Pulp and Paper Manufacture

Group H
CONTENT
I. Introduction IV. Stock Preparation
Repulping
Sources of Papermaking Fibers Beating
Wet Additives
II. Pulp Manufacture
V. The Papermaking Process
Wood Preparation Fourdrinier Paper Machine
Pulping
III. Pulp Treatment
Washing
Screening
Thickening
Drying
 I. Introduction
• Paper - a felted sheet of fibers formed on a wire screen from a water
suspension.
• Pulp is the fibrous raw material for papermaking.
The word “paper” came from the Egyptian word
papyrus, a reed that grows on the bank of the Nile
River.
The ancient Egyptian (c. 3,000 BC) produced the first
writing material by pasting together thin layers of the
plant stem.
Brief History:
The Chinese was the first to use paper as it
is known today. In 105 AD, Ts’ai Lun, a Chinese
minister of agriculture, mixed inner fibers of
bamboo and mulberry with water, then washed,
beat and mixed them in a vat with sizing material.
A sheet of paper was then produced on a
flat mold made from a fine mesh of bamboo strips
by dipping the mold into the mixture of pulp and
sizing matter. The water on the sheet was pressed
out and the thin sheet hung out to dry in the sun.
About 704 AD, the Arabs extracted the
secret of papermaking from a Chinese prisoner of
war and the art of papermaking spread over the
Middle East and later to Europe, where cotton and
linen rags became the main raw materials.
Sources of Papermaking Fibers:
1. Wood
It is the most abundant source of papermaking fibers.
Softwoods account for 85-95% of the fiber requirement of the industry and only
10- 15% from hardwoods. This arises from the longer fiber length of softwoods that is
necessary for higher tearing and folding endurance. However, hardwood pulps possess
good burst and tensile strength.
In the Philippines, species suitable for papermaking include: moluccan sau, African
tulip, taluto and paper mulberry, gubas, lumbang and bagras. (Species containing
significant amount of resins and tannins are not suitable for sulfite pulps; high extractive
content, high density and dark color are undesirable for groundwood pulp. )
2. Straws and grasses 5. Bast fibers
Rice, sugarcane bagasse, esparto, wheat, rye Fibers from inner bark(i.E. Flax plant).

3. Bamboo fibers 6. Seed fibers

Cotton and Cotton linters
4. Leaf fibers
abaca, sisal
 II. Pulp Manufacture
Pulp Manufacture involves the breaking up of raw material in water to form a
suspension of individual fibers.
This fiber suspension is later on formed into paper by felting on a suitable porous
surface, through which excess water can drain.

Steps in Pulp Manufacture:

1. Wood Preparation
Wood preparation consists of a series of operations that convert wood into a form suitable for
pulping operations. In most cases the product is wood chip. Trees are harvested in the forest and
brought to the pulp mill for processing. The logs maybe brought in by truck, rail or floated downstream
in navigable river.
Debarking
It is done to ensure that the pulp is free of bark and dirt. Bark is removed before
logs are converted into pulp because they have little fiber value. Both hydraulic
methods and mechanical methods(barking drums, cambium debarkers, rosserhead
debarkers) are in common use.

Hydraulic Method:
Hydraulic debarkers- are used for large diameter logs.
They operate by directing high pressure jet of water
(over 1,000 psi) against the log to remove the bark.
Bark removal is efficient and wood losses are low, but
capital cost and energy requirements are high.
Hydraulic debarker
Mechanical Methods:
a. Barking drums- removed bark by friction as the log is turned and rubbed against
each other in a rotating steel drum (15m long by 4m diameter). Slots in the drum
permits bark removal as the log continues on through.
b. Cambium debarkers- consist of rotating rings carrying several arms with scraping
tips that apply radial and tangential pressure against the log as it is passed through the
ring. This device takes advantage of the natural weakness in bonding strength between
the bark and the wood at the cambium layer.
c. Rosserhead debarkers- employ a rapidly rotating head with many cutting tools that
cut and abrade the bark from the log. The log rotates during barking and moves
longitudinally past the Rosser head.

Drum debarker
Cambium debarker
Rosserhead debarker
 Chipping
After debarking, subsequent pulping operation(chipping) is done by feeding the
logs to a machine (chipper) with sharp knives mounted on a rotating steel wheel.
This cutting action results in the production of wood chips about 20 mm long and
about 4mm thick. Wood chips are often stored in big piles outside the mill to ensure
continuous supply of chips for pulping.

Wood chips (20 mm

The debarked logs are fed into a chipper, a long and about 4mm Wood chips are stored in a pile
device with a rotating steel blade that cuts thick) outside the mill
the wood into pieces about 4mm thick and
2.5mm square.
2. Pulping
It is the process by which wood is reduced to individual fiber or a fibrous mass. It
involves rupturing the bonds within the wood structure, while retaining as mush as
possible the original form and strength.
Pulping processes are generally classified as mechanical, thermal, chemical or
combinations of treatments.

Mechanical Pulping
Mechanical pulping is the oldest method of pulping.
It has a very high yield (95%) based on dry weight of wood, however it requires large amount of
energy to accomplish this objective.
The pulp undergoes considerable disruption of fibers such that it has low strength properties,
low brightness and discolors easily on exposure to light. However, the pulp forms a highly opaque
paper with good printing properties and used for the manufacture of newsprint and tissue paper
where permanence is not required.
Blended with sulfite pulp, it gives sufficient strength for wrapping papers, wall papers,
box boards and book papers.
In Mechanical Pulping, two methods are
commonly used:

• Stone groundwood process-

a block of wood is pressed
lengthwise against a roughened
revolving, grinding stone. Fibers are
torn out of the wood, abraded, and
washed away from the stone surface
with water.

• Refiner mechanical pulping- Refiner

wood chips are moved to the center
of a machine where oppositely
rotating steel discs are used to grind
chips to fibers.
Chemical Pulping

It involves degrading or dissolving the lignin that

cements fibers together and leaving behind the
cellulose and hemicellulose in the form of intact
fibers.
Consequently, the pulp yield is low relative to
mechanical pulping; usually about 40-50% of the
original wood substance.

In chemical pulping, the wood chips are cooked

in appropriate chemicals at elevated temperature
and pressure using an insulated steel cylinder
(digester).
a. Kraft Pulping
• It involves cooking the wood chips in a solution of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium
sulfide (Na2S). The alkaline attack causes a breaking of the lignin molecule into smaller
segments that are soluble in the cooking liquor.
• Kraft pulps produce strong paper products (“kraft” is the Germanic word for strong), but
the unbleached pulp is characterized by dark brown color.

• All types of wood pulp and barks maybe tolerated by this process.

• Kraft pulp is characterized by its softness, absorbency, opacity and bulk. Hence, it is
suitable in the manufacture of printing, writing and absorbent paper.
• Unbleached kraft pulp is suitable for the production of wrapping paper, paper bags, and
linerboard because of its high strength.
The digestion process:

Fill the digester with chips and enough liquor is added

to cover the chips. The contents are then heated according
to a predetermined schedule. Air and other
noncondensible gases are relieved through a pressure
control valve at the top of the vessel.
The maximum temperature is reached after 1-2 hours,
which allows the cooking liquor to penetrate the chips.
The cook is then maintained at maximum temperature
(170°C) for 1-2 hours more to complete the cooking
reactions.
After, digestion, the contents are discharged into a
blow tank where the softened chips are disintegrated intoIn batch cooking, the digester is filled with chips, and
fibers. cooking liquor. The cooking liquor, which is drawn
through screens, is circulated with a pump to a heat
exchanger, where the liquor is heated with steam
before being returned back to the digester.
b. Sulfite Process
• Involves cooking the wood chips in a mixture of sulfurous acid (H2SO3) and bisulfite ion
(HSO3 -).
This is in contrast to the breaking of lignin molecules into segments in the Kraft process.
The ionic base for the bisulfite can be ionic calcium, magnesium, sodium and ammonium.
• The cooking process is usually carried out in a pressure vessel consisting of a stainless steel
sheet with acid-resistant lining. The digester, filled with chips, is heated according to a
predetermined schedule (130-140°C for 6-8 hrs) by forced circulation of the cooking liquor
through a heat exchanger.
• The resulting pulps are lighter in color than Kraft pulp and bleached easily. Strength
however, is sufficient for newsprint, magazine paper, fine papers, etc.
• The sulfite process works well for several softwoods and hardwoods. However, they are
difficult with species with resinous and high tannin containing extractives.
• The sensitivity to wood species, along with the weaker pulp strength are the major reasons
for the decline of the sulfite pulping relative to the kraft pulping.
c. Semi-chemical Pulping
• Semi-chemical pulping combines chemical and mechanical methods.
Essentially, the wood chips are partially softened or digested with chemicals, and
the remainder of the pulping action is supplied mechanically, most often in a disc
refiners.
• Pulps are subjected to a wide range of processing steps depending on their
preparation and end use.
• Screening, thickening and storage are necessary for virtually all pulp grades, while
cleaning is required where appearance is important.
• Defibering and deknotting are usually required for clean, bleachable chemical pulp.
• Pulp drying is required when pulp is shipped over significant distances to reduce
freight cost.
 Pulp Treatment
Process:
1. Washing
2. Screening
3. Thickening
4. Blending
5. Bleaching
6. Drying
 Pulp Washing
 The goal of washing is to remove residual liquor that would
contaminate the pulp during subsequent processing and to recover
the maximum amount of spent chemicals.
The most common method of
washing:
 Rotary Vacuum Washer or (Brown
Stock Washer)
-The washer works by applying a
vacuum as the rotating drum enters
the stock. A thick layer of pulp builds
and adheres to the wire face of the
drum as it emerges from the vat.
Wash water is applied to displace the
black liquor in the sheet as the drum
continues to rotate. Finally, a vacuum
is cut off and the mold washed pulp is
removed from the mold. Interior view of a brown stock washer
showing the rotating drums and pulp stock.
 Screening
Screening is required to
remove uncooked pulp, oversize
and unwanted particles from
good papermaking fibers. Many
types of screen are available,
but they all depend on
perforated barrier or mesh to
pass acceptable fibers or reject After being cooked, the pulp contains
unwanted materials. contaminants in the form of bark, knots,
uncooked chips and shives (fiber bundles).
These are removed in screens with perforated
screening plates that allow fibers (accepts) to
pass through them and separate larger
particles (rejects).
 Thickening
 Washing, cleaning and screening
increase stock consistency (12-14%),
hence it is necessary to thicken the
stock (4-8%) prior to the next
processing operation. A variety of
equipment is available for this
purpose. A gravity thickener (decker)
is commonly used. Water flows into
the cylinder by virtue of differences
in liquid level between vat and
cylinder; pulp is retained on the
rotating cylinder and is couched off a
rubber roll.
A gravity thickener used to decrease stock
consistency after washing and screening.
 Blending
The goal of blending is to obtain uniform pulp quality to even up
variations due to differences in wood furnish and pulping
conditions. The most common arrangement is to use a large chest at
4% consistency, with sufficient agitation to provide high turnover
rate.
 Bleaching
 Bleaching involves the applications of chemicals to
the stock to improve brightness (color). Cellulose and
hemicellulose are inherently white and do not
contribute to color. It is generally agreed that
oxidative reactions with sunlight of “chromophoric
groups” on the lignin are responsible for color. Heavy
metal ions (iron and copper) are also known to form
colored complexes with phenolic groups. Extractive
materials such as resins can also contribute to the
color of pulp.
Unbleached and bleached pulp

Modern bleaching involves a step-wise sequence using different

chemicals and conditions in each stage, with washings carried out
between stages. The objective is to remove residual lignin
(delignify) while preserving strength and other papermaking
properties. Commonly used chemical treatments are chlorination,
extraction with NaOH and hypochlorite treatment.
 Drying
For non-integrated mills where pulp is to be shipped to a paper mill,
dewatering must be carried out prior to shipment to decrease
transportation costs. The most common method is similar to a
paper machine. It utilizes a sheet forming wet end, a press section,
drying section and sheet cutting operation.
The pulp is pumped to the head box of the dryer. From the head box the pulp flows out onto the
wire section. The wire is an endless cloth of woven plastic and under it are suction boxes that suck
the water out of the pulp. The pulp web is then led to the roll press section that presses the pulp a
dry solids content of about 45-50 per cent.
 IV. Stock Peparation for Papermaking
Stock Preparation
The objective is to process the pulp and other additives and uniformly combine
these constituents to produce the desired characteristics of the papermaking
furnish.

Various Process involved in Stock Preparation Section:

1. Repulping
2. Beating and Refining
3. Wet-end additives
1. Repulping
Involves dispersing dry pulp into the water to form a slush or slurry. Common
batch paper (Hydropulper) disperse all fibers in a single vessel by employing revolving
elements that provide turbulence and circulation to disintegrate the fiber bundles.

Paper Making Machinery Vertical Type Paper Pulper / O Type Hydrapulper for Paper Making
2. Beating and Refining
This are operations of mechanically beating the pulpfibers. Refining usually
refers to fiber separation and cutting, whereas beating may include the above two
effects and also fibrillation/bruising effect of the fiber.

Bertram Beater refining the pulp

3. Wet-end Additives
Other non-fibrous additives are added to paper stock to improve optical printing
and strength properties.
It involves blending and mixing of alum, sizing agent, fillers, and coloring materials.
• Alum- used to control pH and fixes other additives onto the fibers.
It helps the pigment to adhere the paper.
• Sizing agent- makes the fiber surface water repellent by using
chemical additives.
• Fillers- mineral substances being added to improve optical and
physical property of the fiber. It is use to fill the spaces and crevices
between fibers to produce smoother and opaque sheet.
• Coloring Materials- chemical additives being added to
manufacture colored paper and to improve strength properties.
 V. PAPER
PROCESSING
 Timber
Timber used for papermaking comes from well managed forests where more trees are
planted than harvested to ensure sustainable growth.

Papermakers usually use only the parts of the tree that other commercial industries don't
want - such as saw mill waste and forest thinnings.

Go to publications for details of a Trees used for Papermaking Poster.

 De-Barker
Bark is stripped from the logs by knife, drum, abrasion, or hydraulic barker. The stripped
bark is then used for fuel or as soil enrichment.

Chipping Machine
Stripped logs are chipped into small pieces by knives mounted in massive steel wheels
(used in chemical pulping process).
The chips pass through vibrating screens, whereby both undersized chips, dust etc and
oversized chips are rejected.
Accepted chips are then stored in huge bins ready for the next process
 Chemical Pulping Process
Chips from the storage bins are fed into a digester to which chemicals have been added.
The woodchips are then 'cooked' to remove lignin. Lignin is the binding material which
holds the cellulose fibres together.
The chips are 'cooked' by heat and pressure in caustic soda and sulphur.
The chemical process is energy self-sufficient as nearly all by-products can be used to
fire the pulp mill power plant. The chemical pulping process produces lower fibre yield
than mechanical pulping, typically 50-60%.
Mechanical Pulping Process
Mechanical pulp yields over 90% of the wood as fiber is produced by forcing debarked logs, about two meters
long, and hot water between enormous rotating steel discs with teeth that literally tear the wood apart.
Alternatively, logs can be pressed against grindstones which is why this process is also known as ground wood
pulp.
Trees contain up to 30% lignin, a material which is sensitive to light and degrades, and turns brown in sunlight,
which explains why papers made from mechanical pulp will discolor. An example of this is newsprint.
Newsprint is designed to have a short life span, and if left for a long period of time will lose its whiteness and
strength. The special advantages of mechanical pulp are that it makes the paper opaque and bulky.
 Hydrapulper
When the bales of wood pulp or waste paper arrive at the paper mill
they are loaded onto a conveyor and passed into a circular tank
containing water. This has a very powerful agitator at the bottom
which breaks up the bales into small pieces.

The pulp mass created begins to look like thick porridge. This machine
is known as a Hydrapulper. It operates automatically and when the
disintegrating process is complete it discharges the pulp into large
storage tanks.

Hydrapulpers used mainly for handling waste paper are fitted with
special devices for removing unwanted contraries such as wire, plastic,
paper clips, staples etc.
 Blend Chest
The stock passes to a blend chest where numerous chemicals can be added to obtain the
required characteristics to the finished paper. Dyes are also added, as necessary, to color
the paper. Dyes fix themselves to the cellulose fibers and are fast to light and water.

Each grade of paper and board requires a very accurate blend of pulps and additives and
the properties of the paper are continually monitored by computers during manufacture.
 Waste Paper
Waste paper is collected from Waste Paper Banks and Commercial collections. When you
deposit your used papers into a waste paper bank, you are sorting the paper into grades
before the merchant collects it. This is why you can only put certain papers into a particular
bank.

Many offices have in place an office recycling scheme. Again the waste paper is usually
segregated ready to be collected.

Waste paper currently represents 67% of the raw material used in the UK to make paper
and board.

The waste paper merchant collects the used paper which is then sorted by hand into
different grades. Paper not suitable for recycling is removed.

The waste paper merchant will then bale the waste paper ready to be taken to the paper
mill.
 De-inking
Before printed paper, such as office waste and newspapers, can be recycled the ink needs to
be removed, otherwise it will be dispersed into the pulp and a dull grey paper would result.

There are two main processes for de-inking waste paper - these are known as washing and
flotation.

Washing
The waste paper is placed into a pulper with large quantities of water and broken down into
a slurry. Contraries -such as staples - are removed using centrifugal screens. Most of the
water containing the dispersed ink is drained through slots or screens that allow the
dispersed ink particles through, without taking the pulp. Adhesive particles, known as
'stickies' are removed by fine screening.

Flotation
Again the waste is made into a slurry and contaminants removed. Special surfactant
chemicals are added which makes a sticky froth on the top of the pulp.

Air bubbles are blown through the pulp and these carry the inks to the surface. As the
bubbles reach the top a foam layer is formed that traps the ink. The foam must be removed
before the bubbles break or the ink will go back into the pulp. Because the ink is removed
from the flotation machine in a concentrated form, the flotation system does not require a
large water treatment plant.
 Refining
This is where the cellulose fibers pass through a refining process which is vital in the art of
papermaking. Before refining, the fibers are stiff, inflexible and form few bonds. The stock is
pumped through a conicle machine which consists of a series of revolving discs. The violent
abrasive and bruising action has the effect of cutting, opening up and declustering the fibers
and making the ends divide. This is called fibrillation. In this state, the fibers are pliable and
have greater surface area, which significantly improves the fiber bonding. The properties of
the paper are directly related to the refining process. Refining used to be called beating.
 Screening and Cleaning
Pulps contain undesirable fibrous and non-fibrous materials, which should be removed
before the pulp is made into paper or board.

Cleaning involves removing small particles of dirt and grit using rotating screens and
centrifugal cleaners.
 Papermaking Machine

The Paper Machine is a very large piece of machinery. A typical machine is about the length
of two football pitches and around 4 metres wide. It can run up to speeds of 2000 m per
minute - or 60 miles per hour! The machine itself consists of 7 distinct sections. The flow
box, wire, press section, drier section, size press, calendar and reeling up.

The first section of the machine is called the 'Wet End'. This is where the diluted stock first
comes into contact with the paper machine. It is poured onto the machine by the flow box
which is a collecting box for the dilute paper stock. A narrow apperture running across the
width of the box allows the stock to flow onto the wire with the fibres distributed evenly
over the whole width of the paper machine.

The machine is operated by computer control. The computer will monitor the paper for
moisture content, weight etc and computer screens will show pictures of the process and
should any adjustments need to be made, an alarm will sound.