It’s difficult to imagine a world without paper, even in the digital age. While things like forms can now be filled electronically, and even store receipts can be e-mailed, there is still a huge demand for paper. Paper pulp isn’t used strictly for copy paper or notepads; it’s also used in paper towels and toilet paper. So, how is it made?

Paper pulp is a raw material made from fibers that is used in paper manufacturing, wood being the most commonly used fiber. The pulping process removes any imperfections and unnecessary components from the wood, which strengthen the paper and prevent any discoloration. Softwood trees like spruce or firs have longer fibers that are used for packaging due to their strength. Hardwood, however, are weaker due to the short fibers, and are used for smoother products like copy paper.

Pulp can be made in 3 main ways:

  • Chemical—wood is cooked in a variety of chemicals, and this process is used for shipping supplies or other heavy-duty products.
  • Mechanical—the process of grinding logs and refining chips to produce lightweight product like newspaper and tissue
  • Recovered—when you recycle, that old paper product is combined with water in a blending pulper. Recovered paper can also be combined with pulp from wood chips.

By using our screw conveyor special attachments, product can be mixed, heated, and cooled while it’s being conveyed. Screw feeders are a special type of screw conveyor made with variable pitch flights to run completely full at inlets so that they can be controlled to precisely meter out product into weighing, batching, or processing equipment.

Hoppers are used for storage, funneling, and gravity feeding of the paper pulp. Our hoppers come with numerous options like multiple discharge points, airlocks, and level monitoring.

Contact an Anderson-Crane application engineering expert today to design a reliable solution to your material handling problem!