Sweet sorghum: A quality raw material for the manufacturing of chemical paper pulp

After the extraction of sugar in conditions adaptable to the industrial scale, sweet sorghum bagasse is used for the first time to manufacture chemical pulp. The quality of the pulp obtained is excellent for the paper industry. The pulp exhibits a degree of cohesion higher than 80%, a low kappa number indicating a good delignification, a high degree of polymerization, and exceptional physico-mechanical properties. Unexpectedly, the final results allow us to consider sweet sorghum as a major raw material for the paper industry in every region where it will be possible to grow it in association with sugar cane. These pulps can be used in sectors usually restricted to superior chemical pulps such as those obtained from softwood.