Pro Carton Fact File – Module 4 – The Pulping Process

WATER USED IN PULPING
CARTON &
BOARD MAKING
Water is used in mechanical and chemical pulping to separate, process and transport primary or virgin fibres, i.e.
fibres made directly from wood. Water is also used in the recycling of fibres from recovered paper and board.
All mills have processes in place to minimise the amount of “lost water”. Water is cleaned and reprocessed in
closed loops before being released back to nature.
THE PULPING
PROCESS
In fact 90% of the water that is taken out at the beginning will be returned to the environment at the end of the
process in a better and cleaner quality than before , with the remainder either being evaporated or remaining within
the product. This is due to the increasing demands on European regulations forcing innovative technologies to be
used in the Mills, (Cepi 2015).
After use the water is treated to meet the local regulations and returned to nature. Action is being taken to moderate
the amount of water used in the manufacturing process to reduce the environmental impact of water use. Cepi has
stated that water consumption in European mills has been reduced by a third in the course of a 10 year survey.
ADVANTAGES OF CARTONBOARD MADE FROM VIRGIN FIBRE
Cartonboard made from primary or virgin fibre is generally whiter, smoother and has a less pronounced surface
structure than cartonboard made mainly from recycled fibres. It can be up to 25% lighter for the same strength and
therefore reduce the overall weight of the carton. Fibres made directly from wood are more “consistent”. This
consistency means that cartonboard made from virgin fibre readily meets the needs of direct food contact and
pharmaceutical packaging and wherever the products packed have sensitive flavours and aromas. One of the most
sensitive products to pack is chocolate. When put in direct contact with packaging made from virgin fibres the pure
taste of the chocolate will be protected.
Cartonboard made from recycled fibre utilises valuable recovered waste paper and board which would otherwise be
discarded into landfill sites or disposed of by other means. Energy and material resources are invested in the
manufacture of paper and board hence recovering and recycling the fibre is therefore an efficient use of those
resources. Cartonboard made mainly from recycled fibres can also be more cost effective as it utilises a lower cost
raw material with the minimum necessary amount of more expensive virgin fibres.
In order to ensure a truly circular and sustainable future for the paper and board industry it is important to continue
to recover as much used fibre as possible and use virgin fibre sustainably to support developments for new and
existing products. To meet varying customer requirements and to keep our circular model running we need both
virgin and recovered fibres. Each post consumer carton collected and recycled will add tremendous value to our
circular business model.
THE CARTON PACKAGING FACT FILE
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