27-12-2012, 12:18 PM
Paper Industry in India
1Paper Industry.docx (Size: 54.67 KB / Downloads: 27)
INTRODUCTION
Paper industry in India is the 15th largest paper industry in the world. It provides employment to nearly 1.5 million people and contributes Rs 25 billion to the government's kitty. The government regards the paper industry as one of the 35 high priority industries of the country.
So far, the growth in paper industry has mirrored the growth in GDP and has grown on an average 6-7 per cent over the last few years. India is the fastest growing market for paper globally and it presents an exciting scenario; paper consumption is poised for a big leap forward in sync with the economic growth and is estimated to touch 13.95 million tons by 2015-16. The futuristic view is that growth in paper consumption would be in multiples of GDP and hence an increase in consumption by one kg per capita would lead to an increase in demand of 1 million tons. As per industry estimates, paper production is likely to grow at a CAGR of 8.4% while paper consumption will grow at a CAGR of 9% till 2012-13. The import of pulp & paper products is likely to show a growing trend.
Foreign funds interest in the Indian paper sector is growing. IFC, the investment arm of the World Bank is already associated with at least three of the IPMA member mills.
PAPER MAKING PROCESS
The stepwise paper making process and the materials used is as follows
TIMBER
Timber used for papermaking comes from well managed forests where
more trees are planted than harvested to ensure sustainable growth.
Papermakers usually use only the parts of the tree that other
commercial industries don't want such as saw mill waste and forest
thinning.
DE-BARKER
Bark is stripped from the logs by knife, drum, abrasion, or hydraulic bark.
The stripped bark is then used for fuel or as soil enrichment.
CHIPPING MACHINE
Stripped logs are chipped into small pieces by knives mounted in massive steel wheels (used in chemical pulping process).The chips pass through vibrating screens, whereby both undersized chips, dust etc and oversized chips are rejected.
Accepted chips are then stored in huge bins ready for the next process.
CHEMICAL PULPING PROCESS
Chips from the storage bins are fed into a digester to which chemicals have been added. The woodchips are then 'cooked' to remove lignin. Lignin is the binding material which holds the cellulose fibres together.
The chips are 'cooked' by heat and pressure in caustic soda and sulphur. The chemical process is energy self-sufficient as nearly all by-products can be used to fire the pulp mill power plant. The chemical pulping process produces lower fibre yield than mechanical pulping, typically 50-60%.
MECHANICAL PULPING PROCESS
Mechanical pulp yields over 90% of the wood as fiber is produced by forcing debarked logs, about two meters long, and hot water between enormous rotating steel discs with teeth that literally tear the wood apart. Alternatively, logs can be pressed against grindstones which is why this process is also known as ground wood pulp.
Trees contain up to 30% lignin, a material which is sensitive to light and degrades, and turns brown in sunlight, which explains why papers made from mechanical pulp will discolor. An example of this is newsprint. Newsprint is designed to have a short life span, and if left for a long period of time will lose its whiteness and strength. The special advantages of mechanical pulp are that it makes the paper opaque and bulky.
HYDRAPULPER
When the bales of wood pulp or waste paper arrive at the paper mill they are loaded onto a conveyor and passed into a circular tank containing water. This has a very powerful agitator at the bottom which breaks up the bales into small pieces.
The pulp mass created begins to look like thick porridge. This machine is known as a Hydrapulper. It operates automatically and when the disintegrating process is complete it discharges the pulp into large storage tanks.
Hydrapulpers used mainly for handling waste paper are fitted with special devices for removing unwanted contraries such as wire, plastic, paper clips, staples etc.
BLEND CHEST
The stock passes to a blend chest where numerous chemicals can be added to obtain the required characteristics to the finished paper. Dyes are also added, as necessary, to color the paper. Dyes fix themselves to the cellulose fibers and are fast to light and water.
Each grade of paper and board requires a very accurate blend of pulps and additives and the properties of the paper are continually monitored by computers during manufacture.
WASTE PAPER
Waste paper is collected from Waste Paper Banks and Commercial collections. When you deposit your used papers into a waste paper bank, you are sorting the paper into grades before the merchant collects it. This is why you can only put certain papers into a particular bank.
Many offices have in place an office recycling scheme. Again the waste paper is usually segregated ready to be collected.
DE-INKING
Before printed paper, such as office waste and newspapers, can be recycled the ink needs to be removed, otherwise it will be dispersed into the pulp and a dull grey paper would result.
There are two main processes for de-inking waste paper - these are known as washing and flotation.
WASHING
The waste paper is placed into a pulpier with large quantities of water and broken down into slurry. Contraries -such as staples - are removed using centrifugal screens. Most of the water containing the dispersed ink is drained through slots or screens that allow the dispersed ink particles through, without taking the pulp. Adhesive particles, known as 'stickies' are removed by fine screening.
INSPECTION AND QUALITY CONTROL
Paper produced will strictly adhere to the Indian BIS (ISO 9001, ISO 14001) standards in the process of manufacturing. By procuring good quality raw materials we will manufacture the consistent quality of paper, as we know that the satisfaction of the customers is the foundation of any business.
Environmental Concerns
The number of trees and other vegetation cut down in order to make paper is enormous. Paper companies insist that they plant as many new trees as they cut down. Environmentalists contend that the new growth trees, so much younger and smaller than what was removed, cannot replace the value of older trees. Efforts to recycle used paper (especially newspapers) have been effective in at least partially mitigating the need for destruction of woodlands, and recycled paper is now an important ingredient in many types of paper production.
The chemicals used in paper manufacture, including dyes, inks, bleach, and sizing, can also be harmful to the environment when they are released into water supplies and nearby land after use. The industry has, sometimes with government prompting, cleared up a large amount of pollution, and federal requirements now demand pollution free paper production. The cost of such clean-up efforts is passed on to the consumer.