Paper – Every Fiber of Its Being
Paper is a composite of fiber and air. Cellulosic fibers come from plants, either from seed hairs, stems (bast), and/or from leaves. In industrial papermaking, cellulose comes primarily from wood, both hardwoods and … Continue reading
Elemental Chlorine Bleaching and the Creation of Dioxin
You see a lot of acronyms on paper products. They show up on printer paper packaging and catalogues and on the boxes your Amazon order arrives in. Some of these acronyms refer … Continue reading
Refine and Bleach That Flax
The flax saga continues! We pulled the fiber from the cooler and continued the pulping procedure, combining it with water and running it in the hydropulper, a sort of giant … Continue reading
Cook that Flax!
This semester I enrolled in an introductory pulping and bleaching course. Historically the lab part of the course walked students through the pulping and bleaching sequence using wood chips. Thanks … Continue reading
The Fiber Wire 