Since cellulose fibre is a major constituent of the stems of plants, a vast number of plants represent potential sources of paper; many of these have been pulped experimentally. A rather substantial number of plant sources have been used commercially, at least on a small scale and at various times and places. Indeed, the use of cereal straws for paper predates the use of wood pulp and is widely practiced today throughout the world, although on a relatively small scale of production. Because many parts of the world are deficient in forests, the development of the paper industry in these areas appears to depend to a considerable degree upon the use of annual plants and agricultural fibres.

Nonwoody plant stems differ from wood in containing less total cellulose, less lignin, and more of other materials. This means that pulps of high cellulose content (high purity) are produced in relatively low yield, whereas pulps of high yield contain high proportions of other materials. Papers made from these pulps without admixture of other fibre tend to be dense and stiff, with low tear resistance and low opacity.

The morphology (form and structure) of the cells of annual plants also differs considerably from wood. Whereas the nonfibrous (parenchyma) cells of coniferous wood constitute a minor proportion of the wood substance, in annual plants this cell type is a major constituent. As hardwoods also often contain considerable amounts of nonfibrous cells, there is a closer resemblance between hardwood pulps and pulps from annual plants.

The preferred pulping reagents for nonwood plants are the alkalis: caustic soda, lime and soda ash, and kraft liquor (caustic soda and sodium sulfide). A characteristic of the pulping of annual plants, compared with wood, is the milder treatment necessary to produce pulp. Straw, for example, may be pulped with milk of lime in a spherical digester at a steam pressure of about 2 kilograms per square centimetre (25 pounds per square inch) and a cooking time of 8 to 10 hours. The amount of lime used is about 10 percent of the amount of dry fibre.

In the United States straw pulp was formerly used extensively for corrugating medium (i.e., sheet fluted to form the inner ply of corrugated board). Since then, the use of straw pulp for corrugating medium has been replaced by semichemical hardwood pulp. Straw pulp is still made in several European and Asiatic countries on a small scale.

The residue from the crushing of sugarcane, called bagasse, contains about 65 percent fibre, 25 percent pith cells, and 10 percent water solubles. An essential element in the conversion of bagasse to a satisfactory paper is the mechanical removal of a substantial proportion of the pith prior to the pulping operation. Pulping may be carried out either with soda or with kraft cooking liquor and by batch or continuous systems. Bagasse fibre averages 1.5 to 2 millimetres (0.06 to 0.08 inch) in length and is relatively fine.

The use of bagasse is substantial in several Latin American countries and in the Middle East. The utilization of bagasse for paper in all the sugar-producing countries that are deficient in forest resources is a practical step.

A desert plant of the Mediterranean area, especially in southern Spain and northern Africa, esparto grass has a higher cellulose content than most nonwood plants, with greater uniformity of fibre size and shape. The use of esparto for papermaking was developed in Great Britain in 1856. Consumption rose steadily until the mid-1950s but since has steadily declined.

Esparto held its own against the competition with wood pulp for some time because of its favourable papermaking properties. The stock forms well on a paper machine because of free drainage and uniform fibre length, compared with rag or wood pulp. Esparto printing papers possess good resilience in contact with the printing plate, have good opacity and smoothness, and are relatively lint-free. Another important characteristic of papers made from esparto is dimensional stability with changes in moisture content.

Botanically, bamboo is classified as a grass, even though it attains a considerable size and the stems or culms resemble wood in hardness and density. It was demonstrated many years ago that satisfactory pulp could be made from bamboo.

Because of the abundance of bamboo in Southeast Asia, where increased production of paper is greatly needed, much interest has been displayed in bamboo pulp development. The growing cycle of bamboo is favourable, for the culms can be harvested without destroying the root system. Under ideal conditions of soil fertility and moisture, an established stand of bamboo probably would produce more fibre per hectare (or acre) per year than any other plant. Wild bamboo, however, is difficult to harvest and transport economically; so far, the interest in it has not been translated into any large-scale production. Pulp mills make use of bamboo in India, Thailand, and the Philippines. Considerable quantities of bamboo pulp are said to be made in China, but details are lacking.

Flax, hemp, jute, and kenaf are characterized by a high proportion of long, flexible bast fibres that are readily separated and purified from the other materials in the plant. Consequently, such fibres have long been used for textiles and rope making. Most of this fibre reaching the paper industry in the past has been secondary or waste fibre. It has been highly prized because of the strength and durability it imparts to such products as tags, abrasive paper (sandpaper), cover stock, and other heavy-duty paper. It is also used for duplicating and manifold paper, in which extremely light weight must be combined with exceptional strength. Flax is grown expressly for high-grade cigarette paper. Experimental quantities of kenaf have been grown and made into various grades of paper.

Synthetic fibres

The development and use of a great variety of man-made fibres have created a revolution in the textile industry in recent decades. It has been predicted that similar widespread use of synthetic fibres may eventually occur in the paper industry. Active interest has been evident in recent years, both on the part of fibre producers and of paper manufacturers. Many specialty paper products are currently being made from synthetic fibres.

The advantages of synthetic or man-made fibres in papermaking can be summarized as follows:

Whereas natural cellulose fibres vary considerably in size and shape, synthetic fibres can be made uniform and of selected length and diameter. Long fibres, for example, are necessary in producing strong, durable papers. There are limitations, however, to the length of synthetic fibres that may be formed from suspension in water because of their tendency to tangle and to rope together. Even so, papers have been made experimentally with fibres several times longer than those typical of wood pulp; these papers have improved strength and softness properties.

Natural cellulose fibres have limited resistance to chemical attack and exposure to heat. Because synthetic fibre papers can be made resistant to strong acids, they are useful for chemical filtration. Paper can even be made from glass fibre, and such paper has great resistance to both heat and chemicals.

The natural cellulose fibres of ordinary paper are hygroscopic; i.e., they absorb water from the air and reach an equilibrium depending upon the relative humidity. The moisture content of paper, therefore, changes with atmospheric conditions. These changes cause swelling and shrinkage of fibres, accounting for the puckering and curling of papers. Synthetic fibres not subject to these changes can be used to produce dimensionally stable papers.

The cheapest man-made fibre, rayon, costs from three to six times as much as an equivalent amount of wood pulp, whereas most of the true synthetics, such as the polyamides (nylon), polyesters (Dacron, Dynel), acrylics (Orlon, Creslan, Acrilan), and glass, cost from 10 to 20 times as much. This difference in cost does not preclude the use of existing synthetics, but it limits their use to special items in which the extra qualities will justify the additional cost. The cost factor is increased by the absence in most synthetic fibres of the bonding property of natural cellulose fibres. When beaten in water, natural fibres swell and cement together as they dry. Paper made from synthetics must be bonded by the addition of an adhesive, requiring an additional manufacturing step.

There is a distinct similarity between synthetic fibre “papers” and the class of sheet materials known as nonwovens. As a step in the manufacture of yarn, staple fibres are carded (i.e., separated and combed) to form a uniform, lightweight, and fragile web. Subsequently, this web is gathered together to form a strand or sliver, which is drawn and spun into yarn. If several of these flat webs, however, are laminated together and bonded with adhesive, a nonwoven fabric that has properties resembling both paper and cloth results. In this area it is difficult to draw a clear distinction between what is paper and what is cloth. Processes are now available to form sheet material both by the dry forming method and by the water forming or paper system. When textile-type fibres are formed into webs by either of these processes, the resulting products have properties that enable them to compete in some fields traditionally served by textiles.