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GeneralInformationonpaper

Whatdefinespaper?Isitthecolor?Orisittherectangularshape?Paper is roughly defined as plant fibers (typically cellulose) or

otherfibers,woventogetherthroughseveralprocesses,tocreatea

thin sheet. Therefore, many historians argue that papyrus

parchmentsmadeand usedbyEgyptiansweretheearliestpaper.However, generally, it isaccepted thatCai Lun,a secondcentury

official,wasthefatherofthisinvention,ofwhichhemadefromtree

pulp from bark, and old fishing nets. The Chinese knew the

importanceofthisinventionandtriedtokeepitasecret,butitwas

eventually leakedto theMuslimworld in 8th century,andfinally

thewesternworldinthe11thcentury.4

Traditionally, coniferous trees were the paper making trees, astheyhavelongercellulosefibersthatallowthepapertheymaketo

be better and stronger.18 However, due to the improvement in

papermaking technology, literally all trees can make relatively

good quality paper. Common trees used for papermaking are

birches(betula),maples(acer),pines(pinus),aspen(populus),firs

(abies),andmanygeneraoftrees.16

Interestingnumbersandfactsaboutouruseofpaper

•  Humans per year consume about 300 million metric tons of

paper.3•  42%of thewoodharvested forindustrialuses (not including

fuelmaking)isusedtomakepaper.7

•  The paper industry is the largest consumer of water in

industrial activities in all Organization for Economic Co‐

operationandDevelopment(OECD)Countries.7

•  Thepaperindustryisoneofthelargestemittersingreenhouse

gases, the others being the metal, chemical, coal and other

industries.14ItisrankedthethirdlargestemitteringreenhousegasesoutofalltheOECDcountries.7

•  1/3ofthepulptomakepapercomedirectlyfromloggedtrees,

1/3comingfromscrapwood,chipsfromotherindustriessuch

asthefurnitureindustry,and1/3comesfromrecycledpaper.12

Howispapermade?

1.  Material (most often wood), to make thepaper. This often includes

woodchips,offcutsandtrimmingfromfurnitureandtimberindustry.Ifatreeiscutespeciallyforpapermaking,thelogistumbledindrums

toremovethebark,beforeputtingitinagrindertocreatewoodchips

orevensmallerpiecesofwood.

2.  ThematerialisboiledathighpressurecommonlywithsulfateorKraft

(amixofsodiumhydroxideandsodiumsulfide)16,

toremovetheligninthat make thecellulosefibers stick together. Some factoriesalso use

sulfite,but it is less popular.An alternativeto chemical treatment is

theChemi‐Thermo‐MechanicalPulper,whichalsoproducespulp.163.  Addwatertomakeslurryfromthepulp.

4.  Pourmixtureinbeater,whichbeatsthemixturetoreleasethenatural

adhesive from the fibers. This will allow the pulp to dry and stick

togethertobecomepaperinthelattersteps.9

5.  Additives are added into the mixture. This includes chalks, clays,

chemicals (e.g. titaniumoxide),for finishingand sizing.9 Sizing isan

importantparttomakingpaper,asthecellulosefibersitselfwillcreate

atooabsorbentpaper,andtheinkwillsmudge.Sizingallowsforthepapertobeusedindifferentways,someforwriting,someforpainting,

andothersforotheruses.

6.  Squeezepulpthroughrollersontothinmeshwiretocreateathinlayer

ofpulp,andremoveexcesswater.

7.  Movelayerofpulpontoawoodenfeltbelttoagainremoveanyother

water.

8.  Allow the thin layer of pulp through hot air dryer and rollers, to

furtherremovewaterandcreatepaper,whicharethenrolledup anddistributedtoothercompanies.

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Introduction

Eventhoughtheuseofothermaterialsismoreandmoreseeninourlives,

the human race’s dependency on trees is nonetheless evident. Fromfurniture to firewood, from products made from tree resins such as

turpentine(foroilpainting)totimber,thelistislong,includingevenfood

productssuch asfruits.20 However, more undeniably isourdependencyonpaper.Lookingaroundanormalroom,apersonwillundoubtedlyfind

manyessential products made from paper, whether books, paper bags,

tissuepaper,andotherproducts.Ithasbecomeapartthatweoftentake

forgrantedthatweforgetabout,whetherhowit’smade,thedifficultiesof

theprocess,andotherdifferentaspectsofthisessentialproduct.

TreesandPapermaking

Abouttrees

Tobeginourunderstandingofpaper,itisvitalthatweunderstandtrees.

Treesareperennial

15

woodyplantswithanapicaldominance

5

,andhavealong life cycle relative to other plants, with trees living up to nine

thousandyearsold.17Therefore,itisimportantforhumanstoconsiderthe

environmentalimpactofforesting,whetherforpaperor otherproducts,

especially when trees have such a big impact on the environment and

ecosystems,evenonourdailylives.Withouttrees,thereessentiallywillbelittlebiodiversityandlife,asatree’sbeneficialaffectsonitsenvironment

areunmistakable,affectingsoilquality,airquality,thenaturalecosystem

and natural habitats. To maintain soil quality, a tree’s roots not onlypreventsandminimizestheriskoferosion,italsolessenstheriskofsoil

salination.2 Furthermore, it lowers water tables, and increases soil

fertility,forexamplebyallowingsoilaggregation,thusimprovingstoringair, water, microbes, nutrients and more.13 Trees also make a big

differenceto airquality,intheremovalofharmfulairpollutantssuchasvolatile organic compounds, and reducinghightemperatures.8 Through

photosynthesis,thetreealsorecyclescarbonandcreatesoxygen1,helping

againstmajorenvironmentalissuessuchasclimatechange.Treesarealsothehabitatofmanyanimalssuchas animalsoftheclassAves,Mammilla

and more, and even microorganisms such as bacteria, and have many

positivemicroclimaticeffects.

EnvironmentalIssuesRelatingtoPaperandPapermaking

Trees are the main material for papermaking and especially with our

enormous use of paper, the papermaking industry has a substantialimpactontheenvironment,usingalotof chemicals,energyandwater.11

However, surprisingly, it has some beneficial effects too. A lot of time,

humans gain knowledge and understanding of important information

throughbooks.Therefore, paperallowsenvironmentalistsand scientists

to raise consciousness about theenvironment, on major issues such assavingelectricityorwater,throughmagazines,booksandmore.However,

as mentioned before, the paper industry is extremely negative for the

environment. Noted previously on p2 of the brochure, it is the thirdlargestproducer ofgreenhousegasesin OECDcountries andthe largest

consumerofwater.Alongwithcuttingdownasmuchas4billiontreesper

year6,theaffectontheenvironmentisdevastating.Bycuttingdownthat

manytrees,thebeneficialaffectsoftreeswillnotbestopped(refertop1).

Furthermore,alotofenergyandespeciallyelectricityistakentotransport

materialsandproducts,torunfactoriestomakepaperandmore.Asmuch

as85%ofourelectricitycomesfromfossilfuels19,sotheindustryactually

releasesmorecarbonintotheatmosphere.Eventhoughtherearecertainbeneficial effects, the negative effects outweigh the benefits, and the

industryhasasignificantnegativeimpactontheenvironment.

Socialaffectsofthepapermakingindustryandpaper

Being such an integral part of our lives, it has many beneficial affects

towardsour livesandoursociety. Notonlydo humansuse itfor books,

magazines,letters,whicharevitalincommunicatingandlearning,wealso

use it for packaging, money, entertainment (cards, board games…),

domesticproducts(napkins,paperplates…)andotheruses,whichallarefundamental to our modern life.10 Though more and more, people are

insteadusing electronic,digitalversions, it isstill important, something

wecannotlive without.Evenwith its’immensebenefits, itactually still

hassome negative aspects.One,relatingto its’environmentalaffects,is

thepollutionthatcomesfromtheindustry,causinghealthproblemssuch

asasthmaor bronchitis.Furthermore, thewastefromthepaperfillsup

muchofthelandfills,whichtakeupspaceandaffectthecommunityclosetothelandfillwithodorsandpollution.Evenso,itisanimportantpartof

ourmodernsocietyandhardtolivewithout.