Straw Paper

Thin Straw Pulp Papers are being made in some rural areas of Myanmar as a cottage industry. Straw makes excellent paper. Straw fibers are similar to hardwood fibers and straw pulp is used to make handmade paper in a similar manner. There is plenty of straw produced globally, about 1.5 billion tons annually.

Straw papers are generally imported from China and other Asian countries. Earlier North America was considered to be the largest producer of straw fibers to make paper but currently there is no market for handmade straw paper and pulp in North America.

Making of Straw Paper

• Cereal straw is rested in water and lime in clay pots for few days.
• After few days, the straw is cooked and steamed under a wood fire for thirty hours.
• The material is then rinsed and washed in cold water.
• The fiber is then beaten with a metal tipped, wooden stamper.
• Water is then added to pulp and a pronged wooden rod is twirled to disperse the fibers. The slurry is then poured into the screen immersed in water.
• Distribute the slurry evenly on the screen and lift out the screen.
• Leave the screen in sun to dry.
• After drying, the sheets are removed from the screen.

Types of Straw Paper

• Rice Straw Paper- Rice straw makes beautiful handmade paper. Rice straw paper is translucent and absorbent finely made with smooth surface and high quality. This paper is designed for art uses.
• Bamboo Straw Paper- Bamboo leaves, branches and clums are used to make wonderful handmade papers.
• Wheat Straw Paper- These are beautiful non toxic handmade paper made from blended wheat straws.

Disadvantages of Using Straw Fibers to Make Handmade Paper

• Straw fibers have high silica content that causes problems in the chemical recovery process such as scaling.
• Straw fibers have higher water retention capacity and this pose a significant problem when separating water and pulp to make paper.
• Straw yields less pulp per ton of raw material.
• Straw bales takes three times space, so the transportation is expensive.