Taiwan firm to make paper from rice, wheat stalks

The Jakarta Post, The Associated Press, Taiwan | Sat, 01/15/2011

A leading Taiwanese paper company expect to begin mass producing paper pulp made of rice and wheat stalks this year, a newspaper reported Saturday.

Yuen Foong Yu Group collaborated with Taiwanese universities in developing the bio-technology, Chairman Ho Shou-chuan told the Economic Daily News.

It's a cheaper and greener process because more paper pulp can be produced from rice stalks - farming byproducts that are usually dumped - than from the same amount of lumber by weight.

Ho said he hoped the new technology could replace existing chemical processes that are highly polluting and require cutting down massive numbers of trees.

The new pulp-making technology will use energy more efficiently and produce much less carbon dioxide during manufacturing, he added.

Yuen Foong Yu has been making industrial paper in Yangzhou City in eastern China. Last year, it invested $8 million to set up a new factory there to make the bio paper pulp, the newspaper said.

Production is expected to begin during the second half of this year, he added.

The group's spokesperson could not be reached for comment on Saturday.

The Yuen Foong Yu Group also owns Taiwan's E Ink Holdings Inc., which supplies global e-reader makers such as Amazon Inc. with electronic paper.