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Turn wheat straw into fiber wood, and you get a new home!

By Fu Jing (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-02-26 07:53

A wheat field in Shaanxi province. [China Daily]

The agricultural research hub of Yangling, in Shaanxi province, will soon get a factory that would recycle wheat straw into building material. The recycled fiber wood would be used for the construction of new homes for the survivors of the May 12 earthquake last year.

The factory is coming up in an area surrounded by millions of hectares of wheat fields. Costing 320 million yuan, the factory's first production line will start operations by September this year, said Krijn Leendertse, the president of Panel Board Holding (PBH), a building material company based out of the Netherlands. The plant, once complete, would be able to recycle 40,000 tons of wheat straw into 60,000 cubic meter of fiber wood.

To feed the production line, the factory would purchase wheat straw from 4 million farmers in Shaanxi every year. Back of the envelope calculations show this would increase farmers' incomes by 15 percent. In addition, the plant can also provide up to 2,000 jobs for the locals.

"We are turning the waste into a useful thing. Our endeavor can help reduce wood cutting in the forests," Leendertse said. "It is also meaningful that our environment-friendly products can be used in post-quake recovery."

PBH is planning to build a second production line that will recycle crop straw. Crop straw is usually burned by farmers and causes environmental pollution. China produces at least 700 million tons of straw as waste every year.

Usually, agricultural waste, such as wheat and rice straw, is either burnt or buried, but both these methods emit carbon dioxide and methane, which contribute to global warming.

"If all the straw can be used as wood substitute, we will greatly contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and preserve China's forests," Leendertse said.

Economic development is occurring at such a rapid pace that the demand for wood and wood-based products simply exceeds supply. "If this burden escalates, we will face a man made ecological disaster," Leendertse said.

Last year's earthquake destroyed millions of homes in Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. In Shaanxi alone, over 120,000 homes were ruined.

In Sichuan, about 4.5 million homes in rural areas would be rebuilt. At the factory launch ceremony held yesterday, Deyang city of Sichuan province, which has been severely hit by the quake, sent an observer group to see if they can use this fiber wood to rebuild lost homes.

"If it is economical, safe and environment-friendly compared to traditional wood, we will recommend its use," said Gao Hongmei, an official from Deyang, adding that PBH was considering investing in Sichuan.