Most people around the world are familiar with some uses of wood pulp, such as it being pressed quite flat and made into paper. The variety of types of paper can be quite astounding. Some pulp is bleached and some is not, making it usable for different reasons, depending upon what the manufacturer requires.

To get a tree from the forest to the point of pulp is done in several stages, the first being the removal of the bark. Bark renders the pulp less useful for most purposes. This bark is burned in a process that creates steam from which the further processes are run. Nothing is wasted since even the sawdust can be burned for the same reason as the bark.

Chipping the remaining wood is done with huge chippers, making chips of varying sizes. This is then run through screenings to separate the different size chips, all being used for other purposes. The ones used in the making of paper are uniform in size so they process equally. The small pieces of wood are then mixed with water and dissolved, which gives off an awful odor for many miles from the plant. There is a company in Maine which logs trees from their forests, which is made into this mash and used in the production of toilet paper, cardboard and even the pages of a famous magazine. The National Geographic Magazine appears in many mailboxes and on news stands around the world. Now you know where those pages originated.

Many other things are made from these different renderings of this batter, such as brown paper bags, wrapping paper, newsprint, writing and hygiene papers and other packaging. The products using the pulp of wood seems to be endless.

A few of the applications of this material are items employed in household, medical and industrial absorbent uses, sponge type materials and textile rayon filaments used in commercial apps. This is often done after dissolving the raw material and pressing, spraying or spreading it for these different items. This turns it into cellophane fibers also.

When dissolved and reworked, this stuff can be turned into insulation as well. From this cellulose, and with the addition of mold and fire retardant chemicals, it can be used safely in insulation applications of many different kinds. It is even made into table tennis balls from this stage.

Being so versatile in its many forms of raw material makes it able to be used in creating other things such as non-taste cigarette filters so tobacco taste is not affected, and in some tires for its reinforcement properties. If you can imagine, it is also used as a thickening agent in paints and toothpaste.

It is perhaps unthinkable that this wood pulp could be put into a food source, but it is often approved for use as fiber in the making of bread. Talking about bread and this raw material in the same sentence may be more acceptable if discussing dough-rising baskets, which are made of this semi-solid mush. Many would much rather use it than eat it.

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Category: Business
Keywords: forestry, wood, paper, pulp, market, society, commerce, business, marketing , hobbies, technology, e