São Paulo – The first-ever facility to make paper from sugarcane straw has opened in Lençóis Paulista, São Paulo, Brazil. FibraResist, an arm of the Grupo Cem conglomerate, invested BRL 25 million (USD 8 million) in the plant, whose annual cellulose paste production capacity is 72,000 tons, according to the Secretariat for Agriculture and Supply of the State of São Paulo. The plant is going online at 25% of total capacity, with talks underway with makers of packaging, tissue paper, and paper towels. The facility has a staff of 62.
The new technology renders sugarcane harvesting more sustainable, since the straw is no longer left out in cane fields, thereby preventing disease and loss of money. It was developed in-house by the company.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
