(agriculture) Plants, such as flax, hemp, jute, and sisal, cultivated for their content or yield of fibrous material.
Fiber crop
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(′fī·bər ′kräps)
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Crops that are grown because of their content or yield of fibrous material which is used for many commercial purposes and for home industry. Fibers may be extracted from various parts of different plants.
Long, multiple-celled fibers can be subdivided into hard, or leaf, fibers that traditionally are used for cordage, such as sisal for binder and baler twine and abaca or manila hemp for ropes; soft, or bast (stem), fibers that are used for textiles, for example, flax for linen, hemp for small twines and canvases, and jute and kenaf for industrial textiles such as burlap; and miscellaneous fibers that may come from the roots, such as “broom” root for brushes, or stems, as Spanish moss for upholstery, or fruits, as coir from coconut husks for cordage and floor coverings. See separate articles on these topics.
Short, one-celled fibers come from the seeds or seed pods of plants such as cotton and kapok. Cotton is the world's most widely grown and used textile fiber. See also Cotton; Kapok tree; Natural fiber.
| Wikipedia: Fiber crop |
Fiber crops are field crops grown for their fibers, which are traditionally used to make paper[1], cloth, or rope. The fibers may be chemically modified, like in viscose or cellophane. In recent years materials scientists have begun exploring further use of these fibers in composite materials.
Fiber crops are generally harvestable after a single growing season, as distinct from trees, which are typically grown for many years before being harvested for wood pulp fiber. In specific circumstances, fiber crops can be superior to wood pulp fiber in terms of technical performance, environmental impact or cost.[2]
There are a number of issues regarding the use of fiber crops to make pulp.[3] One of these is seasonal availability. While trees can be harvested continuously, many field crops are harvested once during the year and must be stored such that the crop doesn't rot over a period of many months. Considering that many pulp mills require several thousand tonnes of fiber source per day, storage of the fiber source can be a major issue.
Botanically, the fibers havested from many of these plants are bast fibers; the fibers come from the phloem tissue of the plant. The other fiber crop fibers are seed padding, leaf fiber, or other parts of the plant.
Fiber crops
- Bast fibers (Stem-skin fibres)
- Other fibers (Leaf, fruit, and other fibers)
Fiber dimensions
| Source of pulp | Fiber length, mm | Fiber diameter, µm |
|---|---|---|
| Softwood | 3.0 | 30 |
| Hardwood | 1.0 | 16 |
| Wheat straw | 1.5 | 13 |
| Rice straw | 1.5 | 9 |
| Esparto grass | 1.1 | 10 |
| Reed | 1.5 | 13 |
| Bagasse | 1.7 | 20 |
| Bamboo | 2.7 | 14 |
| Cotton | 25.0 | 20 |
References
- ^ Goyal, Hari. "Multiple references to non-wood fibers for paper". PaperOnWeb, PULP & PAPER RESOURCES & INFORMATION SITE. http://www.paperonweb.com/articles.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-19.
- ^ "Agripulp: pulping agricultural crops". http://www.agripulp.com/index.html. Retrieved 2007-10-03.
- ^ "Nonwood Alternatives to Wood Fiber in Paper". http://www.bc.com/environment/positionNonwood.jsp. Retrieved 2007-10-03.
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