Group 6 3ChED

Toledano, Anthon Jay B.

Trinidad, Megan
Valdez, Rommel

Experiment 8
Paper Making

I. Introduction

Paper, matted or felted sheet, usually made of cellulose fibers, formed on a wire screen
from water suspension. It has been drawn to China in about 105 AD, extended to Central Asia by
751 AD and Baghdad by 793 AD. By the 14th century, there were paper mills in several parts of
Europe. In 1450, the invention of the printing press in about greatly increased the demand for
paper. Consequently, about the19th century, wood and other vegetable pulps began to replace
rags as the principal source of fiber for papermaking. Today, modern paper is produced from
wood, which is made up of cellulose fibers held together by glue. From then on paper had been
widely used and deemed very essential in our daily lives [1].

Some raw materials used in paper making are: (1) stock, also known as pulp, is a source
of fiber for the production of paper; (2) chemicals such as aluminum sulfate, sizing materials,
titanium dioxide, china clays, and dyes; (3) Post-Consumer Waste Paper (PCW) are waste that
has been used by a consumer and has served its intended purpose.

Stock is used since it has cell walls of all plants which contain fibers of cellulose, an
organic material known to chemists as a linear polysaccharide. Cellulose fibers have strong
strength and resilience and are readily wetted by water. Even in the wet state, natural cellulose
fibers demonstrate no loss in strength. It is the blending of these qualities with strength and
flexibility that makes cellulose of inimitable value for paper manufacture [2].

At the end of the experiment, students were able to: (1) to be able to extract fibers from
recycled paper materials; and (2) to make paper from the extracted pulp.

II. Methodology and Equipment

Materials used are old newspaper, water, metal tray, sponge and blender.
 Figure 1. Complete schematic diagram of the experiment.

Figure 1 shows the complete process of the experiment. First, cut newspaper was soaked
on a tray with water. Second, wet newspaper was pulverized using a blender. Next, the wet
newspaper becomes a paste and was sieved on a screen, where most of water was removed. Then,
the paste was molded in the shape of the sieve. Subsequently, the paste on the sieve was pressed
with a sponge to smooth its surface and the collect more excess water. Afterwards, the paper was
allowed to dry a few days.

III. Results and Discussion

The paper produced was light brown in color. Its thickness is about 1 mm. It has a
smooth side and a rough side. Possible reason for this is the rough side is part in contact with the
screen, while the smooth side is the part smoothened by the sponge. Figure 2 shows the paper
produced by the group.

Figure 2. Paper produced

IV. Guide Questions

1. Compare the paper product that would be made from virgin pulp with that you just made

Paper made from virgin pulp is more durable, has more strength and has a much
higher humidity resistance. Paper products made from recycled paper are less durable and
have reduced strength but are eco-friendly as they produce less waste and need less energy to
make them [3].

2. What are the qualities of paper that can be improved? Give some examples on how to
achieve these improvements.

The strength of paper can further be improved by improving the strength of the fibers
bonds in the paper. This can be done through further refining of paper in the refiners. The
surface strength of paper can also be improved by the addition of polymer products [4].

3. What are the wastes generated by the paper industry and how are they treated?

The wastes from the paper industry are classified as solid waste and liquid waste. The
solid waste are primarily the rejects from the virgin pulp (bark, sand and wood residues). The
liquid waste is the lime sludge and wastewater. Wastewater goes through two treatments: The
primary and secondary treatment. In the primary treatment, wastewater goes to the clarifier,
where the solids are removed and returned to the mill where they are burned in the boilers. In
the secondary treatment, the resulting liquids from the primary treatment are pumped into
manmade lagoons that contain self-cleaning microbes. The treated waters are then released to
the secondary clarifiers. The solid wastes are compacted into small pieces which are then
transported to large landfills [5].

V. Conclusion

The objectives of the experiment are to be able to extract fibers from recycled paper
materials and to make paper from the extracted pulp. Based on the paper made during the lab
experiment, the group can say that they were successful in attaining the objectives of the
experiment. However, there are still some things that can still be improved with the use of
technology to be able to produce and innovate a paper with better quality. First, by adding a
binder, the paper can be more firm and hard. Second, by adding a bleaching chemical the paper
can look more white and clean. Lastly, with the use of a better frame that could flatten the paper,
this is to make the paper less bulky. With this experiment, the group has realized that by recycling
used papers alone in the future we can lessen the exhaustion of our natural resources.
References

[1] Paper. (n.d.). Retrieved December 7, 2017, from Britannica:

https://www.britannica.com/technology/paper

[2] Fibrous Materials for papers. (n.d.). Retrieved December 7, 2017, from Paper Academy:
http://www.paperacademy.net/795/paper-raw-materials/fibrous-materials-for-paper/

[3] Kinsella, S. (n.d.). Paperwork: Comparing Recycled. Retrieved December 7, 2017, from Conserv
A Tree: http://conservatree.org/learn/WhitePaper%20Why%20Recycled.pdf

[4] Strength (Low, Variable, Too High). (n.d.). Retrieved December 7, 2017, from
http://www4.ncsu.edu/~hubbe/TShoot/G_Stren.htm

[5] Virgin versus Recycled. (n.d.). Retrieved December 7, 2017, from IC Industies:
http://www.icind.com/blog/virgin-vs-recycled