum hydrocarbons to highly oxygen-
functionalized, bio-based feedstocks will create remarkable oppor-
tunities for the chemical processing industry. For example, the use
of carbohydrates as chemical raw materials can eliminate the need
for several capital-intensive, oxidative processes used in the petro-
leum industry. Biomass carbohydrates can provide a viable route to
products such as alcohols, carboxylic acids, and esters. An “Inte-
grated Forest Biorefinery (IFBR)” concept has been developed by
van Heiningen [51]. In this concept, higher value-added products
such as ethanol, polymers, chemicals, carbon fibers can be pro-
duced in addition to pulp. The concept of an integrated forest biore-
finery in the pulp and paper industry includes the conversion of
wood to chemicals and liquid fuels besides the production of pulp
and energy. This concept has attracted more and more researchers
and manufacturers to devote efforts both on wood and non-wood
[23, 31, 52-56].
During Kraft pulping process of pulp industry about 20 and
30% of the wood weight in the form of respectively hemicelluloses
and lignin dissolve in the waste black liquor to produce nearly un-

Table 3. Chemical and Morphological Characteristics of Nonwood [41]

Type of fibers
-cellulose Lignin % Pentosan % Fiber Length mm Fiber Diameter μm Ash %

Rice straw 28-36 12-16 23-28 1.4 15 15-20

Wheat straw 29-35 16-21 26-32 1.4 13 4.5-9

Bamboo 26-43 21-31 15-16 2.7 14 1.7-5
Bagasse 32-44 19-24 27-32 1.7 20 1.5-5
Jute fiber 45-63 12-16 18-22 2.5 20 0.5-2
Cotton stalks 36.15 16.7 27.1 1.3 20-30 3.1
Corn stalks 45.5 30.87 19.86 1.0-1.5 18 6-6.9

Cotton 85-90 0.7-1.6 - 25 20 -

Kash 52 16.82 24 1.52 16 3.89
(Saccharum
spontaneum)
Golpata 36.3 18.1 24.9 1.73 10 7.0
Softwood 40-45 26-34 7-14 2.7-4.6 32-43 <1
Hardwood 38-49 23-30 19-26 0.7-3.0 20-40 <1
Pulping of Non-wood and Its Related Biorefinery Potental in Bangladesh
Fig. (1). Fibers, vessel parenchyma cells of cotton stalks, jute stick and dhancha (top) [45] and bagasse fibre and piths (bottom) [23].
degraded cellulose fibers [57]. The dissolved material in the black
liquor is combusted to produce steam and electricity, and to regen-
erate the pulping chemicals, NaOH and Na2S. The wood hemicellu-
loses are also partly dissolved in the cooking liquor and burnt in the
recovery boiler along with lignin, although their calorific content is
low [51, 58-59]. The hemicelluloses could be extracted prior to
kraft cooking by a pre-treatment of lignocellulosic material and can
be the basis of value added products obtained by fermentation or
other methods [51-60]. Therefore, conversion of the low heating
Current Organic Chemistry, 2013, Vol. 17, No. 15 1573
value hemicelluloses into new bioproducts such as furfural or
polymers valued at more than $2000/MT presents a great economic
opportunity. So the wood/biomass raw material stream in the forest
biorefinery is fractionated into several product streams including
prehydrolysis liquor and black liquor. The products can be final
products or raw materials for other processes.
The pre-treatment stage as a part of delignification has been
claimed [51, 61-63] to enhance the digestibility of the remaining
material. This hypothesis is strongly supported by our investigation
1574 Current Organic Chemistry, 2013, Vol. 17, No. 15
on the prehydrolysis of non-wood [23, 56, 64]. Prehydrolysis re-
duced chemical charge and cooking time to reached same delignifi-
cation degree. However, an acidic pre-treatment may have a more
negative effect on pulp strength properties as, compared to an alka-
line pre-treatment, which may simultaneously enhance the impreg-
nation of cooking alkali in the next cooking stage. Due to the rela-
tively rapid acid hydrolysis of glycosidic linkages in polysaccha-
rides, it has been reported [65] that acidic pretreatments result read-
ily in the formation of hemicelluloses-derived mono- and oligosac-
charides, rather than the oligo- and polysaccharides typically ob-
tained from mild alkaline pretreatments. Alkaline pre-extraction of
rice straw produced pulp of higher yield and strength properties
compared to mild acidic extraction [31]. Similarly, dhaincha also
showed better pulp yield and papermaking properties when pre-
extraction was carried out with weak alkali charge [64]. A higher
acetic acid is generated from the bound acetyl group of hemicellu-
loses when extraction prior to pulping is carried out in at mild alka-
line condition.
As we discussed in the earlier section on the problems of non-
wood pulping, the pre-extraction prior to pulping of agricultural
wastes improved drainage resistance and increased paper machine
runnability and at the same time extracted hemicelluloses, lignin
and acetic acid [23, 31, 64], which can be a final product or a raw
material for another process. The pre-extraction prior to pulping
removed pith from the bagassse, corn stalks, S. spontaneum [23-
31]. Pith is non fibrous cell, chemically similar to fiber, which con-
tains cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin [23]. It is shown that auto
hydrolysis prior to pulping extracted 2% (on raw material) acetic
acid, 8% sugar from corn stalks [56]. Hot water extraction of rice
straw extracted 15% hemicelluloses, while alkaline extraction ex-
tracted 10% hemicelluloses [31]. But alkaline extracted rice straw
produced higher pulp yield and properties. Similarly, alkaline pre-
extracted dhaincha produced better pulp yield and properties [64].
Biomass
Organic acid treatment
Organic acid recycling
Sugars, lignin
Organic acid solutions
Lignins H2O
Sugars
Fig. (2). Flow diagram of lignocellulosic biomass fractionation in organic acid process in biorefinery concept.
Jahan et al.
The pre-extracted non-wood produced pulp with improved drainage
resistance and maintained yield and strength properties. The prehy-
drolysis lignin are lower in molecular weight, higher in phenolic
group [66], which increases possibility in using in phenol-
formaldehyde resin preparation and producing other phenolic resins
[67]. It can be concluded that pith containing non-wood is suitable
for pulping in integrated biorefinery concept.
ALTERNATIVE PULPING PROCESS FOR NONWOOD
BASED BIOREFINERY
A higher percentage of silica, hemicelluloses, and fines limits
non-wood use as pulping raw materials as we discussed earlier.
Thus the difficulties in technology, economy and environment have
adversely affects non-wood utilization in pulp production.
Therefore, researchers have also attempted for alternative pulp-
ing processes. Acetic acid and formic acid processes are effective
alternative methods to delignify lignocellulosic materials to produce
pulp for paper, cellulose etc [25-27, 30, 68-69]. The three dominant
components in lignocellulosics, cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin,
can be effectively separated by acetic acid or formic acid in biore-
finery concept. The pulping operation can be carried out at atmos-
pheric pressure. Acid used in pulping can be easily recovered by
distillation and reused in the process. Organic acid lignin is an op-
timal feedstock for many value added products due to its lower
molecular weight and higher reactivity [67-70]. The sugars from
hemicelluloses are easily convertible to chemicals and fuels as
shown in (Fig. 2). Another advantage of organic acid pulping is the
retention of silica on the pulp fiber that facilitates efficient recovery
of cooking chemicals [71, 72].
Acetic acid and formic acid treatments followed by peroxy acid
delignification, produced pulp with higher yield and acceptable
strength properties from different nonwood [25-27, 73]. The dis-
Organic acid recycling
Raw pulp
Delignification/Bleaching
Peroxy acid/ H2O2
Bleached pulp
Pulping of Non-wood and Its Related Biorefinery Potental in Bangladesh
solved lignin and C-5 sugars were easily separated. Organic acid
lignins have a high phenolic content, with lower molecular weight
that permits high reactivity with different monomers producing new
polymers and new formaldehyde-free adhesive formulations [27].
The C-5 sugars can be used to produce additives for animal feeding
and chemicals. The peroxy acid delignified pulp showed a good
bleachability on alkaline peroxide bleaching. As it was observed
that the acetic acid and formic acid dissolved hemicelluloses during
pulping process, so the process was also studied for dissolving pulp
production. A good quality dissolving pulp was produced from jute
fiber using formic acid/ peroxyformic acid/H2O2 process [74].
Therefore, this process does not need additional step to separate
hemicelluloses prior to pulping. Problem associated with fines,
silica of non-wood pulping can be solved by organic acid process.
So it can be said that organic acid fractionation is the best process
for non-wood based integrated biorefinery.
BLENDING OF NONWOOD PULP WITH WOOD PULP
In papermaking, it is very often that more than one type (or
grade) of pulps are used to develop paper sheet properties necessary
for both machine runnability and requirement of the end users. In
many paper grades, long fibers from softwood bleached kraft pulp
are often used in combination with short fiber from hardwood
bleached kraft pulp (HBKP). In this combination, the long fiber
component provides the strength (especially tear resistance) to the
paper sheet, while the short fiber helps to improve the paper func-
tional properties, such as sheet smoothness and formation. It is
generally accepted that fibers such as straw are not likely to be used
on a 100% basis for paper manufacturing. Particularly their poor
drainability and low tearing strength make it necessary to use fur-
nish mixtures containing a certain amount of long fibers. Bangla-
desh has huge amounts of unused jute fiber, which may be the best
source for pulp production in Bangladesh. Jute has a longer fibers
and other non-wood in Bangladesh have shorter fibers. A very good
tensile-tear ratio is observed in case of jute pulp. Whereas corn
stalks, kash, dhanicha, straw, etc. produced pulp of high tensile
strength. So jute pulp can be used as reinforcing fiber for other
nonwood pulps. Jute fiber provides long fiber furnish, where cotton
stalks, corn stalks, straw and other nonwood fibers available in
Bangladesh provide short fiber furnish. In our investigation, it was
observed that the blending of corn stalks pulp with jute pulp in-
creased tear strength [15]. Tschirner et al. [75] showed that a sig-
nificant increase in tensile and burst strength with an addition of
soda-AQ wheat fiber to the hardwood/softwood mixture typically
used in printing and writing grades. The tear index of dhaincha pulp
was improved with adding jute pulp [9]. Therefore, there is a good
possibility in Bangladesh to set up integrated pulp (separate fiber
line for different characters of fibers) mills based on nonwood fi-
bers, which will solve the scarcity of fibrous raw materials and
contributes an environment friendly atmosphere.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
Bangladesh is rich in agricultural residue, the highest amount of
which is rice straw (34,020,000 MT) followed by jute (963,000
MT) and bagasse (700,000 MT). Non-wood is classified in two
groups: long fibers such as jute, cotton linter, other bast fiber, short
fibers like straws, bagasse, dhaincha, cotton stalks, corn stalks, kash
etc. The anatomical and chemical properties of some nonwood like
dhaincha, cotton stalks etc. are similar to those of wood. Most of
the non-wood contains less lignin, high syringyl to guaiacyl ratio
and loosely anatomically bonded, therefore, the pulping conditions
Current Organic Chemistry, 2013, Vol. 17, No. 15 1575
are milder and less cooking chemicals are needed, as compared to
wood. The main disadvantages of non-wood as pulping raw mate-
rial are high fines and ash content. Collection of non- wood raw
materials is another challenge. The pre-extraction prior to pulping
minimizes the fines problem and also increase dissolved biomass in
the pre-extracted liquor. The formic acid or acetic acid pulping
process is promising for non-wood, the dissolved biomass can be
readily separated, and the process is particularly suited for small-
scale mills. The dissolved hemicelluloses/sugars and lignin can be
further converted to chemicals, biofuel and biomaterials in addition
to pulp. The biorefinery concept can be applied to non-wood, and it
can solves some long-standing technical problems associated with
non-wood pulping.
In Bangladesh, jute is one of the best non-wood raw materials
for pulping in respect to quality. Blending of jute pulp with other
non-wood pulps may produce better quality of pulp. An integrated
pulping system may be adapted for non-wood pulping.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The author(s) confirm that this article content has no conflict of
interest.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Declared none.
REFERENCES
[1] El-Sakhawy, M.; Lönnberg, B.; Fahmy, Y.; Ibrahim, A.A. Organosolv Pulp-
ing: 3.Ethanol pulping of wheat straw. Cellul. Chem.Technol., 1996, 30(2):
161-174.
[2] Oinonen, H.; Koskivirta, M. Special challenges of pulp and paper industry in
Asian populated countries, like Indian sub-continent and China. Proceedings
of the Paperex 99-4th International Conference on Pulp and Paper Industry:
Emerging Technologies in the Pulp and Paper Industry; December 14–16,
1999; New Delhi, India, p. 49–68, 1999.
[3] Hammett, A.L.; Youngs, R.L.; Sun, X.; Chandra, M. Non-wood fiber as an
alternative to wood fiber in China’s pulp and paper industry. Holzforschung,
2001, 55(3), 219–224.
[4] Jahan, M.S.; Quaiyyum, M.A.; Islam, M.K.; Shafique, M. Utilization of
Bangladeshi Cotton plant stalk as pulping raw materials. Bangladesh J. Sci.
Technol., 2001, 3(1): 41-47.
[5] Jahan, M.S.; Moynul Hasan, A.J.M.; Islam M.K.; Nasima Chowdhury, D.A.
Investigation on Soda and soda-AQ pulping of Saccharum spontaneum.
Tappsa J. May, 2002, 21-25.
[6] Jahan, M.S.; Nasima Chowdhury, D.A.; Islam, M.K.; Moynul Hasan, A.J.M.
Kraft pulping of Bangladeshi cotton stalks. Bangladesh J. Sci. Ind. Res.,
2004, 39, 139-146.
[7] Jahan, M.S.; Russel, M.AN.; Shamim, S.A.N.; Mostafa, A.I.; Quaiyyum,
A.M. Alkaline pulping of corn stalks. Ippta J., 2004, 16(1), 13-18.
[8] Jahan, M.S.; Nasima Chowdhury, D.A.; Islam M.K. Alkaline sulphite an-
thraquinone methanol (ASAM) Pulping of jute. Ippta J., 2005, 17(3), 37-43.
[9] Jahan, M.S.; Nasima Chowdhury, D.A.; Islam, M.K. Pulping of Dhaincha
Cellulose Chem. Technol., 2007, 41, 413-421.
[10] Cordeiro, N.; Belgacem, M.N.; Torres, I.C.; Moura, J.C.V.P. Chemical com-
position and pulping of banana pseudo-stems. Ind. Crops and Prod., 2004,
19(2), 147–154
[11] Khristova, P. Kordsachia, O.; Patt, R.; Karar, I.; Khider, T. Environmentally
friendly pulping and bleaching of bagasse. Ind. Crops and Prod., 2006, 23,
131–139
[12] Akhtaruzzamen, A.F.M.; Shafi M. Pulping of jute Tappi, 1993. 78(2), 106-
112.
[13] Jahan, M.S.; Farouqui, F.I. Studies on the Blending of Cotton Stalk Plant
pulp with Jute pulp for Paper Making. Bangladesh J. Chem. Soc., 2001 14(1),
1-7.
[14] Jahan, M.S.; Chowdhury, D.A.N.; Russel, M.A.N.; Mun, S.P.; Quaiyyum,
M.A. Alkaline sulfite anthraquinone (ASAM) pulping of corn stalks. Cellu-
lose Chem. Technol., 2006, 40, 531-536.
[15] Islam, M.K. & Jahan M.S. Blending of nonwood fiber pulp for making paper.
Ippta J., 2001, 13(2), 7-10.
[16] Jahan, M.S. Changes of paper properties of non-wood pulp on recycling.
Tappi J., 2003, 2(7): 9-12.
[17] Jahan, M.S.; Chowdhury, D.A. N.; Islam, M. K. Characterization and Evalua-
tion of Golpata Fronds as Pulping Raw Materials. Biores. Technol., 2006, 97,
401-406.
1576 Current Organic Chemistry, 2013, Vol. 17, No. 15
[18] Pande H. Non-wood fiber and global fiber supply. Uunasylva, 1998, 193, 44-50.
[19] Covey, G.; Rainey, T.; Shore D. The potential for bagasse pulping in Austra-
lia. Appita J., 2006, 59, 17-25.
[20] Atchison, J. E.; Hamjllon, F.; Leonold, B. Pulp and paper Manufacture, 3rd
edn. Tappi press Vol. 3 pp 22-70, 1987.
[21] Kulkami, A. G.; Mathur, T. M.; Naithani, S.; Pant, R. Ippta J. 1986, 23, 95.
[22] Wayman, M. Guide for planning pulp and paper enterprises. Bernan Associ-
ates P 249, 1973.
[23] Jahan, M.S.; Saeed, A.; Ni, Y.; He, Z. Pre-Extraction and its Impact on the
Alkaline Pulping of Bagasse. J. Biobased Mater. Bioener., 2009, 3, 380–385.
[24] Sanjuán, R.; Anzaldo, J.; Vargas, J.; Turrado, J.; Patt, R. Morphological and
chemical Composition of Pith and Fibers from Mexican Sugarcane. Bagasse.
Holz als Roh- und Werkstoff, 2001, 59, 447-450.
[25] Jahan, M.S.; Lee, Z.Z.; Jin, Y. Organic acid pulping of rice straw, Part-I:
Cooking. Turkish J. Agri. Forestry, 2006, 30, 231-239.
[26] Jahan, M.S.; Chowdhury, D. A. N.; Islam, M.K.; Islam M.S. Organic pulping
of jute and its mechanism. Cellulose Chem. Technol., 2007, 41, 137-147,
[27] Jahan, M.S.; Chowdhury, D.A. N.; Islam M.K. Atmospheric formic acid
pulping and TCF bleaching of dhaincha (Sesbania aculeata), kash (Saccha-
rum spontaneum) and banana stem (Musa Cavendish). Ind. Crops Prods.
2007, 26, 324-331.
[28] Jimenez, L.; Torre, M.; Maestre, J.; Ferrer, P. F. Delignification of wheat
straw by use of low molecular weight organic acid. Holzforschung, 1998, 52,
191-196.
[29] Montane, D.; Farriol, X.; Salvado, J.; Jollez, P.; Chornet, E. Fractionation of
wheat straw by steam explosion pretreatment and alkali delignification. Cel-
lulose pulp and by-products from hemicellulose and lignin. J. Wood Chem.
Technol., 1998, 18: 171-191.
[30] Pan, X.; Sano, Y. Fractionation of wheat straw by atmospheric acetic acid
process. Biores. Technol., 2005, 96, 1256-1263.
[31] Jahan, M.S.; Shamsuzzaman, M.; Rahman, M. M.; Iqbal Moeiz, S. M.; Ni, Y.
Effect of Pre-extraction on Soda-Anthraquinone (AQ) pulping of Rice straw.
Ind. Crops Prods., 2012, 37, 164-169.
[32] Ebringerová, A.; Hromádková, Z.; Kauráková, M.; Antal M. Quaternized
xylans: synthesis and structural characterization. Carbohydrate Polymer
1994, 24, 301-308.
[33] Gabrielii, I.; Gatenholm, P.; Glasser, W.G.; Jain, R.K.; Kenne, L. Separation,
characterization and hydrogel-formation of hemicellulose from aspen wood.
Carbohydrate Polymer, 2000, 43, 367-374.
[34] Jain, R. K.; Sjöstedt, M.; Glasser, W.G. Thermoplastic Xylan Derivatives
with Propylene Oxide. Cellulose, 2000, 7, 319-336.
[35] Niu, W.; Molefe, M. N.; Frost, J. W. Microbial Synthesis of the Energetic
Material Precursor 1,2,4-Butanetriol. J. American Chem. Soc., 2003, 125,
12998-12999.
[36] Parham, R.A.; Kausftinen, H. M. Papermaking materials. An atlas of electron
micrographs. The Institute of Paper Chemistry. Appleton WI, 1974.
[37] Rowell, R.M. Types and amounts of nonwood fibers available in the US.
TAPPI proceedings of North American Nonwood fiber Symposium, Feb 17-18
Allanta, Ga 1998.
[38] Statistical Yearbook of Bangladesh Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. Govt.
Republic of Bangladesh, 2002.
[39] Phakala K.S.; Non-wood plant as raw materials for pulp and paper. Academic
dissertation, University of Helsinki, Finland 2001.
[40] Moore, G. Nonwood fibre applications in papermaking. A literature review.
Pira International, Leatherhead, UK. 1996.
[41] Hurter, A.M. Utilization of annual plants and agricultural residues for the
production of pulp and paper. Proceedings of Tappi Pulping Conference,
New Orleans, LA. USA., pp 139-160, 1988.
[42] Ghatak, H. R. Papermaking potential of congress grass: pulpability and fiber
characteristics. Tappi J. 2002, 1 (3), 24-27.
[43] Li, K.; Fu, S.; Zhan, H.; Zhan, Y.; Lucia, L. Analysis of the chemical compo-
sition and morphological structure of banana pseudo-stem. BioRes, 2010, 5,
576-585.
[44] Radiotis, T.; Li, J.; Goel, K.; Eisner, R. Fiber characteristics,pulpability, and
bleachability of switchgrass. Tappi J., 1999, 82(7), 100-105.
[45] Jahan, M.S.; Mun, S.P.; Rashid, M. Fiber dimensions and chemical properties
of various nonwood materials and their suitability for paper production.
Korea Tappi J., 2004, 36(5), 29-35.
[46] Jahan, M.S.; Maruf, A. A.; Quaiyyum, M. A. Comparative Studies of Pulping
of Jute Fiber, Jute Cutting and Jute Caddis. Bangladesh J. Sci. Ind. Res.,
2007, 42, 425-434.
[47] Jahan, M. S.; Kanna, G.H.; Mun, S.P.; Chowdhury, N.D.A. Variations in
chemical characteristics and pulpability within jute plant (Chorcorus capsu-
laris) Ind. Crops Prods., 2008 28, 199-205.
Received: September 27, 2012 Revised: April 12, 2013
Jahan et al.
[48] Jahan, M.S.; Sabina, R.; Tasmin, B.; Chowdhury, N.D. A.; Noori, A. Maruf,
A.A. Effect of harvesting age on the chemical and morphological properties
of dhaincha (Sesbania aculeata) and its pulpability and bleachability. BioRes,
2009 4, 471-481.
[49] Islam A.; Sarkanen, K.V. The Isolation and Characterization of the Lignins of
Jute (Corchorus capsularis) Holzforschung 1993, 47, 123-132.
[50] Jahan, M.S., Chowdhury, N. D.A.; Islam, M.K.; Moeiz, S.M. Characteriza-
tion of lignin isolated from some nonwood available in Bangladesh. Biores.
Technol., 2007, 98, 465–469.
[51] van Heiningen A. Converting a Kraft pulp mill into an integrated forest
biorefinery. Pulp Paper Canada, 2006, 107, 38-43.
[52] Egues, I.; Sanchez, C.; Mondragon, I.; Labidi J. Effect of alkaline and auto-
hydrolysis processes on the purity of obtained hemicelluloses from corn
stalks. Biores. Technol., 2012, 103, 239–248.
[53] Liu, Z.; Fatehi, P.; Jahan, M. S.; Ni Y. Separation of lignocellulosic materials
by combined processes of pre-hydrolysis and ethanol extraction. Biores.
Technol., 2011, 102, 1264–1269.
[54] Saeed, A.; Fatehi, P.; Ni, Y. Chitosan as a flocculant for pre-hydrolysis liquor
of kraft-based dissolving pulp production process. Carbohydrate Polymers,
2011, 86, 1630–1636.
[55] Hurter, R.W. Nonwood fiber raw materials and the biorefinery. Tappi EPE
Conference Proceedings, Jacksonville, FL, Oct. 21 – 24, 2007.
[56] Jahan, M. S.; Rahman, M. M. Effect of pre-hydrolysis on the soda-
anthraquinone pulping of corn stalks and Saccharum spontaneum (kash).
Carbohydrate Polymers, 2012, 88, 583-588.
[57] Gullichsen, J.; Fogelholm, C-J. Chemical Pulping, Book 6A of "Papermaking
Science and Technology, Editors: Gullichsen, J. and H. Paulapuro, Fapet Oy,
Helsinki, A28-A32, 1999.
[58] Al-Dajani, W.W.; Tschirner, U.W. Pre-extraction of hemicelluloses and
subsequent kraft pulping. Part I: alkaline extraction. Tappi J., 2008, 7, 3–8.
[59] Knauf, M., Moniruzzaman, M. Lignocellulosic biomass processing: a per-
spective. Int. Sugar J., 2004, 106, 147–150.
[60] Ragauskas, A.J.; Nagy, M.; Kim, D.H.; Eckert, C.A.; Hallett, J.P.; Liotta,
C.L. From wood to fuels: integrating biofuels and pulp production. Ind. Bio-
technol., 2006, 2, 55–65.
[61] Alvira, P.; Tomas-Pejo, E.; Ballesteros, M.; Negro, M.J. Pretreatment tech-
nologies for an efficient bioethanol production process based on enzymatic
hydrolysis: A review. Bioresour. Technol. 2010, 101, 4851-4861.
[62] Hu, G.; Heitmann, J.A.; Rojas, O.J. Feedstock pretreatment strategies for
producing ethanol from wood, bark and forest residues. BioRes. 2008, 3, 270-
294.
[63] Hendriks, A.T.W.M.; Zeeman, G. Pretreatments to enhance the digestibility
of lignocellulosic biomass. Bioresour. Technol., 2009, 100, 10-18.
[64] Jahan, M.S.; Rahman, M.M. A biorefinery initiative in producing dissolving
pulp from dhaincha (Sesbania aculeata) – a short-rotation crop. Cellulose
Chem. Technol., 2012, 46 (5-6), 375-380.
[65] De Lopez, S.; Tissot, M.; Delmas, M. Integrated cereal straw valorization by
an alkaline pre-extraction of hemicellulose prior to soda-anthraquinone pulp-
ing. Case study of barley straw. Biomass Bioener., 1996, 4, 201-211.
[66] Jahan, M.S.; Liu, Z.; Wang, H.; Saeed, A.; Ni, Y. Isolation and characteriza-
tion of lignin from prehydrolysis liquor of kraft-based dissolving pulp pro-
duction. Cellulose Chem. Technol., 2012, 46(3-4), 261-260.
[67] Wang, H.; Ni, Y.; Jahan, M.S.; Liu, Z.; Schafer, T. Stability of cross-linked
acetic acid lignin-containing polyurethane. J. Therm. Coloromet., 2011,
103(1), 293-302, 2011.
[68] Mire, M.; Mlayah, B.B.; Delmas, M.; Bravo, R. Formic acid/acetic acid
pulping of banana stem (Musa Cavendish). Appita J., 2005, 58, 393-396.
[69] Jahan, M.S.; Lee, Z.Z.; Jin, Y. Organic acid pulping of rice straw, Part-II:
Bleaching and beating. Cellulocse Chem. Technol., 2005, 39(1-2): 85-94.
[70] Kubo, S.; Uraki, Y.; Sano, Y. Preparation of carbon fibers from softwood
lignin by atmosperic acetic acid pulping. Carbon, 1998, 36 (7-8), 1119-1124.
[71] Seisto, A.; Poppius, K.L. Peroxyformic acid pulping of nonwood plants by
the milox method - part 1: pulping and bleaching. Tappi J., 1997, 80(9), 215-
221.
[72] Sundquist, J. Chemical pulping based on formic acid: Summary of Milox
research. Paperi Ja Puu, 1996, 78(3), 92-95.
[73] Jahan, M.S.; Chowdhury D. A. N.; Islam, M.K. Formic acid/acetic acid
pulping of kash (Saccharum spontaneum), jute (Chorcorus capsularies) and
dhaincha (Sesbania aculeata). Ippta J., 2007, 19(2), 115-118.
[74] Jahan, M. S.; Rawsan, S.; Chowdhury, D. A. N.; Al-Maruf, A. Alternative
pulping process for producing dissolving pulp from jute. BioRes., 2008, 3(4),
1359-1370.
[75] Tschirner, U.; Ramaswamy, S.; Goel, A. Effect of cereal straw fibre addition
to papermaking furnish Pulp & Paper Canada, 2003, 104(10), 26-29.
Accepted: April 13, 2013