Editing Kenaf (section)

==Uses==
[[Image:Harvesting kenaf plant.jpg|thumb|Harvesting kenaf]]
Kenaf is cultivated for its fibre in [[India]], [[Bangladesh]], [[United States|United States of America]], [[Indonesia]], [[Malaysia]], [[South Africa]], [[Vietnam]], [[Thailand]], parts of [[Africa]], and to a small extent in southeast [[Europe]]. The stems produce two types of fibre: a coarser fibre in the outer layer ([[bast fibre]]), and a finer fibre in the core. The bast fibres are used to make ropes. Kenaf matures in 100 to 200 days. First grown in [[Egypt]] over 3000 years ago, the leaves of the kenaf plant were a component of both human and animal diets, while the bast fibre was used for bags, cordage, and the sails for Egyptian boats. This crop was not introduced into southern Europe until the early 1900s. Today, while the principal farming areas are [[China]] and [[India]], Kenaf is also grown in countries including the US, Mexico, and Senegal.

The main uses of kenaf fibre have been [[rope]], [[twine]], coarse [[cloth]] (similar to that made from [[jute]]), and [[paper]]. In California, Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, 3,200 acres (13&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of kenaf were grown in 1992, most of which was used for animal bedding and feed.

Uses of kenaf fibre include [[engineered wood]]; [[Building insulation|insulation]]; [[clothing]]-grade cloth; soil-less potting mixes; animal bedding; packing material; and material that absorbs oil and liquids. It is also useful as cut bast fibre for blending with resins in the making of plastic composites, as a drilling fluid loss-preventive for oil drilling muds, and for a seeded hydromulch for erosion control. Kenaf can be made into various types of environmental mats, such as seeded grass mats for instant lawns and moldable mats for manufactured parts and containers. [[Panasonic]] has set up a plant in [[Malaysia]] to manufacture kenaf fibre boards and export them to Japan.

Additionally, as part of an overall effort to make vehicles more sustainable, Ford and BMW are making the material for the automobile bodies in part from kenaf. The first implementation of kenaf within a Ford vehicle was in the 2013 [[Ford Escape]].<ref>[http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=35895] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120929103607/http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=35895|date=September 29, 2012}}</ref> The [[BMW i3]] uses kenaf in the black surrounds.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterdetwiler/2014/01/29/bmws-i3-a-new-kind-of-electric-vehicle/ |title=BMW's i3: A New Kind of Electric Vehicle |website=[[Forbes]]}}</ref>

The use of kenaf is anticipated to offset 300,000 pounds of oil-based resin per year in North America and should reduce the weight of the door bolsters by 25 percent.

Reported in 2021, Kenaf Ventures, an [[Israel]]i company, is developing and producing sustainable raw materials made from the kenaf plant (Hibiscus cannabinus) in an effort to decarbonize the construction sector without reducing product quality.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.israel21c.org/a-botanical-cure-for-constructions-heavy-carbon-emissions |title=A botanical cure for construction's heavy carbon emissions |date=31 March 2021}}</ref>

===Kenaf seed oil===
Kenaf seeds yield an edible [[vegetable oil]]. The kenaf seed oil is also used for cosmetics, industrial [[lubricants]] and for [[biofuel]] production. Kenaf oil is high in omega [[polyunsaturated fatty acid]]s (PUFAs). Kenaf seed oil contains a high percentage of [[linoleic acid]] (Omega-6) a polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA). Linoleic acid (C18:2) is the dominant PUFA, followed by [[oleic acid]] (C18:1). [[Alpha-linolenic acid]] (C18:3) is present in 2 to 4 percent.

Kenaf seed oil is 20.4% of the total seed weight, similar to that of cotton seed.{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}}
Kenaf Edible Seed Oil Contains:
*[[Palmitic acid]]: 19.1%
*[[Oleic acid]]: 28.0% (Omega-9)
*[[Linoleic acid]]: 45% (Omega-6)
*[[Stearic acid]]: 3.0%
*[[Alpha-linolenic acid]]: 3% (Omega-3)
[[File:Kenaf - New crops new uses new markets - industrial and commercial products from US agriculture (IA yoa1992) (page 118 crop).jpg|thumb|Kenaf used for paper.]]

===Kenaf paper===
The most common process to make kenaf paper is using [[soda pulping]] before processing the obtained [[Pulp (paper)|pulp]] in a [[paper machine]].

The use of kenaf in paper production offers various environmental advantages over producing paper from trees. In 1960, the [[USDA]] surveyed more than 500 plants and selected kenaf as the most promising source of [[Tree-free paper|tree-free newsprint]]. In 1970, kenaf newsprint produced in the [[International Paper Company]]'s mill in [[Pine Bluff, Arkansas]], was successfully used by six U.S. newspapers. Printing and writing paper made from the fibrous kenaf plant has been offered in the United States since 1992. Again in 1987, a Canadian mill produced 13 rolls of kenaf newsprint which were used by four U.S. newspapers to print experimental issues. They found that kenaf newsprint<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/08/optimal_treefre.php |title=www.treehugger.com |access-date=2007-05-22 |archive-date=2010-03-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100328130140/http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/08/optimal_treefre.php |url-status=dead }}</ref> made for stronger, brighter and cleaner pages than standard pine paper with less detriment to the environment. Due partly to kenaf fibres being naturally whiter than tree pulp, less bleaching is required to create a brighter sheet of paper. [[Hydrogen peroxide]], an environmentally-safe bleaching agent that does not create [[Polychlorinated dibenzodioxins|dioxin]], has been used with much success in the [[Bleaching of wood pulp|bleaching]] of kenaf.

Various reports suggest that the energy requirements for producing pulp from kenaf are about 20 percent less than those for [[wood pulp]], mostly due to the lower [[lignin]] content of kenaf. Many of the facilities that now process Southern pine for paper use can be converted to accommodate kenaf.{{Citation needed|date=April 2008}}

An area of {{cvt|1|acre|m2|adj=on}} of kenaf produces 5 to 8 tons of raw plant bast and core fibre in a single growing season. In contrast, {{cvt|1|acre|m2|adj=on}} of forest (in the US) produces approximately 1.5 to 3.5 tons of usable fibre per year. It is estimated that growing kenaf on 5,000 acres (20&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) can produce enough pulp to supply a paper plant having a capacity of 200 tons per day. Over 20 years, {{cvt|1|acre|m2|adj=on}} of farmland can produce 10 to 20 times the amount of fiber that {{cvt|1|acre|m2|adj=on}} of Southern pine can produce.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/aug00/kenaf0800.htm |title=usda kenaf uses |access-date=2007-05-22 |archive-date=2007-05-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070528064327/http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/aug00/kenaf0800.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

As one of the world's important [[natural fibre]]s, kenaf is covered by the [[International Year of Natural Fibres]] 2009. The first novel to be published using 100% kenaf paper was ''The Land of Debris and the Home of Alfredo'' by [[Kenn Amdahl]] (1997, Clearwater Publishing Company).<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.biolevel.it/ |title=BIO LEVEL |access-date=2020-10-21 |archive-date=2021-07-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728142225/https://www.biolevel.it/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[David Brower]], former Executive Director of the [[Sierra Club]], in chapter 8 of his semi-autobiographical environmental book ''Let the Mountains Talk, Let the Rivers Run: A Call to Save the Earth'' (1995, Harper Collins), titled "Forest Revolution," advocated for kenaf paper use and explained its many advantages over wood pulp. The first edition of the book was printed on kenaf paper.