|
Paper is thin material mainly used for writing upon,printing upon or packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose
pulp derived from wood, grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets.
The purpose of a chemical pulping
process is to break down the chemical structure of lignin and render it soluble in the cooking liquor, so that it
may be washed from the cellulose fibers. Because
lignin holds the plant cells together, chemical pulping frees the fibers and
makes pulp.
There are two major mechanical pulps, thermomechanical
pulp (TMP) and pulp. In the TMP process, wood is
chipped and then fed into large steam-heated refiners where the chips are
squeezed and fibreized between two steel discs. Mechanical pulping does not
remove the lignin, so the yield is very high, greater than 95%.
Paper recycling
processes can use either chemical or mechanical pulp. By mixing with water and
applying mechanical action the hydrogen bonds in
the paper can be broken and fibers separated again.
Besides the fibers, pulps may contain fillers
such as chalk or china clay, which improve the characteristics of the paper for
printing or writing; Additives for sizing
purposes may be mixed into the pulp and applied to the paper web later in the
manufacturing process.
After the paper web is produced, the water must be removed from it by
pressing and drying. Pressing the sheet removes the water by force. Drying
involves using air and or heat to remove water from the paper sheet
The paper may then undergo sizing to alter its physical properties for use in various applications.
Paper at this point is uncoated. Coated paper has a thin layer of
material such as china clay applied to one or both sides in order to create a
surface more suitable for high-resolution screens. Coated or uncoated papers
may have their surfaces polished by calendering.
|