A renewal of interest in agricultural fibers is evident everywhere in the western world (North America, Europe). Agricultural fibers can be used for fabrics, paper, construction materials, etc. Even the car industry is turning back to natural fibers: Peugeolt and Renault are running trials with them and Mercedes-Benz already uses hemp and flax as replacements for glass fibers.

Fabrics

"Fiber" provides one of the most basic human needs since it provides protection from the elements. The most widespread product to meet this need were hides from wild animals which had been hunted, and then later from domesticated livestock. Tanning is a process that helps preserve the hide, and although it was developed long before the modern era, it has not fundamentally changed since. As late as the 1830's the hides of cattle were often a more important source of cash for a farmer than the meat.

Hemp, sisal and jute

Coarse fibers such as hemp, sisal and jute, have long been important in many countries with developing economies. But jute has now been largely displaced by plastic fibers, even though it is still widely produced in places such as India.

Cotton

Cotton is considered to be the major source of plant material for fine textiles and is grown in many areas around the world. Cotton textiles have refined qualities - dyability and ease of spinning and weaving. But research has added many improvements: increased comfort, shrink resistance, retention of shape, flame retardancy, and resistance to microbial rot and soiling have all added value to cotton (Fuller, 1996).

Below: flax at harvest time.

Flax and silk

Other sources of plant fiber are also available, such as flax which producers grow varieties used to produce fine linens. Silk, a proteinaceous fiber of animal origin, is in demand as a high-quality fiber that is easily processed (Fuller, 1996).

Pulp and paper

The production of paper pulp in the world reached 185 million tonnes in 1991, and that amount will have doubled by 2010. This will put heavy pressure on forest resources which are, as is becoming evident from de-forestation, limited in capacity. About 200 years ago, the Occident adopted wood as a source of short-length fibers for paper production due to its plentiful supply and good quality-to-cost ratio. Materials made up of short-length fibers produce a stronger and finer paper, while those with longer-length fibers tend to produce lower quality paper, as does recycled paper. Research is now being conducted into new ways to produce paper pulp from other plant materials such as grasses which, in fact, are not all that new since the production of paper from materials other than wood goes back over 2000 years ago. The key is to find blends of fiber length that produce high quality paper while maximizing use of alternative materials to wood pulp.

Below: straw after cutting

Straw

Straw production around the world is about 500 million tonnes per year. From this, half is burned just to remove it from the fields, or buried in greater quantities than what is needed to replenish the organic matter in the soil; both can contribute to important environmental problems. The other half is used to manufacture different materials, usually with low added value. Only 20 million tonnes per year (4%) is used for pulp and paper production. To use greater quantities of straw or other crop residues to produce pulp and paper requires the development of modern processing methods so that the costs of production are reduced and pollution free, which is not the case at the moment.

The Ministère de l'Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l'Alimentation du Québec (MAPAQ) has estimated that, each year, at least 1 million tonnes of raw agricultural materials could be transformed in pulp for paper, cardboard and other agri-products:

Hay	650 000 tons
Corn Fiber	350 000 tons
Straw	115 000 tons

The straw available in western Canada (about 46 million tonnes per year) would be enough to produce 75 % of the paper pulp used in Canada in 1991 (25 million tonnes per year)?

Straw is of interest to agricultural producers because they can switch away from crops which are in surplus supply (i.e. tobacco), they can put less productive land back into cultivation by seeding crops for industrial use, and they can earn additional income by selling straw to processors. Straw is of interest to pulp and paper producers because it is a source of complementary fiber to reduce the cost of production, improve the quality of certain products or allow the development of new products while stabilizing the supply of fiber materials. It is also of interest to research companies because they can sell the technology they develop to countries with emerging economies, such as in Asia. For example, Vietnam produces less than 40 % of its paper requirements yet it has considerable amounts of rice straw available.

Situation in Québec

Resinous fiber, especially from spruce trees, is very much favoured in Québec as a pulp source. However, the virgin fiber is now scarcer, more costly and located further from the paper mills. The pulp and paper producers have the choice of either developing forest resources, and/or make better use of broad-leaved trees, and/or recycle more old paper, and/or use agricultural fibers as support fibers.

Producers have little control over the supply of recycled fibers: quantity, quality and prices can vary greatly. On the other side, there are large agricultural areas that are less productive and that could be dedicated to growing trees for paper production to lessen the supply problem. However, the construction industry is often in competition with pulp producers for this main resource. Hence, plant materials, such as straw, could be an interesting alternative resource for the production of pulp, as well as for the manufacture of construction materials such as particle board.

In Québec in 1998, there is no industrial production of pulp and paper from agricultural fibers. But according to sources in the pulp and paper industry, production could start within 5 to 8 years from now.

A large amount of research has shown that it is possible to use straw and other agricultural fibers to manufacture composite and particle boards. Experts think that the market for these boards made of agricultural fibers could grow quickly in North America, especially due the increasing cost of wood.

Other fibers

Apart from straw, different natural fibers can be used to make paper depending on the climate where the crop is grown and the application of the end-material: Miscanthus or Elephant grass in Central Europe, sorghum in France, hemp in the Netherlands (it is being legalized elsewhere) and kenaf in the United States. Kenaf is a fast growing relative of cotton and okra, which can be grown as an annual crop in the south and south-west of the US to produce high yields of pulp suitable for newsprint. Currently, the US imports about $4 billion worth of newsprint annually and kenaf grown in the United States could provide a new domestic source of pulp. Pilot programs to produce kenaf paper are in operation in Texas, Mississippi and other states.

Also, in many places, intensive cultivation in short rotations of bush forest species (willow trees, poplar trees, etc.) and flax, which is extremely resistant to bacterial breakdown, are being examined with interest for the production of pulp.