MANUFACTURE OF PAPER AND

TYPES OF PAPER USED IN

PACKAGING 

Prof. Dr. Essam Saber Abd El-Sayed

Ahmed
 CONTENTS 2.7 Coating/Calendering -------------------------- 5 

1. Introduction ​-------------------------------------- 1 2.8 Finishing ----------------------------------------- 6

2.  Paper Manufacture​----------------------------- 2 2.9 Shipping ------------------------------------------ 6 

2.1 Pulp manufacturing​--------------------------- 2 2.10 Quality control  ------------------------------- 6

2.1.1 Mechanical Pulping ​----------------------- 2 3. Types of Paper  ----------------------------------- 7

2.1.2 Chemical Pulping​------------------------- 3 3.1 Kraft Paper -------------------------------------- 7

2.2 Pulp washing and screening​--------------- 4 3.2 Bleached Paper  --------------------------------- 8

2.3 Bleaching -------------------------------------- 4 3.3 Greaseproof Paper  ---------------------------- 8

2.4 Stock Preparation​-------------------------- 4  3.4 Glassine Paper  --------------------------------- 9

2.5 The Wet-end Operation​------------------- 5  3.5 Vegetable Parchment  ------------------------- 9

2.6 Pressing and Drying​----------------------- 5 3.6 Waxed Paper ------------------------------------ 10

1. Introduction
• Paper is made from cellulose fibers, which are obtained from trees,
recovered papers and annual plant fibers like cereal straws. Today
about 97% of the world's paper and board is made from wood-pulp,
and about 85% of the wood-pulp used is from hardwoods and
softwoods.​
• Hardwoods are used as an ideal raw material for corrugated cases
as well as printing and writing papers.​
• Softwoods offer longer fibers (average 3 mm compared with 1 mm
for hardwoods) and continue to be used for papers requiring the
highest strength characteristics. ​
• Paper is called board when it is heavier than 224 g/m2.​
• Chemically pure cellulose consists of long, ribbon-like molecules
made up of smaller glucose units. ​
• Paper and board can be used in contact with food in many different
ways, either directly or indirectly, and either singly or laminated
with other materials such as plastic or metal foil. [1,2] 1
2. Manufacture of Paper 

2.1 Pulp manufacturing
• Manufacturing of pulp starts with raw material preparation by debarking (in case
of wood), chipping, and other processes.
•  Cellulosic pulp is manufactured from the raw materials, using chemical
and mechanical means. [3,4]

2.1.1 Mechanical Pulping 

• Mechanical pulping separates fibers from each other by mechanical
energy applied to the wood matrix causing the gradual break of the bonds
between the fibers
• In the mechanical pulping, the objective is to maintain the main part of the lignin
in order to achieve high yield with acceptable strength properties
and brightness casuing have a low resistance to aging.
• The main processes are Groundwood Pulping (GW) by pressing wood
chips against a rotating surface to grind off small pieces, Thermo-
Mechanical Pulping (TMP), by using high-temperature steaming before
refining. [5,6] 2
 2.1.2 Chemical Pulping
• Chemical pulps are made by cooking (digesting) the raw materials, using the kraft (sulfate) and
sulfite processes.
• In the kraft pulp process the active cooking chemicals (white liquor) are sodium hydroxide
(NaOH) and sodium sulfide (Na2S).
• Kraft pulp possesses superior pulp strength properties in comparison to sulphite pulp. 
• Kraft processes produce a variety of pulps used mainly for packaging and high-strength papers and
board.
• In the sulfite process Acid (bi)sulphite, Bisulphite, Neutral sulphite (NSSC), and Alkaline sulphite
are mainly used to attack and remove lignin.

• Mechanical pulps are weaker than chemical pulps, but cheaper to produce (about 50% of the costs
of chemical pulp) and are generally obtained in the yield range of 85–95%.
• Chemical pulping yields approximately 50% but offers higher strength properties and the fibers are
more easily breached because the mechanical pulping process does not remove lignin. [5,6]

3
2.2 Pulp washing and screening 
• To removes impurities and recycles any residual cooking liquor via
the pulp washing process. [5,6]

2.3 Bleaching  
• Bleaching is any process that chemically alters pulp to increase its
brightness.
•  The principal pulp bleaching agents are chlorine, chlorine dioxide,
hypochlorite, peroxide, chlorite, oxygen and ozone. [5,6]

2.4 Stock Preparation

• Stock preparation is conducted to convert raw stock into finished

stock (furnish) for the paper machine. 
• The pulp is prepared for the paper machine including the blending of
different pulps, dilution, and the addition of chemicals. [5,6]

4
2.5 The Wet-end Operation
• The pulp is pumped into the headbox of the paper machine at this point. The
slurry consists of approximately 99.5% water and approximately 0.5% pulp
fiber. The exit point for the slurry is the “slice” or head box opening.
• As the wire moves along the machine path, water drains through the mesh.
[7,8]

2.6 Pressing and Drying

• As the paper enters the press section, it undergoes compression between two
rotating rolls to squeeze out more water.
• Then it  continues  its way through the steam heated dryers losing moisture
each step of the way.
• About 90% of the cost of removing water from the sheet occurs during the
pressing and drying operations. [7,8]

2.7 Coating/Calendering
• Coating is the treatment of the paper surface with clay or other pigments
and/or adhesives to enhance printing quality, color, smoothness, opacity, or
other surface characteristics. There is a great demand for paper with a very
smooth printing surface. [9,10]
5
2.8 Finishing

• At the end of the drying process, the sheet is smoothed using an "ironing" method, which consists of hot
polished iron rollers mounted in pairs with synthetic material rollers, one above the other. [1,2]

2.9 Shipping

• The paper comes off the machine ready for reeling up into large reels, which can be cut or slit into smaller ones,
according to customer requirements. [1,2]

2.10 Quality control

• to ensure that the paper or board is of a consistently high quality. Moreover, for food contact applications,
microbiological and chemical controls have to be carried out. [1,2]

6
3. Types of Paper 
• Paper is divided into two broad categories: fine papers, generally made of bleached
pulp, and typically used for writing paper, bond, ledger, book and cover papers, and
coarse papers, generally made of unbleached kraft softwood pulps and used for
packaging. [1,2]

3.1 Kraft Paper

• This is typically a coarse paper with exceptional strength, often made on a machine
and then either machine-glazed on a dryer or machine-finished on a calender. It is
sometimes made with no calendering so that when it is converted into bags, the
rough surface will prevent them from sliding over one another when stacked on
pallets. [1,2]

7
3.2 Bleached Paper

• These are manufactured from pulps which are relatively white, bright and soft
and receptive to the special chemicals necessary to develop many functional
properties. They are generally more expensive and weaker than unbleached
papers. Their aesthetic appeal is frequently improved by clay coating on one or
both sides. [1,2]

3.3 Greaseproof Paper

• This is a translucent, machine-finished paper which has been hydrated to give

oil and grease resistance. Prolonged beating or mechanical refining is used to
fibrillate and break the cellulose fibers which absorb so much water that they
become superficially gelatinized and sticky and thus create a sheet with very
low porosity. [1,2]

8
3.4 Glassine Paper

• Glassine paper derives its name from its glassy, smooth surface, high density
and transparency. 
• It is produced by treating greaseproof paper in a supercalender where it is
carefully dampened with water and run through a set of steam-heated rollers
resulting in very few pores or other fiber/air interfaces exist for scattering light
or allowing liquid penetration.

 3.5 Vegetable Parchment

•  The process for producing parchment paper  developed by passing a web of

high-quality chemical pulp through a bath of concentrated sulphuric acid. The
cellulosic fibers partially dissolve, filling the spaces between the fibers and
resulting in extensive hydrogen bonding. Thorough washing in water, followed
by drying, causes re-precipitation and consolidation of the network, resulting in
a paper with excellent wet strength, even in boiling water and resistant to
grease.
•  Labels and inserts in products with high oil or grease content are frequently
made from parchment. It can be treated with mold inhibitors and used to wrap
foods such as cheese.
9
3.6 Waxed Paper

• Waxed papers provide a barrier against penetration of liquids and vapors. Many base
papers are suitable for waxing, including greaseproof and glassine papers.
•  The major types are wet-waxed, dry-waxed and wax-laminated.
•  Wax-sized papers, in which the wax is added at the beater during the paper-making
process, have the least amount of wax and therefore give the least amount of protection.
•  Wet-waxed papers have a continuous surface film on one or both sides, achieved by
shock-chilling the waxed web immediately after application of the wax. This also
imparts a high degree of gloss on the coated surface.
•  Dry-waxed papers are produced using heated rolls and do not have a continuous film
on the surfaces. [1,2]

10
Reference
[1] Paine, F.A. and Paine, H.Y. 1992. A Hand Book of Food Packaging. Blackie Academic & Professional. 
[2] Robertson GL. 1993. Food Packaging Principles and Practice. Marcel Dekker INC. New York 
[3] Smook GA (1992a) Wood and chip handling. Handbook for Pulp & Paper Technologists, 2nd edn. Angus Wilde
Publications, Vancouver, p 20
[4] Biermann CJ (1996a) Wood and fiber fundamentals. Handbook of Pulping and Papermaking. Academic, San Diego,
p 13 
[5] Smook GA (1992b) Overview of pulping methodology. Handbook for Pulp & Paper Technologists, 2nd edn. Angus
Wilde Publications, Vancouver, p 36
[6] Biermann CJ (1996b) Pulping fundamentals. Handbook of Pulping and Papermaking. Academic, San Diego, p 55 
[7] Smook GA (1992e) Paper manufacture – wet end operations. Handbook for Pulp & Paper Technologists, 2nd edn.
Angus Wilde Publications, Vancouver, p 228
[8] Biermann CJ (1996f) Paper manufacture. Handbook of Pulping and Papermaking. Academic, San Diego, p 209 
[9] Smook GA (1992d) Preparation of papermaking stock. Handbook for Pulp & Paper Technologists, 2nd edn. Angus
Wilde Publications, Vancouver, p 194
[10] Biermann CJ (1996e) Stock preparation and additives for papermaking. Handbook of Pulping and Papermaking.
Academic, San Diego, p 190