Formic Acid Pulping of Rice Straw

Abstract

Many cereal straws particularly rice straw have been used as raw materials for paper production. But the main problem for the decreased use of straw in the paper industry is the remaining of black liquor which contains lignin and silica are factors currently limiting the use of straws in paper mills. In this study, we present processing techniques and pulp properties obtained through cooking rice straw with formic acid. The results showed the silica content in straw is 9.78 % and after pulped with formic acid, the content of silica is 1.22 %. Therefore, formic acid pulping can preserve most of silica derivatives in the straw.