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Company looks to crops for paper production Alberta-Pacific tries replacing some wood pulp with non-wood fibres CALGARY -- Alberta's pulp and paper sector is kick-starting a new trend that could see farmers plant crops for paper production instead of food. Interest in using crops such as flax and hemp as alternatives to wood in papermaking is high as rising global demand for paper clashes with limited forestry resources. Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries Inc. is experimenting with replacing a portion of its wood pulp with non-wood fibres grown in Alberta, one of few Canadian companies to do so. Al-Pac president Bill Hunter is so fired up about the use of non-wood fibres that he's considering changing the company name to Alberta-Pacific Cellulose Industries. "I truly feel that's what our destiny will be," Hunter said. "Preliminary indications say that from a paper characteristic, these fibres are going to do just fine." Non-wood fibres from flax, hemp and cereal straws produce high-quality papers suitable for use as currency or even cigarette paper. Under Al-Pac's preliminary plan, non-wood fibres would be processed into pulp and exported for papermaking, either as a stand-alone product or blended in with the company's aspen and poplar pulps. Farmers would be contracted to grow the crops. Tapping into new export markets in densely populated, paper-hungry places like India and China is part of the push towards non-wood fibres. But it's also being driven by urban sprawl and changing public attitudes towards forests, which are increasingly seen as wildlife preserves and recreation areas. Alberta-Pacific proposes to spend $40 million to $100 million on a specialized pulping mill, if some technological questions about managing effluent can be worked out. Hunter says a decision on whether to go ahead with the mill will be made in two years. Alberta farmer George Friesen says that in order for fibre crops to be worthwhile to farmers, they would have to pay more than livestock or crops. John Christensen, manager of BioProducts Alberta, says opportunities presented by non-wood fibres will help to diversify and sustain rural economies. "Agriculture in Alberta and Western Canada has really been built around food and feed production," Christensen said. A bonus for farmers is that papermaking crops are easily grown. Linen flax grows basically the same as poor quality hay, requiring less care and attention than higher value cereal grains, Christensen said. Weathering is also beneficial to fibre crops, something that ruins the value of traditional food crops. But time is the biggest bonus of using non-wood fibres, said Wade Chute, manager of the pulp and paper division of the Alberta Research Council Inc. He says it takes 25 years to replace a poplar. That's equal to 25 cropping seasons. Document VNCS000020040124e01o0004j |