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Lifestyle
Print Edition> Lifestyle
UPDATED: February 27, 2010 NO. 9 MARCH 4, 2010
Paper From Rocks
Traditional papermaking techniques are being replaced by methods involving new materials
By TANG YUANKAI
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 A NEW LEAF: The birth of RMP ushers in a new era of papermaking

Papermaking techniques are undergoing a great revolution and a new paper made from stone is lining up to take the place of the conventional type.

At this year's National People's Congress of China and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference that is to start on March 3, all the file bags and scratchpads will be made from a new type of low-carbon paper which is environmentally friendly.

The first batch of the new paper will be provided by papermaking enterprises from northeast China's Jilin Province. The new Rich Mineral Paper (RMP) is constituted from the main raw material of mineral rocks containing variants of calcium carbonate, such as calcite, marble and limestone, which are easily found in China.

Furthermore, RMP is eco-friendly and does not involve pollution of water, toxic gases or waste products in its production process.

"The papermaking industry is an industry where there is heavy pollution," said Dong Suocheng, a researcher with the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Previously, papermaking called for great amounts of timber and water and also discharged toxic and hazardous substances during production, which caused serious harm to the environment and people's health.

Dong said traditional papermaking consumes 3.7 tons of wood chips, 200 tons of fresh water, 1.8 tons of standard coal and 600 kwh of electricity to produce a ton of paper, and discharges a large amount of sewage as well as more than 300 kinds of harmful waste gases.

"If RMP can replace conventional paper some day, it will bring about great economic and ecological benefits," he said.

Unlike wood pulp paper, RMP is made from stone. Grinding minerals into powder and dissolving the powder into nonpoisonous organic macromolecular compounds, the production process does not need water, strong acids, strong bases, bleaching agents nor other organic chlorines. This means it does not produce waste. In production, it will also reduce per-unit energy consumption to two thirds of traditional techniques.

As well, RMP is biodegradable and easily recycled. Put into an incinerator, stone powders in paper promote nonpoisonous resins to burn fully so that there is no poison gas residue. The paper degrade and cracks like eggshell when exposed to direct sunlight for six months or more and will turn into inorganic powder within a year of being buried.

RMP looks like conventional paper but it is more pliable and tougher, therefore more durable, and is waterproof. When used for writing, it will help resist water damage. When used in print work, it provides clearer imprints and pictures. It is expected to replace plastics for grocery bags, tablecloths and raincoats. Furthermore, additive can be used to produce plastic bags, buckets and flowerpots.

The technique of making RMP adopts "polymer surface chemistry" and "filling modification technology." Producers can add appropriate filling agents to improve stiffness and hardness.

Producers are also able to reduce costs of materials to a large degree. Compared to conventional products, RMP products have the advantages of safety, being eco-friendly, doing away with poison, are water-, grease-, mildew- and insect-proof, and show high resistance even if repeatedly folded or drawn upon.

Paper is one of the four great inventions of ancient China. For more than 2,000 years, its main raw materials have been wood pulp and grass pulp. Today RMP is a new breakthrough. The earliest production technology research was done by Japan and Germany in the 1960s, China's earliest RMP research and production were done in Taiwan.

The inventer of "stone paper" on the Chinese mainland, the Champion of the Earth Stone Paper Technology Corp., is a well-known RMP producer on the Chinese mainland. It was the first to solve the two tough questions of the film formation of high-calcium carbonate products and the ultra-high strength of paper, cooperating with dozens of China's colleges, universities and institutes. The enterprise has become a leading RMP producer in China, and owns intellectual property rights.

Today, it has put in place 13.87 billion yuan ($2.03 billion), planning to build 20 RMP production bases in five to eight years. By October 2009, it had already built three production bases.

One of the three finished producing bases covers a total area of 3.4 million square meters. The project was completed in three phases. Starting from April 1, 2009, the first phase of the project realized 7 billion yuan ($1.02 billion) in sales income and 1.4 billion yuan ($204.98 million) in taxes, with a 1.08-million-ton production capacity in 2009. In 2010, the base plans to launch 120 more production lines.

"We are determined to develop RMP-making into a strong industry to make our contribution to China's adjustment of its industrial structure and low-carbon economy," said Song Xu, President of the enterprise.

The 2010 Government Work Report of Jilin Province also proposes to promote the mass production of eco-friendly RMP and lists it among its strategic emerging industries. The annual RMP production of the province is expected to reach 5.4 million tons. Compared with traditional paper production, this production capacity could save 8.64 million cubic meters of timber every year, equal to 1,016 square km of forests. It will also save 1.08 billion cubic meters of water, reduce sewage discharge by 650 million tons, save 1.89 billion kwh of electricity and also reduce discharges of more than 300 poisonous substances and gases.



 
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