Paper Industry O, Japan

1- Firstly wood chips and blocks were loaded into hoppers on the upper floor, which were fed into wood pulpers. The pulping process here was probably two phases; an initial mechanical phase followed by a chemical phase. During the chemical phase, the pulp is refined with salts and sulfurous acids to remove impurities and bleach the pulp.

2- Secondly, the pulp would be prepared into a stock. The pulp is pumped through a series of tanks, here they are bath-shaped concrete vats with white ceramic tiles. Propellers agitate the mixture. Fillers are added at various points as the pulp moves from tank to tank. These fillers include whitening agents, as well as additives to improve strength or increase the opacity of the final product.

3 – Next, the pulp then passes through screens and then through various mechanical rollers and presses. These rollers progressively removing water and compressing the fibres. The pulp is forced over rollers which press a large felt sheet onto the paper, soaking up more of the water.

4 – The paper now passes into the dryer section. Here hot air, in conjunction with more rollers, and the paper dries further. The paper would then pass onto the large calendar rollers. The paper is rolled to a uniform thickness. Any bumps in the surface texture are also smoothed out at this point.

5 – Finally the paper is spooled onto the master roll, for drying before the cutting process.