Taiwan will produce paper from rice and wheat

A leading Taiwanese paper company (China) is expected to begin mass production of pulp made from rice and wheat stalks this year.

Yuen Foong Yu Group President, Mr. Ho Shou-chuan told the Economic Daily News that the group has partnered with Taiwanese universities to develop the biotechnology mentioned above.

According to him, the technology is cheaper and " greener " because more pulp can be produced from the stalk of rice, which is a byproduct that is often discarded in agriculture, compared with the same weight wood.

He hopes the new technology can replace current chemical processes that are highly disruptive and require the exploitation of a huge amount of wood.

In addition, it uses energy more efficiently and produces less CO2 in the production process.

Yuen Foong Yu also owns E Ink Holdings, a Taiwanese company that provides e-paper for e-reader manufacturers worldwide like Amazon.