By Kristin
Peterson
Can personal
care items such as tissue, paper towels and toilet paper, products with robust
markets be made from perennial grasses?
Archer
Daniels Midland Company and CenUSA Bioenergy are taking on a new chapter in the
sustainability and profitability of native grasses by testing the pulping
potential of switchgrass and other perennial grasses. This research
collaboration could pave the way for more perennial grass-based personal products
rather than relying strictly on wood, which can result in deforestation.
“We have
potential commercial applications for the pulp and the lignin but the value
proposition will look a lot better if we can take some of the other streams in
and improve the value of those,” said Tom Binder, ADM’s senior vice president
of research and Chair of CenUSA’s advisory board.
This research
will help determine whether or not perennial grasses can be a cost effective
alternative to today’s wood-based pulp used for most personal care products,
and is part of CenUSA new Commercialization Objective launched in August 2014.
“We are going
to be competing against a very old industry - the paper pulp industry, so the
new technology has to have the right cost advantages in order to compete,”
Binder said.
To date, ADM
has tested switchgrass and corn stover as well as other materials. Although they
all can be used to produce pulp for personal care products, ADM is searching
for the most efficient and cost effective feedstock.
“We will be
comparing the lignin yield and the cellulose pulp quality and yield from
several different sources,” Binder said.
The research
may also provide direction to plant breeders and answer whether high cellulose
content or lignin content is ideal for perennial grass commercial applications.
The results
could open the doors for more commercial opportunities and venues to use
perennial grass pulp, a goal of tremendous importance to CenUSA and its funding
agency the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
