Whole exploitation of Triticum dicoccum Schubler: straw as raw material for papermaking pulps.

摘要

Italian Agriculture is attempting to diversify cereal cropping, by reintroducing old varieties still present in the traditional Italian diet. The landrace farro is most likely to be successful. The term farro (emmer) is generally, but incorrectly, used for three cultivated hulled wheat species: Triticum monococcum (einkorn), T. dicoccum (emmer) and T. spelta (spelt). This paper refers to Triticum dicoccum. If emmer cultivation spreads again in Italy, appreciable amounts of straw will be available together with the grain. The straw could be exploited for the production of papermaking pulps thus increasing the overall value of the crop. A field experiment was carried out at the Cereal Research Institute, Inviolatella farm, Rome, Italy. Two emmer native varieties (Leonessa and Garfagnana) were sown at a density of 240 plants/m2. Mean hulled grain yield was 1.7 t/ha for Leonessa and 2.0 t/ha1 for Garfagnana; mean straw yield (DM) was 8.0 and 6.8 t/ha for Leonessa and Garfagnana, respectively. The straw of these two native varieties was evaluated for papermaking quality; the chemical characteristics of each sample of straw was analysed. Then the material was pulped with an alkali-oxygen process. The process yield and papermaking properties of pulps were determined. As a whole, the emmer straw pulps showed better performances than wheat straw pulp and the results indicate that the emmer straw, the agricultural residue of the crop, can be exploited as a papermaking raw material.