Page 125 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol IV

1426 berkshire encyclopedia of world history

(1768–1855) and by Henry (1766–1854) and Sealy producing synthetic dyestuffs—the first targets of popu-
Fourdrinier (d. 1847). Soon, other types were developed, lar ecological movements and legislation.A further stage
such as the Dickinson cylinder machine. Fourdrinier-type was marked by the enlargement of the web width (web
and cylinder machines gained ground in the nineteenth is the term for the continuous sheet of paper produced in
century and were extended to include a dryer section; the mechanized paper mills), an increase in working speeds,
technology steadily improved, leading to considerable in- the introduction of electric drive, and the development of
creases in production speeds.With the increasing indus- machines designed specifically for the production of par-
trialization of papermaking, small operators who were ticular paper and cardboard grades.Web working width
unable or unwilling to pay for machines were forced to grew from 85 centimeters in 1830 to 1,100 centimeters
survive with piece work or by producing special grades in 1990, while production speeds rose from 3–5 meters
and cardboard, but they were sooner or later compelled per minute in 1820 to more than 2,000 meters per min-
to discontinue their activities. ute in 1995. Consequently, paper prices dropped, leading
The decisive turn in developing the U.S. paper indus- —starting also in the nineteenth century—to the pro-
try was initiated by Joshua Gilpin, who in 1815 brought duction of very cheap booklets and magazines intended
from England not only the plans of the Dickinson cylin- for a growing literacy of peoples around the world.
der machine but also Lawrence Greatrake, a leading Alongside the development of printing, new paper
paper engineer. Special paper machines were successfully grades were created, together with specialized paper such
built (including the so-called Yankee cylinder machine), as punch cards, stand-up collars, tube papers, flong (stereo-
and soon the United States led the world in paper pro- typing paper), pergamyn (parchment imitation), ammu-
duction and in per capita paper and board consumption nition papers, envelopes, tobacco paper, toilet paper, and
(more than 300 kilograms per year in 1980). so on.The use of new materials (thermomechanical pulp,
The industrialization of papermaking was marked by deinked waste paper, new fillers, process chemicals, and
some definite trends. First, all work sequences previously dyes) and new sheet-forming techniques, neutral sizing,
performed by hand were mechanized, thus steeply rais- greater stress on ecology, and—most effective—automa-
ing the demand for energy. Then, efforts were made to tion brought further improvement.
obtain rag substitutes on an industrial scale, and appro-
priate industrial plants were developed. Straw was sug-
gested as a raw material but proved unsuitable because Paper Today
it produced low-quality paper. Only the 1843 discovery Paper consumption grew from medieval times to the end
that one could use ground wood pulp, followed by the of the eighteenth century by a factor of fifty. Since then,
invention of chemical pulp (first patents in 1854), solved paper and board has become a worldwide, large-scale
this problem. Pulping (the extraction of fibers from commodity with exponential growth. Statistics from the
wood by mechanical or chemical means) became an United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
industry of its own. Just from its start, two big problems have led to a forecast of about half a billion tons in
arose: Wood grinding produced fibers of minor quality, 2010, of which about two-fifths will be produced in the
prone to decay in a short term, especially if applied to- fastest growing industrial market, Asia.
gether with acid rosin size.Thus, most books and news- Technical and commercial changes have led to spe-
paper produced between 1850 and 1980 containing cialization in certain paper types, development of new
wood pulp are endangered and need conservatory treat- paper grades, and new commercial entities and struc-
ment. Because of heavy water and air pollution, chemical tures brought about by corporate mergers or by com-
pulping plants were—already in the nineteenth century, pany groups with their own raw-material supply and
together with the then newly founded chemical plants trading organizations. The evolution of new sheet--