An Ode to Paper

Dr. Sarah KnightMr. David O’Connor

About the Ryan Institute

Over 300 people doing research on hundreds of different environmental, marine and energy projects

Why paper? Who cares!?

People need to say stuff! And they have a lot of stuff to

say!

The United States Library of Congress in Washington D.C. ranks as the largest library in the world. It holds over 118 million items which require more than 500 miles of shelving.

It all started with painting pictures on caves, thousands of years ago

Where paper came from…

Where paper came from…

One of the first written languages was Cuneiform, written on clay tablets (3000 BC)

Where paper came from…People later began to write on anything: Fabric, Bamboo, Bone,

Turtle Shell & Bark

Around the same time as cuneiform, the Ancient Egyptians were writing hieroglyphics on sheets of papyrus

This is actually where the word “paper” comes from (even though it’s not paper as we know it)

Where paper came from…

Paper made from pulp was invented in China (105 AD)

Where paper came from…

Paper was one of the 4 great inventions of Ancient China (along with gunpowder, the compass and printing)

Meanwhile, in Europe, writing was still being carved in stone, such as Ogham writing in Ireland and runes in Northern Europe (400 AD)

Where paper came from…

For a while, vellum (animal skins) became popular, in parts of Asia, Egypt, and Europe

Where paper came from…

Recognize

this?

The spread of paper making…

100 AD

750 AD

900 AD

How did we get…

From this

to this!

mass production mass production

http://atlas.lib.uiowa.edu/press-animation.html

c. 1440

Of books

mass production mass production

Of paper

c. 1798

This type of machine is still the one used today!

So…where does most paper come from?

So…where does most paper come from?

spruce pine

Larch

hemlock

birch

poplar

So…where does most paper come from?

So…where does most paper come from?

So…where does most paper come from?

So…where does most paper come from?

So…where does most paper come from?

So…where does most paper come from?

So…where does most paper come from?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SdJtYkAzTw&feature=related

Do you think there are any problems for the environment with making and using

paper?

A question for you…

1. How much wood does it take to make one ream of paper (500 sheets)?

a) a few sticks

b) a small fireplace log

c) a bundle of logs

d) half a tree

e) a whole tree

Agalite or Talc

Alum

Albarine

Ammonium Zirconium Carbonate (AZC)

Anthraquinone

Anti-Foam/Defoamer

Asbestine

Barium Sulfate

Barytes

Blanc Fixe

Casein

Caustic Lye or Caustic Soda or Lye

Chalk (Precipitated)

Chlorine Gas

Dolomite

DTPA, EDTA

Guar Gum

Gypsum or Mineral White or Plaster

Hydrogen Peroxide

Lime

Magnesite

Ozone

Rosin

Salt Cake

Soda Ash

Sodium Dithionite

Starch

Sulfur

TitaniaSource: http://www.paperonweb.com/chemical.htm

1 bundle of logs 800 L of waterEnergy equal to 10 L of petrol A load of chemicals!

+ + +

What isthe future of paper?

Replacing Paper

Replacing Paper

With devices like the Kindle and iPad, you can read books without using paper

Replacing Paper

With devices like the Kindle and iPad, you can read books without using paper

There’s even electronic paper (e-paper) made from plastic.

Digital stuff can also be projected…

Digital stuff can also be projected…

Even projectors are getting smaller!

But…paper demand is rising

But…paper demand is rising

• total value about $400 billion

• one third of wood harvest used for paper making(most of the rest is for fuel)

• about one third of the fibre used to make papercomes from waste paper; most of the rest ismade from wood pulp from fresh trees

So why do people STILL use so much paper?

So why do people STILL use so much paper?

cheap

Easy to get

Well developed industry

Convenient to

use

So with this demand, the way paper is made needs

to change

Paper can come from other plant fibres (and not from cutting down trees)

Agri-residue (farm crop waste)

Fibre crops: plants grown specifically for their fibres, like kenaf (hemp) and flax

Waste paper (recycling)

They are all made the same way…

Fibres

are flattened

But for now, how much paper we use, is still a

big problem

What can you do?

What can you do?

Use less paper!

Always use both sides!

Buy used books! Sell your own books!

Newspaper is the new giftwrap!

Turn your trash into treasures!

Recycle what you do use!

Think carefully about what you do buy! (non-bleached, paper from sustainable forests, recycled paper or even better…bamboo, kenaf, or flax)