Why does papermaking begin with cellulose fibers suspended in so much water if the final result is supposed to be a dry sheet of paper? Initially, this process can seem wasteful, since water is added to make stock, only to…
Lay down a spoonful of prepared pulp next to a glass of diluted fiber suspension and compare both with a finished sheet of paper. All of them could contain cellulose fibers, but they are in fact completely different things at…
Two sheets of paper can appear very similar in size and color on a workbench. Yet, when you lift them, flex them, and place them on a scale, you find significant differences. That is because two basic paper properties, basis…
Paper isn’t formed by making a thick layer of pulp and pressing and drying it flat. Before there’s a sheet, the fibers are dispersed in a large volume of water, resulting in a flowing fiber suspension known as stock. Here,…