Arundo donax pulp, paper products, and particle board

Abstract

Composite panels and pulp, and paper products of the pulp, are produced from Arundo donax . In the fabrication of the composite panels, Arundo donax is comminuted to a suitable size, combined with a binder, and consolidated into panels that meet standards for construction and/or furniture grade panels. The Arundo donax particulates may be combined with wood particulates to produce a mixed furnish that can be used in the preparation of composite panels. Comminuted Arundo donax is treated, in conventional pulping processes, to produce a high tensile strength pulp that can be used in the production of paper. The pulp has a lighter color than wood pulp, and thereby uses less bleaching chemicals to achieve a desired whiteness. The pulp can be combined with wood pulp to produce a variety of products.

1 . An  Arundo donax  chip, wherein the chip is formed from an  Arundo donax  stem by cutting the stem across its length to provide a ring having a substantially circular cross-section and a length from about one-eighth inch to about three inches, and then breaking the ring's circular cross-section.  
   
   
       2 . The chip of  claim 1  wherein the ring has a length from about one-half inch to about one and one-half inches.  
   
   
       3 . The chip of  claim 1  wherein the ring is formed from the stem by a saw cut.  
   
   
       4 . The chip of  claim 1  wherein the ring is formed from the stem by a knife blade.  
   
   
       5 . The chip of  claim 1  wherein the ring is formed from the stem by a veneer cut.  
   
   
       6 . An  Arundo donax  flake, wherein the flake is formed from flaking an  Arundo donax  stem in a flaker.  
   
   
       7 . The flake of  claim 6  having a length from about 2 inches to about 4 inches.  
   
   
       8 . The flake of  claim 6  having a length from about two and one-half inches to about three and one-half inches.  
   
   
       9 . The flake of  claim 6  having a thickness from about one-thirty second inch to about one-eight inch.  
   
   
       10 . The flake of  claim 6  wherein the flaker is a drum flaker.  
   
   
       11 .  Arundo donax  pulp, the pulp comprising fibers obtained from the treatment of  Arundo donax  particles.  
   
   
       12 . The pulp of  claim 11  wherein  Arundo donax  particles are selected from the group consisting of a chip and a flake.  
   
   
       13 . The pulp of  claim 11  wherein the treatment of  Arundo donax  further comprises comminution.  
   
   
       14 . The pulp of  claim 13  wherein the comminution is performed by a hammermill.  
   
   
       15 . The pulp of  claim 13  wherein the comminution is performed by a rotary disc refiner.  
   
   
       16 . The pulp of  claim 11  wherein the treatment comprises kraft pulping.  
   
   
       17 . The pulp of  claim 11  wherein the treatment comprises soda pulping.  
   
   
       18 . The pulp of  claim 11  wherein the treatment comprises alkaline peroxide mechanical pulping.  
   
   
       19 . The pulp of  claim 11  wherein the treatment comprises sulfite pulping.  
   
   
       20 . The pulp of  claim 11  wherein the treatment comprises pulping and bleaching.  
   
   
       21 . The pulp of  claim 20  wherein the bleaching comprises Elemental Chlorine Free bleaching.  
   
   
       22 . The pulp of  claim 11  having a freeness in the range from about 150 to about 750 CSF.  
   
   
       23 . The pulp of  claim 11  wherein the pulp has a brightness of at least about 55% ISO.  
   
   
       24 . The pulp of  claim 11  wherein the pulp has a brightness of at least about 75% ISO.  
   
   
       25 . A method for forming an  Arundo donax  pulp, the method comprising: (a) selecting a furnish comprising  Arundo donax  particles; and (b) subjecting the furnish to a pulping process to produce a brown stock of pulp having a yield of about 48 percent by weight based on the furnish.  
   
   
       26 . The method of  claim 25  wherein the pulping time to achieve a 48% yield and a kappa value of about 15 is about 25% less than required for pulping hardwood to achieve the same yield and kappa value.  
   
   
       27 . A method for forming an  Arundo donax  pulp, the method comprising: (a) selecting a furnish comprising  Arundo donax  particles; (b) subjecting the furnish to a pulping process to produce a brown stock of pulp having a yield of about 48 percent by weight based on the furnish; and (c) bleaching the brown stock to a brightness of from about 55 to about 90% ISO.  
   
   
       28 . The method of  claim 27  wherein bleaching brown stock to a brightness of about 90% ISO requires 25% less bleach than required for bleaching hardwood to the same brightness.  
   
   
       29 . A method for forming an  Arundo donax  pulp, the method comprising: (a) subjecting  Arundo donax  particles to a bleaching chemical to provide a bleached furnish; and (b) mechanically refining the bleached furnish to provide a pulp stock having a brightness of from about 55 to about 90% ISO.  
   
   
       30 . The methods of claims  25 ,  27 , or  29  wherein the  Arundo donax  particle is selected from the group consisting of a chip and a flake.  
   
   
       31 . The method of  claim 29  wherein the bleaching chemical comprises a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, sodium hydroxide, and sodium silicate.  
   
   
       32 . The method of  claim 28  wherein the bleaching chemical comprises chlorine dioxide.  
   
   
       33 - 43 . (canceled)  
   
   
       44 . A method for forming an  Arundo donax  paper product, comprising: forming an  Arundo donax  furnish comprising fibers and an aqueous dispersion medium; depositing the furnish onto a foraminous support; dewatering the deposited furnish to provide a fibrous web; and drying the web to provide a paper product.  
   
   
       45 . The method of  claim 44  wherein the  Arundo donax  furnish further comprises wood fibers.  
   
   
       46 . An  Arundo donax  composite panel, the composite comprising: (a) a binder resin; and (b)  Arundo donax  particles bonded into a contiguous material with the resin; wherein the composite meets at least the M-3 standard for composite panels.  
   
   
       47 . The panel of  claim 45  wherein the panel comprises from about 1 to about 10 percent by weight of a resin binder based on the total weight of the panel.  
   
   
       48 . The panel of  claim 45  wherein the panel comprises from about 1.5 to about 3.0 percent by weight of a resin binder based on the total weight of the panel.  
   
   
       49 . The panel of  claim 45  wherein the binder is selected from the group consisting of methyl diisocyanate, urea-formaldehyde, phenolic, and inorganic binders.  
   
   
       50 . The panel of  claim 45  wherein the  Arundo donax  furnish further comprises wood fibers.  
   
   
       51 . The panel of  claim 49  having from about 10% to about 90% by weight  Arundo donax  based on the total weight of the panel.  
   
   
       52 . The panel of  claim 49  wherein the bending strength of the panel is increased proportionally relative to the amount of  Arundo donax  in the panel compared to a wood-based panel.  
   
   
       53 . The panel of  claim 49  wherein the moisture resistance of the panel is increased proportionally relative to the amount of  Arundo donax  in the panel compared to a wood-based panel.  
   
   
       54 . The panel of  claim 49  wherein the bending strength of the panel is at least about 55% greater than a similarly constituted wood-based panel.  
   
   
       55 . The panel of  claim 49  wherein the moisture resistance of the panel is about 2.6 times greater than a similarly constituted wood-based panel.  
   
   
       56 . The panel of  claim 49  wherein the bending strength of the panel is about 5% greater than a similarly constituted wheatstraw-based panel.  
   
   
       57 . The panel of  claim 49  wherein the moisture resistance of the panel is 15% greater than a similarly constituted wheatstraw-based panel.  
   
   
       58 . A method of manufacturing an  Arundo donax  composite panel, the method comprising: (a) comminuting  Arundo donax  into particles of a size distribution suitable for use as furnish in a composite panel; (b) mixing the particles with a binder to provide a binder-particle mixture; and (c) consolidating the binder-particle mixture into a composite panel.  
   
   
       59 . The method of  claim 50  wherein the particle-binder mixture further comprises wood particles.  
   
   
       60 . The method of  claim 44  or  45  wherein the method is conducted on a commercial scale.  
   
   
       61 . The method of  claim 44  or  45  wherein the support is moving at a speed suitable for a commercial scale production of the pulp.  
   
   
       62 . The method of  claim 44  or  45  wherein the pulp further comprises one or more other pulps from a source other than  Arundo donax  to provide a pulp blend.  
   
   
       63 . The method of  claim 44  or  45  wherein the pulp blend comprises softwood pulp, hardwood pulp, and mixtures thereof.  
   
   
       64 . The method of  claim 44  or  45  wherein the pulp blend comprises from about 5 to about 80 percent by weight  Arundo donax  pulp.  
   
   
       65 . The method of  claim 44  or  45  wherein the paper product has a brightness of at least about 82% ISO.  
   
   
       66 . The method of  claim 44  or  45  wherein the paper product has a burst index of at least about 3.0.  
   
   
       67 . The method of  claim 44  or  45  wherein the paper product has a tear index of at least about 8.5.  
   
   
       68 . The method of  claim 44  or  45  wherein the paper product has a tensile index of at least about 50.  
   
   
       69 . The method of  claim 44  or  45  wherein the paper product is selected from the group consisting of high brightness printing and writing grade paper.  
   
   
       70 . The method of  claim 44  or  45  wherein the paper product is selected from the group consisting of newsprint and publication printing grade paper.  
   
   
       71 . The method of  claim 44  or  45  wherein the paper product is selected from the group consisting of unbleached liner and corrugation boards.