Paper-Recycling System: Part 1

There are various property requirements of papers and fibers, depending on the characteristics of the actual product the paper or board is used for. Basically, there are two general product groups for which paper and board are used: graphic products, such as newspapers, books, advertisements, and copies; and paper and board products, including packaging papers and boards, household and sanitary papers, and construction papers.

Inside these two groups there are various subgroups with specific property requirements, such as brightness, strength, grammage (area weight), thickness, and moisture re-formation. For large newspapers, for instance, it is essential to have paper with minimum thickness yet with maximum printing properties.

Graphic products represent almost half of the total paper and board consumption in Western Europe. The other half is used for different paper products, with about 35% used for corrugated board and solid boxboard.

The cycle of paper begins at the biomass formation of trees. Atmospheric carbon dioxide and water from soil are combined in photosynthesis to form glucose, the material basis for the trees' growth. Carbon remains fully in the biomass, but oxygen is released back to the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide fixation is 0.7 to 0.9 tonnes for each tonne of biomass. Many of the trees used for pulp production in Western Europe are grown in cultivated forests.