What Is Bagasse?

Bagasse is what is left over after the sugar cane plant  has been used up in the sugar industry. The stems of sugar cane are fibrous and, after the sugar-rich juices have been squeezed out, the remaining material is an ideal raw material for paper making.

Bagasse is used as an alternative to wood pulp in Latin America and India for the manufacture of newsprint. It is easy to bleach, it requires fewer chemicals for its processing and it needs less energy to process into a form that can be used as a paper base.

It does have some problems though, which is why it is not widely used for making higher grades of paper. It is not that strong and needs to be combined with wood fibres to produce papers that do not tear easily. Supply is also a problem as many sugar producers just burn the left over plant after the sugar has been extracted, to supply energy for the running of the sugar processing plant. Getting the bagasse needs sugar producers to switch to a more environmentally friendly fuel, but this involves cost.