Seed Flax Straw -- Potential for Extending Its Utilization

Excerpts from the Introduction: The industrial utilization of seed flax straw, including the whole straw and the bast fiber and shive fractions, has been extensively researched in the United States and Canada by public agencies, both Federal and State, and by private industry. Literature on the subject dates back to 1902. At the present time (1962), about 30 percent of the economically available straw, or 200,000 tons, is decorticated for use in cigarette paper manufacture. This provides most of the fibrous raw material for domestic and export requirements of such paper. The appraisal described in this report was conducted to reexamine the feasibility of using additional quantities of seed flax bast fiber in various end uses: textiles; twine and cordage; cellulose-sponge reinforcement; bond, currency, and other specialty papers; coarse paper and insulation board; nonwoven goods; and absorbent pads. These markets are presently served by line (fiber-type) flax, cotton, jute, wood, and other natural fibers and by synthetic fibers. In the past year (1961) there has been renewed interest in extending the use of seed flax straw because of efforts to commercialize a number of new processes.