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Although excellent fiber was obtained, the engineering difficulties proved so serious that experiments were temporarily abandoned in the United States. But the process was afterward put upon a successful commercial basis by Fry and Ekman, at Berzwik, Sweden, in 1870. Americans soon took up the problem with renewed energy, and the late Charles S. Wheelwright, of Providence, Rhode Island, after a visit to Sweden in 1882 on which he obtained the rights to the Ekman patents, introduced the process at the plant of the Richmond Paper Company, in Providence, and while a commercial success was not realized, it was an important step in the development of the industry, and not many years passed before the United States gained a leading position in the production of wood-pulps.

See Little & Griffin, "The Chemistry of Paper-making."

Thus in less than ninety years, from Robert's invention of 1798 to the early eighties, the world witnessed a complete revolution of the paper industry, which had struggled along in the same old rut for some two thousand years.

To-day the United States leads the world in the production of paper. According to the census of 1909, we produced 4,216,708 tons, valued at 2,741,049, an amount which exceeds in tonnage the combined production of England, Germany, France, Austria and Italy.

Well may we be proud of this great industry, which after all is largely the reflection of a nation's intelligence and culture, and commercial activity.

RAW MATERIALS

Paper has been defined as "an aqueous deposit of cellulose," and while this is incomplete as a catalogue of the materials composing a sheet of modern paper, it is an excellent epitome of the foundation of paper-making. Minute cellulose fibers, derivatives of various raw materials, are deposited upon a wire cloth by the passage of a volume of water in which they have been suspended. The pulpy film thus formed becomes a sheet of paper, after the expulsion and evaporation of the water which served as a medium for their deposit.

The minute fibers composing this hypothetical sheet of paper may have been isolated from one of several sources of raw materials in present commercial use, or the sheet may be composed of a mixture of different fibers, all more or less pure cellulose, in accordance with the preliminary treatment each has undergone.

The principal sources from which American paper fibers are derived are cotton and linen rags, hemp, jute, wood, straw; and waste papers.

Previous to the year 1840, the sources were limited to rags. These are almost wholly composed of pure cellulose fibers, which give up their non-cellulose concomitants with slight resistance. The more severe chemical treatments necessary for the isolation of cellulose fibers, from wood, for example, half of which is non-cellulose in structure, were unknown to early paper-makers, and only became possible after the discovery of bleaching-powder by Tennant, and the manufacture of soda by Le Blanc.

Although experiments in search of suitable substitutes for rags began to be made in the eighteenth century, it was Keller's invention of ground wood in 1840, Routledge's work on esparto grass and wood with a soda process in 1854, and our own fellow countryman Tilghmann's patent of the sulphite process in 1866, from which we may date the beginnings of the now extensive use of materials other than cotton and linen wastes.

The accompanying table, taken from the United States Statistics of Manufacture for 1909, gives an illuminating indication of the rapid growth of our paper industry, and also shows the remarkable increase in the use of wood celluloses.

Note.--Statistics are taken from U.S. Reports for 1909. Subsequent reports are obtainable from the Director of the Census, Washington, D.C.

It may be observed that the percentage of increase in the use of wood-pulp of all kinds for the decade 1899-1909 was 111.6, and of rags, 50. Approximately four and one-quarter millions tons of paper were produced in 1909, for which the fibers used figured in the following proportions:

Per Cent. Wood-pulp 61.6 Old and waste papers 21.4 Rags 7.8 Straw 6.6 Manila 2.6

Of the total amount of wood fibers, the various proportions were approximately as follows:

Per Cent. Ground wood 47 Sulphite pulp 42 Soda pulp 11

A further investigation as to the species of woods used shows that, while spruce is still the most important, contributing nearly 60 per cent, other woods are being increasingly used.

Another noteworthy fact is the mighty increase in imports of wood-pulps, which jumped from 33,319 tons in 1899 to 307,122 tons in 1909, an amount equal to 12 per cent of all that is used in the United States.

Table from United States Statistics of Manufacture for 1909, Showing Rapid Growth of Paper Industry.

The comparative statement follows:

Balsam.

Included in "All other."

Included with other wood by species.

The high point of importation of chemical wood-pulp was reached in 1914, when approximately 3,600,000 tons came in from Europe and 92,000 from Canada. In January 1916 owing to the war, imports for the month from Europe dropped from an average of 30,694 tons to 12,985 tons, while Canadian pulp increased from an average of 7,654 to an actual importation for the month of 28,833 tons.

Although the use of wood now so heavily overshadows that of rags that it almost seems as though the latter were being slowly abandoned, this is of course only relatively true, their consumption being actually greater than ever. The mere cost of the rags in 1909 was slightly in excess of the total value of all paper products recorded in the United States Census for 1850, a circumstance which leads us to wonder at the timely discoveries which made wood cellulose available.

It is evident, however, that to some extent paper history is already beginning to repeat itself. The visible supplies of wood are markedly less, as evidenced by their increasing costs, and we are forced to a much more active attitude than one of mere speculation as to what new sources may become available to supply our demand for paper, which has lately been increasing in the value of the annual products by almost 11 per cent.

In the decade from 1899 to 1909 shown by government statistics, book-paper advanced 104 per cent in quantity, but 120 per cent in value; writing-paper, 88 per cent in quantity, but 104 per cent in value; wrapping-paper, 43 per cent in quantity and 72 per cent in value. It is true that rising wages account in part for these changes in value, but above and behind all this stands the inexorable law of supply and demand.

The discrepancies between the percentages of increase in production and value serve to emphasize the increasing difficulties in obtaining raw material. That sprucewood is being consumed in this country faster than it is grown, is indicated by the recourse to less-favored species, as well as by the steadily increasing imports, both of pulpwood and wood-pulp. This situation emphasises the great importance of conserving waste papers, in spite of the fact that 21.4 per cent of the fiber used in 1909 in the United States were derived from waste papers. Vast quantities may readily be saved which now go to waste, as was definitely proved by England's experience during the war, when the imports of pulp were shut off and immediate substitutes had to be found.

This is a matter demanding the attention not only of printers, but of municipalities and nations. It offers an immediate source of relief from the drain on our forests and is hence a most practical form of conservation. Furthermore as demonstrated by the city of Cleveland the revenue from collecting waste papers assists substantially in offsetting the cost of the collection of municipal wastes.

FUTURE FIBER POSSIBILITIES

The United States Department of Agriculture, in August, 1911, issued a treatise on "Crop Plants for Paper-Making," in which the author, Charles J. Brand, concluded: "There is some skepticism as to the failure of pulpwood supplies, but this is certainly poorly grounded.

"During 1909 the quantity of spruce used was less by 40,000 cords than in 1907, but the cost was ,000,000 greater. Present efforts in connection with reforestation of spruce and poplar are not extensive enough to produce any noteworthy effect upon the available supply within a generation.

"At the present rate of increase in consumption, it will require between 15,000,000 and 20,000,000 cords of wood for pulp and paper fiber in 1950. It will certainly be impossible to furnish this from the forests. If every acre cut over each year were reforested, it would be twenty-five or thirty years, or possibly even longer, before the trees could obtain sufficient size to warrant cutting. The forests can not recover from overdrafts continually being made on them. Hence it is only a question of a limited number of years until paper fiber must be grown as a crop, as are practically all other plants materials entering into the economy of man. While the conservation of only a few of the by-products of the farms yielding paper fiber can be accomplished profitably in the near future, and only a few of the plants promise to be money-makers immediately if grown solely for paper production, it seems very probable that raw products, now scarcely considered, may in a few years play an important part in the paper and pulp industry."

Two lines of research are now being followed by the United States Government. The Forest Products Laboratory of the Forest Service is investigating a large number of coniferous and broad-leaved trees, which have not hitherto been used in paper-making. These sources are likely to be the first which manufactures will turn to, as the processes involved are such as they are already familiar with, and the apparatus with which they are supplied is suitable.

The second line of research is being followed by the Bureau of Plant Industry, assisted by the Bureau of Chemistry, and is concerned with plants other than trees. Private investigations are also being carried on.

The following five requirements are given by the Bureau of Plant Industry, Circular No. 82, as to the availability of crop plants:

Fibers complying with these conditions will come into commercial use whenever the increasing costs of wood-pulp reach a figure approximately equal to cost of producing cellulose from any other available source. Up to the present time this has not been brought about, but the steady increase in the cost of wood-pulp is approaching a level with which crop pulps may soon compete.

A synopsis of the fibers described in the circular referred to is given below.

CORN STALKS.--On account of the enormous supply, corn stalks were first taken up by the Bureau. The yield of stalks per acre is conservatively estimated at one ton, and the annual product is placed as at least 100,000,000 tons, of which not over one-third is believed to be utilized by the farmers. Three products have been derived from the stalks:

It would require an immense area to supply a mill of moderate capacity, and the question of whether the derivatives of corn stalks could be sufficiently valuable to overcome the costs of harvesting and hauling, has never been answered by any experiment on a commercial scale.

BROOM CORN.--Broom corn contains a higher percentage of fibers than corn stalks. In laboratory and semi-commercial tests, fiber yields of 32 to 40 per cent have been obtained with a comparatively low consumption of chemicals. The Bureau claims that results "indicate that this material is suitable for immediate use in paper-making on the basis of quality of fiber produced and yield of fiber secured." It is estimated that 450,000 tons is the approximate annual crop. Food extracts may also be obtained as well as the fiber.

RICE STRAW.--The Chinese and Japanese have for years used rice straw in paper-making, and it is regarded by the Government investigators as one of the most promising crop materials, the annual crop approximating 1,500,000 tons.

COTTON-HULL FIBER.--The lint adhering to the cotton hulls, after the long fiber has been removed, may be conserved as a by-product of the cotton-seed oil industry, and this fiber may be reckoned among the possibilities. Cotton stalks also have been the subject of experiment. The yield per acre, however, is not estimated at above 1,000 pounds, so that immense tracts would have to be covered in accumulating any considerable supply, and after the cotton crop has all been picked, negro help is very difficult to obtain.

BAGASSE.--Bagasse, or the refuse sugar-cane, is given rather scant consideration in the Government report. Its individual fibers are short, and the percentage of pith is large. Several small plants have had discouraging experiences in attempting to put this material to commercial use. Nevertheless, recent experiments carried on in the interests of the United Fruit Company, under the Simmons patents, point to a promising result. Under this process the cane is not treated in the usual manner of crushing for the extraction of sugar. Instead, it is shredded, dried, and the pith separated from the fiber. The product is then shipped in bales to refineries, where the sugar is extracted.

This method is said to achieve an almost complete extraction of the sugar, whereas the old method of crushing loses about twenty per cent of the sugar and injures the fibers. The Simmons process does no damage to the fibers, which though short, possess excellent felting properties. The pith, being cellulose of a non-fibrous structure, has a value for other industries than paper-making.

FLAX STRAW.--There is an abundant annual crop of flax straw. The average yield per acre is about one ton, and the total annual production about 3,000,000 tons. In the opinion of the Government investigators, it is a "most promising" material.

"There is a popular view, which has been erroneously fostered by the Government, that there are exhaustless resources of waste fiber in our country, suitable for paper, and a substitute for wood. I once thought so myself. It is very natural to think that the discarded stalks of sugar-cane, corn, cotton, rice, flax, and other plants, which mature annually, would prove an abundant substitute for wood.

"These have all been exploited for twenty-five years to my personal knowledge, with no visible results. A plant has one function to perform--it is to flower, fruit or make stalk. Its other functions are subordinate and produce only by-products. The stalk is the main product of the forest tree. No other fibrous material is so rich in cellulose; no other which lends itself so easily to paper-mill processing. It has no seasons of harvest; does not require curing; does not easily decay; requires no packing, and may be stored best in the rivers. All these waste stalks are pithy, bulky and perishable, and would require much labor to gather, pack and ship. These are but a few reasons why we may expect no practical results from this source. Wood fills a place no other material can. There is no substitute for it."

In this argument Mr. Griffin ignores the fact that esparto grass is a crop which gives a yield of cellulose practically equal to wood, and of equal, if not superior, quality. Although it is not available for American mills, it is worth citing in contradiction to the flat statement that "there is no substitute for wood." Furthermore, there is no evidence that the American crops furnish an inferior fiber, though the cellulose yield is less. It is quite possible that the low cellulose yield may be compensated for through the production of by-products along with the paper-making material. Hitherto, however, this low yield and other considerations, as expense of harvesting and packing, have been the factors which have retarded their development, but the increasing scarcity of wood, and its consequent advance in cost, is hastening the day when crop plants will become not only valuable, but necessary adjuncts to the paper industry.

THE CONSTITUENTS OF PAPER

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