Agricultural Fibre-Based Paper

Abstract

The present invention resides in a lamination or specialty paper, such as décor paper, suitable for lamination, wherein the paper has a furnish in which the fibre portion comprises between 1% and 100% non-wood pulp. Also disclosed is a method for making a non-wood based paper comprising forming an unrefined slurry of bleached or unbleached non-wood pulp, blending the slurry with chemical or mineral additives, and passing the slurry into a paper-making machine.

1 . A decor or lamination paper for lamination, wherein the paper has a furnish in which the fibre portion comprises between 1% and 100% non-wood pulp. 
     
     
         2 . The decor or lamination paper as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the fibre portion of the furnish comprises 50% to 100% non-wood pulp. 
     
     
         3 . The decor or lamination paper as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the fibre portion of the furnish comprises 75% to 100% non-wood pulp. 
     
     
         4 . The decor or lamination paper as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the non-wood pulp is derived from one or more families of plant materials. 
     
     
         5 . The decor or lamination paper as claimed in  claim 4 , wherein the plant material is derived from crop residue from the production of cereals, legumes, sugar, bamboo, reeds and perennial grasses, bast plants and/or leaf fibres. 
     
     
         6 . The decor or lamination paper as claimed in  claim 4 , wherein the plant material is selected from flax, hemp, oats, rye, wheat, barley, jute, kenaf, rice, cotton, corn, maize, alfalfa, millet, sugar cane, sorghum, triticale, bamboo, Job's Tears,  Eragrostis, Digitaria, Phalaris, Agave sisalana, Musa textilis , perennial grasses, perennial plants, pseudocereals and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         7 . The decor or lamination paper as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the non-wood pulp is derived from fibrous crop residue from production of cereals, legumes, sugar, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         8 . The decor or lamination paper as claimed in  claim 7 , wherein the cereals are selected from: wheat, oats, barley, rice, triticale, rye, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         9 . The decor or lamination paper as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the furnish further comprises a bonding agent that is a synthetic, plant-based or bio-based resin. 
     
     
         10 . The decor or lamination paper as claimed in  claim 9 , wherein the resin is a thermosetting resin selected from the group consisting of: melamine, polyurethanes, acrylics, epoxy resins, phenolic resins, polyester resins and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         11 . A method for making a non-wood based paper, wherein the method comprises forming a slurry of unrefined bleached or unbleached non-wood pulp, blending the slurry with chemical or mineral additives, and passing the slurry into a paper-making machine. 
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 11 , wherein the method further comprises blending the slurry of unrefined non-wood pulp with a slurry of refined wood pulp. 
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 11 , wherein the method further comprises blending the slurry of unrefined non-wood pulp with a slurry of refined non-wood pulp. 
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the slurry of refined non-wood pulp is refined using less than 50 kWh/ODMT. 
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the slurry of refined non-wood comprises sugarcane bagasse. 
     
     
         16 . The method according to  claim 12 , wherein the slurry of refined wood pulp comprises softwood pulp. 
     
     
         17 . The method according to  claim 11 , wherein the method further comprises adding a mineral filler, such as ash. 
     
     
         18 . (canceled)