| Wood-pulp Paper |
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Information AboutWood-pulp Paper |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT WOOD-PULP PAPER | |
| pulp and paper industry | |
| papermaking | |
| writing paper | |
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Wood-pulp paper is made from processed tree fiber, and is notoriously acidic. Using wood to make paper is a fairly recent innovation. In the 1800s, cotton Rag and Fiber Crops such as Linen were the primary material source, but a shortage led to the contemporary wood-pulp paper that deteriorates quickly. Paper remained relatively expensive, at least in book-sized quantities, through the centuries, until the advent of steam-driven paper making machines in the 19th century, which could made wood-pulp paper feasible. Although older machines predated it, the Fourdrinier paper making machine became the basis for most modern papermaking. Together with the invention of the practical Fountain Pen and the mass produced Pencil of the same period, and in conjunction with the advent of the steam driven rotary Printing Press , wood based paper caused a major transformation of the 19th century economy and society in industrialized countries. With the introduction of cheaper paper, schoolbooks, fiction, non-fiction, and newspapers became gradually available to all the members of an industrial society by 1900. Cheap wood based paper also meant that keeping personal diaries or writing letters became universal. The Clerk , or writer, ceased to be a high-status job, and by 1850 had nearly become an office worker or White-collar Worker , which transformation can be considered as a part of the Industrial Revolution . This increase in paper resources can be credited with the birth of Ephemera , and consequently with the birth of modern paper preservation. Wood-based paper is highly acidic and prone to disintegrate over time, through a process known as Slow Fire . Documents written on more expensive rag paper are significantly more stable. Mass-market paperback books still use these cheaper mechanical papers, but the more careful book publishers now use Acid-free Paper for Hardback and Trade Paperback books. WOOD-PULP PAPER RECYCLING In the mid-19th century, there was an increased demand for books, writing material, etc. for at least three distinct reasons: growing scarcity of linen, technological advancements in paper production, and widespread education reform. Up to this time, paper manufacturers had used large quantities of discarded linen rags for paper; however, the amount of linen available for purchase, combined with paper being recycled, could not keep pace with the accelerating public need for mass paper production. So, manufacturers had to find an alternate resource or raw material, for paper production, and shifted from linen to wood-pulp. There is information available that supports the claim that linen was routinely recycled by paper manufactures for the production of books and writing paper. For example, in Cheap Bibles written by Leslie Howsam, there is mention of an auction where loose leaves are being purchased by manufactures for reuse: “paper manufacturers bid to purchase these sheets for recycling (‘remanufacture’)…”(90). This quote tells us that there were book auctions for purchasing bulk recyclable paper, at least in the United Kingdom, by the beginning of the 19th century. Yet, with all the information available concerning the recycling of linen paper, information on the recycling of groundwood paper has thus far been largely unattainable through available research material. The majority of information on this specific topic has been limited to brief mentions included in the larger topics of recycling and the development of paper production. Two dates of importance for United States Paper recycling: 1690- The first paper mill to use recycled linen was established by the Rittenhouse family. 1897- The first major recycling center was started by the Benedetto family in New York City, where they collected rags, newpaper, and trash with a pushcart. The significance of these dates show that linen was being recycled by the late 17th century, and it could be assumed that groundwood paper recycling was in practice in the United States by 1897 at the latest, since we know that a shift in raw materials for paper production from linen to wood-pulp began in the 1840s. When it comes to the establishment of paper mills, the first paper mills in Europe began production in the early 12th century in Spain, and spread to Italy by the 14th Century. The first groundwood paper mill in the United States was established in 1867 in Massachusetts. The information that is lacking is whether or not these paper mills recycled. It is assumed that linen was continuously recycled because of its limited availabily, but it cannot be assumed with such a degree of confidence that paper made from trees, which were considered a seemingly unlimited resource, were routinely recycled. SEE ALSO REFERENCE
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