The
History of Paper
Paper gets its name from papyrus (Cyberus
papyrus) a member of the sedge family. Papyrus
was used by the ancient Egyptians as a writing material
and to fashion mats, sandals, and sailcloth.
Egyptian papermakers harvested papyrus along the banks
of the Nile River, cutting the stems into strips. These
were placed in layers and compressed into rough sheets.
Papyrus, though, was brittle and difficult to use.
In 105AD, Ts'ai Lun of China discovered that the inner
bark of a mulberry tree could be pounded and flattened
into a writing surface. In 1850, Thomas Routledge found
a way of using esparto (alfalfa grass) to make paper.
A few years later, the French naturalist, Reamur, while
watching the habits of wasps, noticed that their nests
were built partly of wood shavings and surmised that
wood would also be a useful ingredient in paper.
For years, wood was ground into pulp
using techniques pioneered in 1840 by a German named
Keller. Starting in 1867, wood fibers were chemically
separated. When pressed together with various additives,
the results can produce 7,000 different kinds of paper.
The trees preferred for paper making are hardwoods,
fir, hemlock, pine, poplar, spruce, tamarack, and flax.
Only 25% of paper used in the US is made from recycled
waste paper.
Paper Making
Objective: Making paper facilitates
the concept of reuse and why it is important. Reinforces
renewable resources vs use of natural resources.
Materials:
- Old newspaper, construction or office paper
- water
- blender
- screens
- deep trays
Recommend: Access to sink or other
cleanup area, space for paper to dry overnight, tv or
vcr for video of paper recycling process.
Process:
- Students should work in groups of 5-6 each.
- A discussion on safety and blender use should pre-empt
the papermaking project.
- Each group should receive a 1/4" stack of newspaper,
office paper, etc to shred and place in blender.
- Start with a 1/4 cup water; add more if needed to
blend shredded paper into a pulp.
- Place screens on deep trays and pour pulp on screen
- Gently press out pulp with hands or newspaper
- Let paper dry overnight
- Clean up work area
|