IMPAS_ITSB IMPAS_ITSB IMPAS_ITSB

IMPAS_ITSB IMPAS_ITSB IMPAS_ITSB

IMPAS_ITSB Answer to Question
IMPAS_ITSB IMPAS_ITSB
IMPAS_ITSB About Paper IMPAS_ITSB
IMPAS_ITSB
IMPAS_ITSB IMPAS_ITSB IMPAS_ITSB
IMPAS_ITSB IMPAS_ITSB IMPAS_ITSB
IMPAS_ITSB IMPAS_ITSB IMPAS_ITSB
IMPAS_ITSB IMPAS_ITSB IMPAS_ITSB
IMPAS_ITSB IMPAS_ITSB IMPAS_ITSB
IMPAS_ITSB IMPAS_ITSB IMPAS_ITSB
IMPAS_ITSB IMPAS_ITSB IMPAS_ITSB
IMPAS_ITSB IMPAS_ITSB IMPAS_ITSB
IMPAS_ITSB IMPAS_ITSB IMPAS_ITSB
IMPAS_ITSB IMPAS_ITSB
Ikatan Mahasiswa IMPAS_ITSB
Pulp dan Kertas
IMPAS_ITSB IMPAS_ITSB
Institut Teknologi dan SainsIMPAS_ITSB
Bandung
IMPAS_ITSB (IMPAS-ITSB)
IMPAS_ITSB IMPAS_ITSB
IMPAS_ITSB IMPAS_ITSB IMPAS_ITSB
IMPAS_ITSB IMPAS_ITSB IMPAS_ITSB
IMPAS_ITSB IMPAS_ITSB IMPAS_ITSB
No. Question Answer
1. What is Paper? In simplest term paper is a homogeneous sheet formed
by irregularly intervening cellulose fibers.
2. What is Cellulose Fiber? An elongated, tapering, thick walled cellular unit, which
is the main structural component of woody plants.
Fibers in the plants are cemented together by lignin. In
British English Fiber is spelled as Fibre.
3. What makes Paper different The answer is the Chemical and Physical nature of
from similar materials? paper's ingradients, plus the hydrogen bonds that hold
the cellulose fibers together. Paper consists essentially
of:

 Cellulose fibers, which are the main component of

the raw material. The individual fibers are present in
a network, as can be seen by looking at the torn edge
of a piece of paper. These fibers occur in nature, and
also contain hemicellulose, which is similar to
cellulose.

 The adhesive power of hemicellulose and cellulose is

achieved by hydrogen bonding. Each cellulose fiber
is bonded to its adjacent fibers by thousands of
hydrogen bonds. They are chemical bonds that are
weaker than the chemical ionic and covalent bonds
that hold most materials in the world together.
Mechanical entanglement of the fibers makes only a
minor contribution to holding fibers together.

 Lignin, which accompanies the cellulose fibers,

contributes towards yield from the fibrous raw
material (usually wood). It also improves general
strength properties (eg: unbleached softwood kraft
pulp) including stiffness (eg: corrugating medium),
although by acting as a polymer rather than by inter-
fiber bonding. On the negative side, it turns brown
during chemical digestion and is also unstable to
light. Lignin is therefore removed or bleached, but
only to the extent that it cannot be tolerated in a
specific grade of paper, because these steps make the
paper more expensive.

 Paper additives (ie: chemicals) are added to most

paper grades to improve specific paper properties.

Paper thus differs from 2 familiar and similar materials:

 Textiles, where the fibers are held together mainly

by mechanical entanglement. Eg: weaving.
 Nonwovens, where the fibers are bonded together
either by strong chemical bonding agents, or by
melting adjacent fibers, or by mechanical
entanglement.
 The fibrous raw materials, used for both these 2
materials, are mainly synthetic polymers - with their
associated different properties. Even when cellulose
fiber is used (eg: cotton, linen or wood pulp), little or no
lignin is present.
4. What is pulp? Pulp is suspension of cellulose fiber in water
5. What is pulping? Pulping is the process by which plant material (wood,
grass, straw etc.) is reduced to a fibrous mass.
6. Is paper recycling good for Recycling of most grades of paper is good for
environment? environment. E.g. recycling of untreated corrugated
boxboards, newsprint, office waste, lightly printed paper
is very good from environmental point of view as most
of the fibers are recovered by spending very small
amount of chemical and energy.

On the other hand recycling of highly coated, printed,

colored, oiled, soiled and or chemically treated paper
may not be so good for environment as chemical and
energy used and waste generated overshadow the fiber
recovered.
7. What are main ingredients of Main ingredient of all paper is plant material. Loading
paper? or filling material such as clay, CaCO3, Talc, TiO2 etc.
are used for higher brightness and better printability.
Rosin, alum or combination of other chemicals is used
to make paper water resistant.

Some special purpose paper such as coffee filter paper

contain wet strength polymer so to withstand hot water
soaking.

Colored paper may contain dye or pigment.

8. What is the chemical  A typical corrugated box paper contains Cellulose,
composition of paper? Hemi-cellulose and Lignin.
 A typical copying paper contains Cellulose, Hemi-
cellulose and China Clay and/or Calcium Carbonate.
 A typical newsprint contains Cellulose, Hemi-
cellulose and modified Lignin.
9. What is the chemical formula of Paper is a heterogeneous mixture of plant material such
paper? as cellulose, hemi-cellulose, lignin etc. and filling
material such as china clay, calcium carbonate etc.,
chemical additives such as rosin, alum, starch etc.
depending on the grade of the paper. Some paper such
as currency paper is almost 100% cellulose. On the
other hand a copy paper made from deinked pulp may
contain more than 10 organic and inorganic compounds.
10. How much paper can be made It will depend how big is the tree and which type of
from one Tree? paper is being made.
11. Can paper be made from any Yes.
tree?
Main constituent of any plant (trees, annuals, grass,
shrubs etc) is cellulose fiber, which is main ingredient of
every paper.
12. Can paper be made from grass? Yes.

Bamboo is a part of grass family and used for making

paper in most of east and south east Asia. In fact it is
main raw material for making paper in India. Other
grass used for making paper are esparto, elephant grass
etc.
13. Can paper be made from tree Technically Yes.
leaves?
But tree leaves have very little fiber value and hence it
is not economical to use leaves for making paper.
14. How much water is used to There are paper plants which has Zero Effluent
make one ton of paper? Discharge. That means these plants reuse and re-
circulate all their water.

If no water is reused and/or re-circulated, plant may use

as much as 300 - 400 ton or cubic meter of water to
make one ton of paper.

Most of water efficient plant in North America and

Europe uses 10 to 25 ton or m3 of water per ton of
paper. In English unit one ton (2000 lbs) paper will need
2500 to 6000 gallon.
15. What is the difference between These all are type of paper differentiated based on
Tissue, Paper, Paperboard and weight per unit area. The most common weight per unit
Board? area is grams per meter square (g/m2), also known as
GSM.

 Tissue: <40 g/m2

 Paper: 40 - 120 g/m2
 Paperboard: 120-200 g/m2
 Board: >200 g/m2
16. How is watermark created in Watermark is created by impressing the sheet with
paper? raised pattern on Dandy Roll, so that localized displaced
fiber produce more transparent area in the final dried
sheet.
17. What is the uses/advantages of Watermark is used for
watermarking?  Brand identification
 Manufacturer's Identification
 Security purposes
18. Why cigarette wrapping paper One of the objective of cigarette paper is to match its
does not burn as fast as normal burning rate with that of tobacco. CaCO3 (Calcium
paper? Carbonate), a filler used in cigarette tissue retard
burning rate of paper. Other reason of adding Calcium
Carbonate to paper is that, on burning, CaCO3 produces
Carbon dioxide (CO2) and CaO. CO2 is harmless when
inhale.

To match burning rate more preciously, other chemicals

are added in the paper.
19. Why does paper burn? Paper burns for the same reason anything made from
plant materials such as wood, furniture, timer etc. burns.
 Burning is nothing but rapid oxidation of organic
material at high temperature accompanied by heat and
light.
20. What happens to the toilet tissue The tissue mixed with water, disintegrate in to
flushed in toilet? individual fiber or small bundle of fiber and becomes a
part of sewage. Most of these fibers will become part of
sludge generated at sewage treatment plant.
21. How is paper made translucent Cellulose fiber in pure form is translucent. The air
(grease proof, tracing paper)? entrapped between fibers make paper opaque. If the
fibers are enough refined/beaten that all air is taken out,
the resulting sheet will be translucent. Translucent
papers are dense and contain up to 10% moisture at 50%
humidity.
22. What percentage of dry paper is Believe it or not, all paper even in dry form contain 2 to
water? 10% water depending on type of paper, temperature and
relative humidity. Typical copying paper at ambient
temperature of 25 0C and relative humidity of 50%
(normal air conditioned ), contain 6% water by weight.
23. Which is the strongest and most Currency note paper is strongest and most durable grade
durable paper? of paper. For just an comparison, currency paper has
folding endurance of more than 10,000 while for a
typical paper it is about 10.
24. Why rag paper is considered Rag paper contain cotton fiber from one or more of
long lasting? following sources;
 Cotton linter
 rag/old cloth
 cloth cutting
 textile mill waste etc.

Cotton is the purest form of cellulose available naturally

and cotton fiber if not longest, is one of the longest
fiber( 20 - 35 mm compared to soft wood fiber length of
4 mm) . These two properties i.e. purity of cellulose
fiber and long length, make paper long lasting and
strong.
25. How is paper colored? Unbleached fibers are brown in color. If paper is to be
colored dark, unbleached paper can be directly colored,
otherwise fibers are bleached before coloring. Paper can
be colored by any of the following methods;
a. Adding dye/pigment in pulp before sheet is formed.
This is most common way to color paper. It is most
economical if frequent color changes are not made.
Major disadvantage of this method of coloring is that
paper machine effluent is also get colored.
b. Adding color at sizing press while paper is still wet.
c. Spraying color in post dryer section or at calender.
d. Coating paper with colored pigment.
26. What are the technical and Let us take an example of cigarette packing paperboard.
economical benefits of multi-ply Only one side of the paperboard is visible to the user so,
paperboard? only one side need to be made of bleached fiber. The
other side is not visible so need not to be made from
good bleached fiber. In a single ply paperboard, the
 fiber, filler and chemical mix will be same through out
the thickness of the board, but in a multiply paperboard,
only top layer is made from good bleached fiber, next
layer to top and other layers can be made from recycled
fibers or other short or inferior fibers. The overall cost
of fiber is much lower in multiply board compared to
single ply.

The fiber mix used for good printing may not be best
suited for providing other desirable properties. In
multiply board fiber mix in different layers can be
adjusted to provide different desired characteristics.
27. What makes corrugated board Corrugated is an extremely durable, versatile, innovative
material of choice for and lightweight material used for custom-manufactured
packaging? shipping containers, packaging and point-of-purchase
displays.

Corrugated is a complete, high-performance material

design, manufacturing and delivery system. Corrugated
is the preferred packaging material because it is:
 Durable
 Versatile
 Lightweight
 Environmentally Friendly
 High-Tech
 Customizable
 Protective
 Graphically Appealing
 Cost-Effective
28. Are unbleached papers more Yes.
environment friendly than
bleached papers? Bleaching of fiber is the biggest contributor of pulp mill
effluent.
29. What is the life of paper? Paper can last from 10 years to thousands of years
depending on the material used to make paper and the
condition of storage. Paper made from cotton fiber can
last as long as cotton last. Treated or untreated cotton
has lasted more than 5000 years (Cotton used to wrap
mummies in ancient Egypt is still intact). Cellulose fiber
last longer than lignin, so bleached paper will last
longer. alkaline or neutral sized paper last longer than
Acid sized paper.

Fine art papers that have no Optical Brightening Agents,

that are acid-free, lignin-free, 100% cotton, and that are
buffered (usually with a calcium carbonate reserve of
about 1.5% - 2.0%) have an estimated life expectancy of
500 years or more (based on the American National
Standards Institute and the American Society for
Testing Materials).
30. What is the density of paper? Density of paper varies from 0.25 (soft tissue) to 1.5
(super calendered glassine) gm/cm3. Just for comparison
 density of water is 1.0 gm/cm3.

In English unit, density of paper varies from 15.5 (soft

tissue) to 93 (super calendered glassine) lbs/ft3. Just for
comparison density of water is 62.4 lbs/ft3.
31. Which plant produces longest Manila is considered the longest natural fiber followed
fiber? by Sisal, Hemp and cotton.

Manila is a strong fiber that comes from the leaf stems

of the stalk of the abaca plant, which belongs to the
banana family. The fibers vary in length from 4 to 12
feet (1200 to 3600mm) in the natural state.

Sisal fibers are usually 26 to 40 inches (650 mm to 1000

mm) long.

Hemp is about 20 to 50 mm long and cotton is 25 -

35mm long.
32. How is paper made waterproof? Paper can be made waterproof or water resistant by one
of the following methods, depending on the end use.
a. By heavily beating the pulp and forming a compact
and dense sheet which will resist water or other fluid
penetration. e.g. Greaseproof paper
b. By coating with a waterproof material layer. e.g.
wax paper
c. By lamination with a waterproof material film such
as plastic or aluminum. e.g. Aluminum Foil Paper
d. By soaking paper in chemical such as mineral oil.
33. Is paperless office a reality in The way things are moving, leave alone paperless
near future? office, a office-less work is a reality. Paperless office is
reality in near future but a paperless society is not.
34. Are egg trays made of recycled Yes.
fiber?
Egg trays are made from post consumer newsprint
and/or mixed office waste.
35. What makes cellulose fiber The following techno-economical reason make cellulose
suitable for papermaking? fiber suitable for paper making.
 Economical
a. Cellulose fiber is main constituent of all plant
material. Plants are renewable source and
available abundantly in nature.
b. Papermaker don't need prime parts of tree/plant
to make paper. Wood scrap, saw mill waste,
agricultural residue, straw, grasses and/or rag are
acceptable source of virgin fiber.
c. Cellulose fiber is reusable/ recyclable to any
extent.
d. Cellulose fiber is bio-degradable.

 Technical
a. Lignin, which cement/ glue individual fibers in
plant is physically and chemically weaker than
 cellulose fiber, making separation of fiber
possible by mechanical and or chemical means.
b. Cellulose fiber is made of multilayer of very
small thread like structure called fibrils. These
fibrils can be exposed by beating/ refining of
fibers and provide very large area for bonding.
c. The most important characteristic of fiber which
make it suitable for papermaking is that cellulose
fiber develop physical and chemical bonding
with other fibers when it change from wet to dry
condition.
d. High tensile strength
e. Suppleness (Flexibility, conformability)
f. Water insoluble
g. Hydrophilic
h. Chemically stable
i. Relatively colorless (White)
36. Is Papyrus a paper? The word paper is driven from Papyrus but Papyrus is
not truly a paper.
37. What is Papyrus? The Egyptians used this aquatic plant to create a writing
sheet by peeling apart the plant's tissue-thin layers and
stacking them in overlapping, crosshatched pieces to
form a sheet. Despite giving us the word "paper,"
papyrus is not a true paper.
38. How is Papyrus Paper made? a. The stalks of the papyrus plant are harvested.
b. Next the green skin of the stalk is removed and the
inner pith is taken out and cut into long strips. The
strips are then pounded and soaked in water for 3
days until pliable.
c. The strips are then cut to the length desired and laid
horizontally on a cotton sheet overlapping about 1
millimetre. Other strips are laid vertically over the
horizontal strips resulting in the criss-cross pattern in
papyrus paper. Another cotton sheet is placed on top.
d. The sheet is put in a press and squeezed together,
with the cotton sheets being replaced until all the
moisture is removed.
e. Finally, all the strips are pressed together forming a
single sheet of papyrus paper.
39. Why not coffee filter paper or Coffee filter paper, tea bag paper and several other
tea bag paper disintegrate like papers are called wet strength paper. These are the paper
other paper when in contact with which retain part or most of their strength even when
water for extended period of saturated with water. Typically paper will disintegrate
time? when wet, but a class of polymers known as wet
strength additives, is added to paper to impart wet
strength. This polymer create a protective layer around
fibers.

These polymer comes in direct contact with hot

beverages, so these are food grade polymers.
40. What is paper cut and why it is The excruciating, often unforeseeable, and usually
so painful? invisible to the naked eye cut received when skin slides
 along the edge of a piece of paper at just the wrong
angle.
41. Why it is easier to erase a pencil Graphite in the pencil create mark on paper. The
mark than a pen (ink) mark on graphite attachment/bonding to the paper is only
paper? physical. The affinity of graphite is more to eraser than
paper, making it easier to remove a pencil mark from
paper.

On the other hand, pen ink is liquid and penetrate in to

paper body. The ink attach to paper by physical as well
as chemical bonding, making it very difficult to erase.
42. Can human body digest paper? NO.

Human body is incapable of digesting cellulose.

43. What portion of tree harvested About 17% or 1/6th portion of total wood harvested
are used for making paper? over the globe is used for paper making. About 50% is
used for fuel and heating. But this % is not uniform over
the globe. While in most of the developed country wood
is used either as lumber for building or for papermaking
and almost none for fuel, in developing and
underdeveloped countries most of the wood (up to 80%)
is used for fuel.

As per Ecology.com Nearly 4 billion trees worldwide

are cut each year for paper representing about 35% of all
trees harvested.
44. Why do newspaper turns yellow Newsprint is generally made from wood. Wood is
when exposed to sunlight? mainly consist of cellulose fiber, which is white in color
and lignin, which is brown in color. For finer grades of
paper lignin is removed during pulping and or
bleaching, but to make newsprint as economical as
practical, lignin is retained during pulping and only
modified (not removed) during bleaching.

It is this lignin, which eventually turns paper yellow due

to oxidation. The lignin molecules, when exposed to
oxygen in the air, begin to change and become less
stable. The lignin will absorb more light, giving off a
darker color. If newspaper is kept completely out of
sunlight and air, it would remain white. After only a few
hours of sunlight and oxygen, however, it will start to
change color.
45. How does blotting paper absorb Blotting papers are made of bleached rag/wood fibers.
ink/water? Wood/rag fibers are hydrophilic (water loving or water
absorbing) in nature, Paper made from fibers are sized
to resist water penetration. All unsized paper will absorb
water. Blotting paper is not sized and made bulkier to
provide capillary action for faster absorption of liquid.
Good blotting paper have rag content to retain some
strength after absorbing liquid.
46. How does paper air filter works? Because paper is composed of a randomly felted layer
of fibers, the structure has a varying degree of porosity.
 Paper is a highly porous material and contains as much
as 70% air. Paper for air filtering is used in numerous
applications such as car air filter, vacuum cleaner air
bag, home heating furnace filter etc. Most of the papers
are porous and will allow air to flow, but opening are
small enough to retain dust/dirt particles. Paper used for
air filtering are made porous and as per the application
porosity is controlled. Three important characteristics of
filter paper are:
a. What maximum size particle it will allow to pass?
(Determines filtering efficiency or capability)
b. How fast it will let the air pass? (Determines air flow
rate through filter)
c. How much resistance it will offer to air to pass? (Air
pressure/vacuum required to force or suck the air)

Two most important factors to control paper porosity are

fiber length and amount of refining/beating. Longer the
fiber and/or lesser the refining/beating, more porous will
be the paper. Good quality air filter papers have rag
content. Rag fibers are long and provides high porosity
and good strength.
47. Why do colored paper fad in When light falls upon paper, a part of it is transmitted, a
Sunlight? part is scattered, a part is absorbed, and a part is
reflected. The degree of transparency and/or opaqueness
of a medium will depends on the ratio of light
transmitted versus light reflected or scattered. Higher
the light transmitted and lesser is reflected or scattered,
higher will be the transparency.

The amount of scattering depends on many things, such

as the size of the fibers/ filler, and the difference in the
index of refraction between the particles and the
surrounding medium. Normally when we look at paper
the surrounding medium is air, with an index of
refraction only slightly greater than 1.0. The paper fibers
have a much higher index of refraction -- probably
much greater than 1.5.

The fat also has a high index of refraction so that it

nearly matches the index of refraction of the paper
fibers and it reduces the scattering significantly. The fat
adhering to the cellulose fibers lowers the index of
refraction of the cellulose and also fills in air voids, so
that visible light passes through the bag with
significantly less scattering. Now we only see the light
that is reflected from the paper and much of the light
that was formerly scattered back to our eyes is now
transmitted through the paper.

The fat connects the fibers in the paper with a liquid

which can transmit by refraction (rather than scatter)
 light that falls upon it. As a result, the paper (if thin
enough) seems almost transparent.
48. When paper soaked in oil/fat, When light falls upon paper, a part of it is transmitted, a
why does it become translucent? part is scattered, a part is absorbed, and a part is
reflected. The degree of transparency and/or opaqueness
of a medium will depends on the ratio of light
transmitted versus light reflected or scattered. Higher
the light transmitted and lesser is reflected or scattered,
more will be the transparency.

The amount of scattering depends on many things, such

as the size of the fibers/ filler, and the difference in the
index of refraction between the particles and the
surrounding medium. Normally when we look at paper
the surrounding medium is air, with an index of
refraction only slightly greater than 1.0. The paper fibers
have a much higher index of refraction -- probably
much greater than 1.5.

The fat also has a high index of refraction so that it

nearly matches the index of refraction of the paper
fibers and it reduces the scattering significantly. The fat
adhering to the cellulose fibers lowers the index of
refraction of the cellulose and also fills in air voids, so
that visible light passes through the bag with
significantly less scattering. Now we only see the light
that is reflected from the paper and much of the light
that was formerly scattered back to our eyes is now
transmitted through the paper.

The fat connects the fibers in the paper with a liquid

which can transmit by refraction (rather than scatter)
light that falls upon it. As a result, the paper (if thin
enough) seems almost transparent.
49. Is paper biodegradable? The organic part (cellulose, hemi-cellulose and lignin -
all plant material) are biodegradable. Inorganic filler and
or loading material such as china clay, calcium
carbonate etc. are not biodegradable. Please note that in
typical writing and printing paper inorganic material
may be 20 to 30% or even higher.
50. What makes paper The main components of paper are plant material and
biodegradable? most of the plant materials are biodegradable.
51. How long it takes to paper to It depends on the surrounding conditions. Newspaper
degrade biologically? dumped at New York landfill were found almost intact
even after 50 years.
52. Can we make paper from Theoretically YES. Practically NO.
manure (animal waste)?
Animal eats plant consisting of cellulose. Animal
digestion system can digest cellulose. (Human digestion
system can't digest cellulose). So if the animal is healthy
and its digestion system is good, its manure will not
contain any cellulose fiber and it is the cellulose fiber
 which makes paper.

Manure of some unhealthy animal may contains some

fibers and we may make some paper but it is not
economically worth.

A wildlife park in Thailand is hoping to capitalize on by

selling a line of paper products made out of panda poop.

Panda-poop paper production involves a daylong

process of cleaning the feces, boiling it in a soda
solution, bleaching it with chlorine and drying it under
the sun. Experimentation continues on how to reduce
the chemicals now used.
53. Can we make paper from algae NO.
or seaweeds?
Although they have many plant-like features seaweeds
are not true vascular plants; they are algae. Algae are
part of the Kingdom Protista, which means that they are
neither plants nor animals. Seaweed are not made of
cellulose fibers, hence not suitable to make paper.
54. What is the role of Forest in The subject of global warming elicits vivid
Carbon Cycle? conversations from scientists, politicians, students, and
private citizens alike. Reports of mountain glaciers
disappearing, rising ocean water levels, forests and
farmlands being lost, and ozone holes have provoked
concern among many people about the state of the
global environment.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most abundant human-

influenced greenhouse gas. A greenhouse gas is found
naturally in the atmosphere in the upper atmosphere it
captures sunlight energy and reflects it back to earth, in
turn creating heat. This "blanket" of gas moderates the
earth's temperature. With increasing levels of carbon
dioxide, however, research suggests that a thicker
blanket will produce global warming.

Carbon dioxide is an important molecule for life. All

plants that photosynthesize absorb CO2 from the air,
combine it with water, nutrients, and the energy from
the sun to produce food and oxygen. The carbon in CO2
is the building block of plant life— in a pound of wood,
for example, there is approximately 1/2-pound of
carbon! The oxygen in CO2 is necessary for all animals.
Animals breath it, in turn converting it back to carbon
dioxide. This carbon cycle (see the image below) is an
essential link among all life as we know it.

Aside from over 6 billion human beings breathing out

CO2 every day, certain human activities produce large
quantities of it. CO2 is released during energy
 production and automobile use; carbon dioxide is
released into the atmosphere during the combustion of
carbon-containing fossil fuels such as coal, oil,
petroleum, and natural gas.

When the carbon cycle is in equilibrium, the amount of

carbon released from storage (e.g. from the burning of
fossil fuels or the decay of plant matter, for example) is
being stored (e.g. in tree wood). The idea is that we are
now producing more carbon dioxide than our current
plant landscape can capture. So, with all this "extra"
CO2, is there anything we can do to help slow global
warming?

One idea for capturing additional carbon is to take

advantage of forested areas as carbon sinks. All the
plants in a forest absorb CO2, but trees are especially
good at long-term storage. In trees, CO2 is converted to
carbon stored in wood. Wood holds carbon as long as
there is no rotting, and even when wood rots, it releases
carbon very slowly. If the wood from a tree is turned
into a forest product, then the carbon becomes stored in
that product! A chair, a 2-by-4, and a wooden salad
bowl all hold carbon until they rot.

The more forests we have, then, the more carbon we can

capture. The more carbon we capture, the fewer
greenhouse gases we contribute to the atmosphere.
While planting trees cannot offset all the greenhouse gas
production related to human activities, it certainly does
help! Along with every human being producing less
CO2 (using less gas and coal, for example), forests
really might make a difference.
55. What is carbon sequestration? Carbon sequestration is absorption and capture of
carbon from the atmosphere. Trees capture carbon out
of the atmosphere as long as they are growing, and they
store the carbon throughout their life, even after harvest.
Burning wood products as fuel releases the same carbon
back into the atmosphere that was once captured by the
trees, resulting in a net zero carbon impact. Recycling
results in no CO2 releases, since the fiber continues to
be used. Composting results in net zero emissions, since
CO2 emitted by aerobic decomposition was originally
sequestered. Landfills, on the other hand, result in
anaerobic decomposition, which produces methane and
carbon monoxide in addition to CO2, and can multiply
that carbon impact by as much as 20 times.
56. What is sustainable Forestry? Providing the best mix of social, economic, and
environmental values out of forest for current and
future generations.

An international standard for sustainable forestry was

 developed at the International Conference on
Environment and Development (also known as the
"Earth Summit"), in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992. It
lays down 27 principles.
57. Are the chemicals used in the The chemical used in the manufacture of recycled
production of recycled paper papers have a lower or at worst similar environmental
environmentally better or worse impact to those used in the manufacture of virgin
than those used in virgin pulp papers.
production?
58. What is the chemical The chemical composition of paper will depends on the
composition of Paper? type or grade of paper. Typically most grades of paper
consist of organic and inorganic material. Organic
portion consisting of cellulose, hemi-cellulose, lignin
and or various compound of lignin (Na-lignate etc.) may
be 70 to 100%. Inorganic portion consisting of mainly
filling and loading material such as calcium carbonate,
clay, titanium oxide etc may be 0 - 30% of paper.
59. How many times can paper be Unbleached (brown) paper such as corrugated boxboard
recycled? which does not require any de-inking can be recycled
10-20 times.

Bleached grade papers such as newspaper, office waste

etc. which will require de-inking can be recycled 5-10
times.
60. Can there be 100% recycling Some grades of paper such as cigarette tissue burn on
rate? use, bathroom tissue get flushed after use, many other
grades of paper soiled beyond recovery and many others
are chemically treated, coated and or printed so heavily
that their recycling is not techno-economically viable.

Collection and transportation of all even recyclable

paper is not economical

About 20-30% paper is not recoverable. Practical

recycling rate of all paper put together is 70-80%
61. Where and when use of paper The first paper banknotes appeared in China in 806 AD.
currency started? In all, China experienced over 500 years of early paper
money, spanning from the ninth through the fifteenth
century. Over this period, paper notes grew in
production to the point that their value rapidly
depreciated and inflation soared. Then beginning in
1455, the use of paper money in China disappeared for
several hundred years. This was still many years before
paper currency would reappear in Europe, and three
centuries before it was considered common.
62. Is Wood free Paper free of wood NO.
fiber? Wood free paper only means paper made without using
mechanical wood pulp.

Mechanical wood pulps are produced by mechanically

grinding logs against stone grinder or wood chips in
refiners.
63. Is brown (unbleached) paper less NO.
hygienic than white paper
(bleached)? Brown (unbleached) paper is as hygienic as white paper
(bleached). Whiteness gives better aesthetic but no
additional hygiene.
64. Can you make paper from NO.
human/animal hairs?
Hairs do not have the capability to bond themselves.
Hairs can be spin in to threads and/or can be formed in
to mat.
65. What makes toilet paper soft? During the paper drying process, the paper sheet is
adhered to a large highly polished steel cylinder known
as Yankee Cylinder or Mono Glazed (MG) Cylinder to
dry and is then scraped (or “creped” off) by a metal
blade. “Creping” imparts flexibility and stretch into the
sheet, while lowering the strength and density, resulting
in soft tissue products.
66. Is brown (unbleached) paper YES.
more environmentally friendly?
Bleaching is responsible for almost 80-90% of paper
mill effluent. Bleaching also cause loss of yield,
requiring more wood to produce same amount of white
paper compared to brown paper.
67. What are some of the chemical Most of the chemical reactions are complex. The
reactions taking place in the following reactions are presented in very simple form.
manufacturing of Paper? a. In Kraft Pulping process, which is most common
chemical pulping process, lignin reacts with caustic
soda or sodium hydroxide (NaOH). The Na ion
attach with lignin and make sodium lignate (Na-
lignin). Sodium lignate dissolve in water and fibers
are separated.
b. Na-lignate is burned in the furnace in presence of
sodium sulphate (Na2SO4 known as make up
chemical in paper industry). The carbon portion of
Na-lignate burns and provide heat energy and Na ion
oxidized to Sodium Carbonate (Na2CO3). Sodium
sulphate reduced to Sodium Sulfide (Na2S).
c. Sodium Carbonate (Na2CO3) is made to react with
lime or calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2. This reaction
gives NaOH and CaCO3 (lime stone). Calcium
carbonate is burned to give back calcium hydroxide
(Ca(OH)2 and CO2. So the only new chemical
getting in the system is Sodium Sulphate, which is
very inexpensive as it is a by-product.
d. During bleaching, residual lignin depending on the
bleaching chemical used reacts and either provide a
water soluble compound or a modified lignin which
is colorless. If chlorine based bleaching agents (Cl2,
ClO2, Na-hypochlorite etc.) are used, lignin-cl are
formed and dissolve in water and are removed. If
oxygen based bleaching agents (Ozone O3, Sodium
Peroxide Na2O2 etc.) are used, lignin is modified and
 don't dissolve in water and stay with the pulp.
e. In acidic sizing (sizing is the process of making
paper liquid resistant), Rosin (C19H29COOH), a
natural resin from pine trees reacts with alum
[Aluminum Sulfate {Al2(SO4)3}] to create
Aluminum- Rosinate, a liquid resistant layer around
fibers.
f. In basic or neutral sizing (pH range 7. - 9.5),
hydrolyzed Alkenyl Succinic Anhydride (ASA) or
Alkyl ketene dimer (AKD) form covalent bond with
the hydroxyl groups of cellulose and form an ester
bond (b-keto esters).

These are a few chemical reactions.

68. What percentage of pulping About 98-99% of pulping chemicals are recovered and
chemicals are recovered or recycled. The process is called Chemical Recovery. In
recycled? kraft pulping about 5 - 15 Kgs Sodium Sulfate (Na2SO4)
is used per metric ton of pulp produced.
69. What is difference between Cardboard is a stiff and thick single or multi-ply
cardboard and corrugated board? paperboards. Cardboards are typically made from
bleached pulp and use recycled fiber.

Corrugated board is a pasted single or double-faced

multilayered type of board in which the bottom or
middle layer is fluted. Flute is made from unbleached
pulp. Liners are also mostly made from unbleached
pulp. Various types of corrugated boards.
70. Why cotton is used in paper? Cotton is one of the strongest and most durable fibers
known to man. Papers manufactured from cotton fiber
will last longer and hold up better under repeated
handling and various environmental conditions than
paper made from wood pulp. Generally, given
reasonable care, you can expect one year of usable life
for every 1% of cotton contained in the sheet. Paper
made with 100% cotton content can be expected to live
at least 100 years.
71. What is Carbon Neutral Paper? A paper manufactured with net zero effect on Green
House Gas in atmosphere. Carbon-neutral means
carrying out an activity without increasing the
concentration of greenhouse gases primarily carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere. This can be done by
operating without releasing any greenhouse gases, or by
offsetting greenhouse gases released through equivalent
reductions elsewhere.

To be carbon neutral an entity must have its carbon

emissions

a. calculated
b. reduced where possible and
c. offset through the purchase of real, verified, and
additional carbon offset credits.
72. What is Carbon Offset? More accurately referred to as a greenhouse gas (GHG)
offset, a carbon offset is a tradable commodity
representing a unit of GHG emissions reduction or
avoidance. Typically, a carbon offset represents a
reduction or avoidance of one metric ton of carbon
dioxide equivalent (CO2e).

Carbon offsets are activities that neutralize all or some

of the greenhouse gases emitted by one party by
reducing the emissions or increasing the greenhouse
gases absorbed by another. Common offset projects
involve renewable energy (like wind power generation),
energy conservation or reforestation, which is currently
the only way to remove carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere.
73. What are Green House Gases? Many chemical compounds found in the Earth’s
atmosphere act as “greenhouse gases.” These gases
allow sunlight to enter the atmosphere freely. When
sunlight strikes the Earth’s surface, some of it is
reflected back towards space as infrared radiation (heat).
Greenhouse gases absorb this infrared radiation and trap
the heat in the atmosphere. Over time, the amount of
energy sent from the sun to the Earth’s surface should
be about the same as the amount of energy radiated back
into space, leaving the temperature of the Earth’s
surface roughly constant.

Many gases exhibit these “greenhouse” properties.

Some of them occur in nature (water vapor, carbon
dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide), while others are
exclusively human-made (like gases used for aerosols).

Carbon dioxide is the most prevalent greenhouse gas

attributed to human activities. The major source of CO2
emissions is fossil fuel combustion. CO2 emissions are
also a product of forest clearing, biomass burning, and
non–energy production processes such as lime
production from lime stone.
74. Is Paper bad for Environment? Paper is based on wood, a natural and renewable
material, and as young trees grow they absorb CO2 from
the atmosphere. Furthermore, as a wood product, paper
also continues to store carbon throughout its lifetime.

A well managed forest used and replanted absorb more

CO2 than a mature forest consisting of older trees.

The paper industry has a number of respected

certification schemes ensuring the paper you use has
come from a sustainable forest source. There are some
30 schemes in existence, but the two main auditable
certifications that have emerged are the Forest
Stewardship Council (FSC), and the Programme for the
 Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).

In the period 1990-2010, 870 million tonnes of CO2

have been removed by European forests; equivalent to
about 10% of the Greenhouse Gas emissions.

Sustainability Facts
 Paper production is not a major cause of
deforestation
 Responsible wood, pulp and paper production
ensures healthy, growing forests
 Paper is a fully renewable, sustainable resource
 European and North American forests are today 30%
larger than in 1950
 Forest certification promotes wood from managed
forests
 The annual increase of forest cover in Europe is
equivalent to more than 1.5 million football pitches
75. Is cutting new trees for making Recycled fiber degrade after a few cycles and new fiber
paper bad (compare to is needed to reinforcement. It's important to remember
recycling)? that virgin fibre is always required to make recycled
paper possible in the first place. 40% of new wood fibre
is always needed to keep the global fibre cycle going.

It is very difficult to directly compare the environmental

impact of recycled and virgin fibre paper. Both are
important and can have an equally strong environmental
argument. Forests are part of the cycle that helps remove
CO2 from the atmosphere. This extends from trees to
wood and paper products, which continue to store the
carbon through their lifetime and help to reduce climate
change.

The fact that paper products are recyclable and

renewable means that their lifecycle can be extended,
prolonging this benefit and reducing waste into the
bargain.
76. Is it wrong to use paper or other If done responsibly, no.
forest products?
When timber, paper, medicines, or other products are
harvested sustainably, using them does not destroy the
local forest or ecosystem and can provide a number of
environmental benefits. And because wood is a
renewable resource, it’s greener than many other
building materials. The key is reducing waste and
ensuring that timber is harvested in a sustainable way.
By making sure that the companies you buy from are
producing their products sustainably, you can encourage
other companies to use the same eco-friendly practices.
77. What does it mean to use forests Using forests sustainably means doing so in a way that
in a sustainable way? lets them continue to function as healthy forest
ecosystems. This can mean taking down only trees of a
 certain type or age, planting more trees than are used,
maintaining diversity of species and age instead of
monocultures, or other forest-friendly methods.
78.  How much CO2 is stored in 1 CO2 molecule is made of one carbon atom and 2
Kg. of wood? oxygen atoms. The atomic weight of carbon is 12 and
 How much CO2 is produced that of oxygen is 16. The molecular weight of CO2 will
by burning 1 Kg. of wood? be 44. This means 12 Kg of carbon on complete
 How much CO2 is stored in 1 combustion will produce 44 Kg. of CO2 or 1 Kg of
Kg of Paper? carbon on complete combustion will produce 3.67 Kg.
 How much CO2 is removed / of CO2.
absorbed by growing 1 Kg.
dry wood? Wood is heterogeneous and exact amount of carbon in 1
Kg of dry wood will vary depending on the species of
wood, age of wood etc. It is reported that 1 Kg of wood
contain about 450 to 500 gm of Carbon. This means 1
Kg of wood is holding about 1.65 to 1.80 Kg of CO2.
This is how wood or forest act as carbon sink.

Similarly burning of 1 kg of wood will generate 1.65 to

1.80 Kg of CO2.

Considering paper has same percentage of carbon as

wood, 1 Kg paper is storing 1.65 to 1.85 Kg of CO2.
79.  Can you recycle Egg Here we are only dealing with paperboard egg carton or
Cartons? coffee trays and NOT Styrofoam.
 Can you recycle Coffee
Trays? Technically there is no problem in recycling paperboard
based CLEAN (not contaminated by the broken egg or
spilled coffee) egg carton or coffee trays. Almost all egg
cartons or coffee trays are made from recycled waste
paper. The waste paper used is short fiber, made from
mechanical pulp and one of the lowest quality. Egg
carton or coffee trays can be at best recycled in same
type of products with reinforcement from some new
waste paper.

Economically it may make more sense to decompose

egg carton and coffee trays than to recycle in to another
egg carton or coffee trays as the transportation cost of
irregularly shaped trays may be very high compared to
telephone books or well stacked old newspapers.
80.  Is Rice Paper made from No, Rice paper is not made from rice. One can't make
rice? paper from rice.
 Can you make paper from
Rice? Rice paper is a common misnomer applied to
 What is Rice Paper? lightweight Oriental papers. Rice alone cannot produce
a sheet of paper. Rice or wheat straw is used
occasionally mixed with other fibers in paper making.
The name may be derived from the rice size (starch)
once used in Japanese papermaking. Paper made from
mulberry bast (inner layer of the bark) fiber is also mis-
name rice paper because it is from the east.
  What is Banana Paper? Handmade or machine made paper from banana plant
 Can you make paper from fibers.
Banana plant?
Yes paper can be made from banana plant fiber but the
amount of fibers in banana stem is very low, only
around 5% so it is not very economical to make machine
made paper from banana fibers. Banana paper is mostly
handmade.
81. What is Skin Packaging? Skin packaging is an alternative to blister packaging.
Skin packaging vacuum seals a film over product on a
master sheet, which is then cut to individual cards. Key
slots, round corners and internal die cuts may be added
during the cutting process. This type of packaging seals
around the product and multi-component products may
be segregated and contained.

Skin board packaging is great for:

 Small or large items
 Lightweight or heavy products
 Products without holes or voids
 Rigid products
 Various quantities of items
 Industrial and some retail products
 Higher profile items
82. What is Blister Packaging? Blister packing secure consumer products between a
paperboard card and a clear, thermoformed plastic
blister. Eye-catching graphics on the blister card grab
buyers' attention, and the transparent plastic makes it
easy to examine the product. A hole in the top of the
card allows the package to hang from a peg.
Blister packaging can be customized to allow for a
variety of special features. Try-me features allow the
consumer to interact with the product while it is secured
safely in the packaging. Custom printing options like
metallic inks or foil stamping catch the eye, helping
your product stand out in the crowd on store shelves.

Blister packaging is great for:

 Club stores and major retail chains
 Home improvement, hardware, tools
 Health and beauty, cosmetics
 Household goods
 Electronics
 Office and craft supplies
 Toys and games
 Sports and recreation
83. What are Non-woven and how The base stock for paper, textile and non-woven is
are they related to paper? typically cellulose fiber, the difference between 3 type
of products are how the fibers held together.
 Textiles, where the fibers are held together mainly
by mechanical entanglement e.g. woven.
 Paper, where the cellulose fibers are basically
 bonded together by weak chemical hydrogen bonds.
 Nonwovens, by contrast, are bonded together in one
or more of the following ways:
 Strong chemical bonding agents. Eg: synthetic
resins, latices or solvents.
 Melting adjacent fibers (thermal bonding).
 Fairly random mechanical intertwining of the
filaments. Eg: spun lace bonding (i.e. hydro-
entanglement), needle punching, or stitch
bonding.

Source: http://paperonweb.com/AskHarry.htm

Ikatan Mahasiswa Pulp dan Kertas ITSB