PALPABLE PAPER
Paper Day, August 01, 2019
Preface:
Paper is a lovely product. Paper is a good raw material also for several products. Paper is in use since long, and witnessed the growth of mankind, civilization and industrialization, during the past centuries. For the past few centuries, paper has been the most used information and data storage medium, has been one of most preferred packaging medium and found applications as an intermediate to many other products, like laminates.
During the journey, paper, as well as paper industry has itself witnessed many changes. The paper making process initiated as an art has transformed into a well developed technology, using full scale automation, using sophisticated controls and specially designed machines to achieve desired results. Still, in the fast changing world, when our information and knowledge keeps on expanding, many of us know just a little about this wonderful
product- paper.
This booklet is a small effort to enhance the knowledge of our students- the little geniuses, about paper.
_P_A_P_E_R_
What comes to your mind first when you hear or read the word-PAPER? Most of you must imagine notebooks, textbooks, newspaper- all that we use to read and write. Is that really all? Have a close look at your surroundings. Most of the items you use; come in corrugated boxes, which are made of paper. The
tissue you use in toilet is paper. The laminate (commonly known as mica) is also a paper based product. Your tea bag is made of paper. Paper is considered as the best material to wrap jewels and diamonds. So, it is paper-paper everywhere.
A student generally lives in a paper world. Reading textbooks, taking class notes on notebooks, practicing learned lessons on paper, and finally taking the tests and examinations on paper; paper-paper everywhere in the life of a student. To further enrich your knowledge I have summarized some useful information for you and expect you’d really enjoy this information about paper.
A World without Paper
A world without paper, or paperless society became a sensational dream about a couple of decades back, particularly, with the advancement in computers, laptops, mobile and tablets. Have you ever thought if it is practically possible?
Well, as an immediate thought, you may skip textbooks and notebooks and use laptop, tablet and mobile for studies. Similar thing goes for various applications forms, train and air tickets, bills and receipts etc. The similar can be done for the newspaper also. But, if you order online, most probably these items will be shipped to you in a paper corrugated box. The laminates on your table is also of paper.
Most of grocery items used in house come packed in paper. Even the cookies, biscuits, which are conventionally being packed in poly-laminates, reach your neighbor shop in a corrugated carton.
As an experiment, try scanning the life of an imaginary person from birth to old age, if he or she has to live without using paper directly or indirectly. A person, who is supposed not to use paper for any purpose; he should not use any product, which by default, is being supplied in paper packaging.
Doesn’t this make an interesting debate topic for you and your classmates?
A Little from History
The history of paper in itself is a fascinating story. Remember, people were writing long before paper was invented. From clay tablets to papyrus, linen, animal skins, metals, tree bark and other materials, mankind used a variety of materials to keep track of time, goods, and other information. The early China process included making a suspension of hemp waste in water. It was then washed, soaked, and beaten to a pulp with a wooden mallet before pouring the mixture into a wooden frame. Later on hemp was partially or fully replaced by wood, bamboo, other plant fibers etc. to improve the quality of paper. Similarly, while the first uses of paper were mainly as a wrapping for precious objects, it wasn't too long before people came to realize that it was better than writing on bamboo or silk. This caused a sudden increase in demand and hence like the first sign of a new industry's birth. Improvements also included using starch as a sizing material and a yellow dye that acted as an insecticide.
Interesting Paper Related Stuff for You
- We celebrate silver jubilee on completion of 25 years, golden jubilee on completion of 50 years. Do you know what it is called after completion of 1 year? It’s called Paper Jubilee.
- Paper can take (almost) any treatment. You can write on it, erase that, rewrite again; you can cut it, paste it, fold it, crush it, tear it, burn it, slush it with water; but, there’s one thing you cannot do! Replace it. Can a toilet tissue paper be replaced with sandpaper? No. That’s why making different grades of paper is important.
- The world has been using paper for more than 2000 years. Still, paper is continuously exploring new areas of application. Some companies have started manufacturing paper furniture also. Though seems weird, this furniture is strong, lightweight and decorative. Not only this, a company has also made foldable cardboard paper tents for outing, picnics etc.
- A company in India has started making paper pulp based tableware which is microwavable, biodegradable, compostable, oven-able and freezable.
Paper Industry in India
India, having around 17% of world’s population, uses around 4% of world’s paper production. We’ve already been using much less paper compared to the world.
On a rough estimate, the paper consumption of India is 21 Million tons per year. Per capita paper consumption in India is just around 15 kg. That means an average Indian uses around 15 kg of paper in a year. Compared to that, the world’s average is more than 57 kg. Some developed countries are using more than 200 kg per person per year.
Do you know the paper is one of the most recycled items? In India, it is estimated that now around 73% of paper is being made by paper recycling.
Indian Paper Industry at a Glance
- Total Number of mills in India: 861
- Total Production: 18.91 Million Tons (Newsprint, Paper & Paperboard)
- Import: 3.58 Million Tons
- Export: 1.32 Million Tons
- Segment Wise Production:
- Wood Based (18%) 3.46 Million Tons
- Agro Based (9%) 1.73 Million Tons
- Recycled Based (73%) 13.72 Million Tons
- Per Capita Consumption of Paper: 14.73 kg
Source: CPPRI, Saharanpur, India
Paper Industry & Forests
- It is generally said that trees are being cut for making paper. As indicated earlier, around 72% of paper is now being made by recycling waste paper. But have you thought, from where the remaining 28% paper comes? India has been using agri-residues (Bagasse, rice straw, sarkanda etc.); secondary wood (the wood waste from furniture, plywood industries); and wood from captive plantation or from farmer produces like poplar, eucalyptus etc. Some paper is also being made using bamboo, which has been classified as grass and not as tree in India.Cutting forest trees for making paper is not allowed in India. In other words, no forest trees are being cut down to make paper in India.
- More than 90-95% of the capacity addition in paper production in India has been based upon either waste paper or agriresidues.
- You’d be surprised to know that paper industry does not even appear in the list of top five causes for deforestation in India. Can you name a few causes for deforestation in India?
- To cater the need of raw material, India imports more than 4 Million Tons of waste Paper.
Are You Worried for Trees being Cut for Making Paper?
- Please do look at the following figure-
- As you may see only 3% of wood is being used for paper, paperboard and newsprint production. Out of it, around twothird is being sourced from agro-forestry and social forestry.
- According to the same report, only 6.7% of wood comes from forests, and rest from out-of-forest trees.
Water Use by Paper Industry
- You might have heard that paper industry is a big water gulper. Many people say that to make paper equivalent to size of one A4 sheet needs 5-10 liters of water. Thanks to various water conservation efforts by the Indian paper industry in the recent past, most of the waste paper based mills are now using less than 50mL of water to make paper weighing equal to one A4 size sheet. Some mills, mainly the wood/agro based mills are using much less than 500mL water for the same.
- Is it not funny that while many claim that you need 5-10 liter of water to make one A4 sheet, more than 90% of the mills use less than 100ml water for it?
- On a rough estimate, total water used by the paper mills in India is less than the total water used for brushing teeth by all Indians.
Paper Industry & Environment
- You might have heard repeatedly that industries are a big source of pollution. Here again, in most of the paper mills, all of the effluent generated is treated properly, and an online system continuously monitors its properties and sends data every minute to government servers. If even a single parameter deviates for more than 15 minutes, an automatic alert is generated from government server, which has to be replied within time, indicating the action taken report for the same. You might be surprised to know that many mills have achieved ZLD (Zero Liquid Discharge) and all of the wastewater generated by these mills during the production of paper is treated and reused again in the process.
- Our honorable Prime Minister has also highlighted the Paper Industry’s efforts in program “Mann ki Baat” on April 24, 2016.
Strength of Paper
- An interesting parameter for strength of materials is known as ‘Breaking Length’. Breaking length is the length of material, by which if it is suspended; the material will break due to its own weight. The breaking length for steel is 6400 meters. It means a steel rod or bar or strip, no matter how thick or thin it is, will break due to gravity if a 6400 meter long uniform piece of it is hanged from space. Well, the same for Nylon is 7040 meters. Do you know what the strength of paper is, if it is expressed in the same units? Different grades of paper have different strengths. For paper used in your notebooks etc., the figure is generally 2400-3000 meters. In India, many mills are making grades of paper which have a breaking length up to 5000-7000 meters.
- You might have enjoyed tearing paper into pieces during childhood. Yes! Tearing strength is another important parameter for paper. It indicates the energy required to tear the specified length of paper.
- For kraft paper used for packing purposes, bursting strength is important. A pressure is applied on a sample of paper, and it is measured at what pressure, the paper ruptures.
Other Properties of Paper
- Have you ever observed a single sheet of paper against light? Some papers look uniform, some look non-uniform or cloudy. Yes. Formation is an important parameter for paper. The better the formation is, the better it is.
- Have you used blotting paper? Blotting paper is used to absorb ink if ink is spilled on paper while using a fountain pen. It absorbs ink quickly. Paper used in making your notebooks and textbooks generally does not absorb water (or ink) that quickly. This water absorbency (or repellency) is controlled during manufacturing of paper using some chemicals.
- For some grades, like facial and toilet tissues, softness is desirable. For some other grades like for packing applications, we need a stiff paper sheet.
Paper Dimensions and Weight
- You must have observed that copier paper generally comes in A4 or A3 sizes. The series starts with A0 (a sheet of paper having size of √2 meter by (1/ √2) meter), and the next size is obtained when you cut the paper in two equal rectangular sizes by cutting half from longer side. That way, sixteen A4 size sheets have an area of 1 square meter. In other words, one A4 size sheet has an area of 1/16 square meter.
- Paper is mainly specified by its basis weight. Basis weight is the weight of one square meter of paper sheet in grams, and it is generally expressed as gsm (grams per square meter). While the notebook paper usually has 57 gsm, tissue paper is made in 12-18 gsm. Newspaper is generally published on 48.8 gsm paper.
Paper Production
- The paper is made on paper machine. In India, there are paper machines running with an average speed of 250-300 mpm (meter per minute). Can you run that fast? Do you know at what maximum speed paper is being made in any mill in India? In one mill here, in India, tissue paper is being made at nearly 1800 mpm. The world’s highest speed paper machine record is with Kvarnsveden Paper Mill in Sweden. It runs at 1926 mpm.
- The largest sheet of handmade paper measuring 14.95 meter X 10 meter was made by a team of 250 Paraguay students on 7th August 2015.
Paper for Fun
- The world record for making the most pieces of paper torn in one minute is ripping 70 sheets in 60 seconds.
- You must have enjoyed making and flying paper planes. The farthest flight by a paper aircraft is 69.14M by Joe Ayoob and John M. Collins (USA), using a single sheet of uncut A4 size paper.
- The longest indoor flight time has been achieved by Takuo Toda (Japan) by flying a plane for 29.2 seconds. Have you tried how long or for how long a paper plane made by you go? The world’s smallest paper airplane was folded by Teody Jasper (Philippines), and it measured 1.1mm long.
- Hemand Upadhyay and Karan Parmar (India) used old newspapers to create the world’s largest paper boat, which measured 4.05 meters in length. Do you know how to make a paper boat?
- The world record for creating ‘smallest paper envelope’is with Mr. Amit Mukeshbhai Chauhan from Jamnagar, Gujarat, India. On November 12, 2017, he made an envelope measuring 10.36 X 5.82mm (width and length).
- Origami is the Japanese tradition of paper-folding. It has inspired a number of unique spacecraft designs. It's interesting to note that it fascinates even NASA engineers. Origami can seem deceptively simple, hiding complex math within its creases. Besides aesthetic beauty, it has addressed a persistent problem faced by engineers: ‘how do you pack the greatest amount of spacecraft into the smallest volume possible?’
- A huge origami paper boat with a length of around 3.7 meter was launched in Southwark Park Boating Lake in South London in 2015. This boat was capable of carrying one person only, and remained in water for more than 2 hours without any noticeable damage.
- A life size paper-boat was launched on 2nd July 2016 during Ireland’s national maritime festival, Sea Fest, at Gateway.
- “The One Club for Creativity Denver” organizes Paper Fashion Show every year, in which the participant catwalk wearing only the dresses made of paper? Well, the most recent show took place on April 12, 2019 in Denver, Colorado, U.S. The next one is scheduled for December 2019.
Smile Please
- Question: Many items are packed in paper. These include your household goods, ornaments, foodstuff, gifts and this and that. Can you name a solid product which you generally do not see packed in paper?
Answer: Polythene Bags
- Question: Paper is widely recycled product. Your textbooks, school notebooks, old office records, corrugated boards, newspapers etc. are recycled after use. Which grade of paper is generally NOT recycled after the use?
Answer: Toilet Tissue.
Research & Training in Pulp & Paper
- As the paper industry is fast growing in India, bright students may also consider paper making as a potential profession for them.
- For handmade paper, Kumarappa National Handmade Paper Institute, Sanganer, Jaipur provides training programs. For further information about these programs, you may visit www.knhpi.org.in.
- Similarly, SJP Damla, Yamunanagar is also running several courses for pulp & paper training. Further information about SJP Damla can be obtained from www.sjpdamla.ac.in.
- Central Pulp & Paper Research Institute (CPPRI), a premier research institute in the field of pulp & paper was established in 1980. A team of dedicated, experienced and renowned scientists here develops methods to produce paper of different varieties and better quality in a cost effective, environment friendly, energy efficient manner. For the students who want to make papermaking a career, CPPRI provides training also. Several courses are being run by CPPRI for the same. For more information about CPPRI, you may visit www.cppri.org.in.
Waste Paper Recycling Simplified
The following image is given to explain the paper manufacturing process using recycling process.
Appeal
- There are a lot of myths about paper, due to which many of us use paper but with a guilty feeling. The purpose of this booklet was just to clarify the doubts and bring out the true status of Indian paper industry, as on today. I understand you might be feeling enlightened with some information about paper. Paper is now being used for your daily needs, for your education, for recreation, for making your life easier, for information sharing, for packing different products and items. Use it for any purpose you want. But, please do not waste it. After having all these information, may I expect you to use paper more responsibly, and recycle after use?
