From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for March 11, 1990:

A local company was researching an alternative stove fuel made from used newsprint. The SPM Group Inc. was hoping to test-market the new fuel with at least 100 people who used wood-burning stoves. If results were favorable, the company could begin buying old newspapers needed to produce the product, according to SPM vice chair Rich Caplan. “Our expectation is that the fuel will be easier to use, it will be more environmentally appealing, and that it will give off more heat than wood,” he said. “If we get a ringing endorsement, that will mean one thing, but if we get a lot of feedback on this or that, we may have to do more tests.” The fuel, which consisted of 2-inch-long briquettes, was made with special equipment designed by company chair Konrad Ruckstuhl. SPM used two pounds of newsprint for each nugget, which could burn from 30 minutes to eight hours, depending on the type of stove and the amount of air used in the fire.