Korea Develops Corn Stalks for Advanced Paper Production

Korean scientists and technicians recently developed the technology for producing advanced paper such as copy paper using corn stalks. This technology was jointly developed by Professor Yuan Chung of Professor Jiang Yuan University and Professor Liu Hairi of Gongju University. They mixed 80% of cornstuff pulp with 20% of softwood pulp to make fine paper. The cost of using corn stalks to make paper is lower than the cost of using wood to make paper, the use of chemical drugs is small, and the paper produced is as white, smooth, and tough as ordinary copy paper. This paper manufacturing technology has obtained patents from 14 countries and regions such as the United States, Japan and the European Union. The Korean venture company CPP, which is jointly involved in the development, has set up a pilot plant for the production of paper from corn stalks in Wisconsin, and plans to formally start production when a large amount of cornstalk is produced this autumn. The company also plans to transfer this technology to South Korean and foreign paper companies.