A
paper mill is a
factory
devoted to making
paper from
wood pulp and other ingredients using a
Fourdrinier Machine or similar
apparatus.
History
In 105 AD
the first papermaking process was
created in China
by the
Han Dynasty Chinese court eunuch
Tsai Lun. The technology spread
from East Asia to the Islamic world after the Battle of Talas
.
The
earliest known paper mill is known to have operated in Baghdad
, modern-day
Iraq
, as early as 794. After Baghdad, the
paper-making process spread to Damascus, Egypt, and Morocco, and by
the 10th century paper had replaced
papyrus,
wood,
silk and
parchment as the cheapest and most widespread
writing substrate in the Islamic world.
In Europe
the first mention of rag-paper is in the tract of Peter, Abbot
of Cluny (1112 - 1150 AD), while the oldest recorded document
on paper in Christian Europe is the eleventh century Missal of Silos, the paper for which was
probably made in Islamic
Spain
. One of the first known paper mills in Europe
was in Xativa
near
Valencia
, Catalan
Countries
, established
around 1151 AD by the Muslim Moors.
Characteristics
Paper mills can be fully integrated mills or nonintegrated mills.
Integrated mills consist of a pulp mill and a paper mill on the
same site. Such mills receive logs or wood chips and produce paper.
It is a common misconception that paper mills are sources of odors.
Pulp mills and the pulping section of integrated mills
(particularly if using the
kraft
process) commonly have associated odors; nonintegrated mills
purchase wood pulp, usually in dry bales known as
market pulp, and produce little, if any,
odor.
The modern paper mill uses large amounts of
energy,
water, and
wood pulp in a highly efficient and extremely
complex series of processes, using modern and sophisticated
controls
technology to produce a sheet of
paper that can be used in incredibly diverse ways. Modern paper
machines are very large and can be 500 feet (~150 m) in
length, produce a sheet 400 inches (~10 m) wide, and
operate at speeds of more than 60 mph (100 km/h). The two
main suppliers of paper machines are
Metso and
Voith.
See also
Notes
External links
T.H.E. Journal
[49794]
- List of paper mills on paper and print monthly[49795]
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