Papermaking process.
Paper is most commonly produced from wood or recycling of the waste paper. Each papermaking process begins with a form of thermos-chemical or mechanical processing of the raw materials, with the main goal to extract cellulose fibers. The mixture of purified fibers and water is run through a papermaking machine which operates at speed as high as 2000 m/min.
A typical industrial paper machine consists of a series of presses and driers, which are designed to gradually reduce the water content and to ensure cellulose fiber coming together into a web structure –the base of paper formation. Paper machines are used to produce various grades of paper and to manipulate quality parameters such as grammage, thickness, surface properties, size & strength.
European pulp & paper industry.
In 2021 in Europe, there were nearly 900 mills operating, majority of which were paper mills (735), and the rest pulp producers. Majority of the fibers were produced through recycling of waste paper, with Europe scoring a recycling rate as high as 71%. The remaining fibers were obtained through wood fibers processing. In total, each year there is about 90 million tonnes of paper and board products produced in Europe.
