Bamboo is one of the world's fastest growing feedstocks and represents a promising non-wood resource that can be utilized in the pulp and paper industry. The timber varieties offer low feedstock costs and can be processed similarly to trees from a logistics standpoint, and have useful fiber properties for paper making. Plantations have not yet been established due to propagation costs, limiting adoption of bamboo as a pulp feedstock to smaller pulp mills primarily in China, where there are native forests. Recent advances in micropropagation may allow lower establishment costs, but gradual introduction into the supply chain will be required. One concept is to gradually include bamboo feedstock into an established pulp mill as plantations are established, using co-cooking with a wood species. Previous work has shown that bamboo cooks fairly easily using the Kraft process with conditions similar to hardwood species. This study examines the potential of co-cooking bamboo with either poplar or eucalyptus, considering pulpability, bleachability, and handsheet properties.
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