Cotton pulp is a pure form of cellulose used to manufacture high-quality paper and filter materials. It is produced from cotton waste and undergoes a pulping process involving chemicals and water. The resulting pulp is free from lignin and acid, making it more stable and reliable for archival purposes. The process involves sorting, chopping, and baking the cotton fibers, followed by refining and cleaning. The finished product is sold to non-pulp end users for further processing into paper products.
Cotton pulp is a basic product used to manufacture a range of fiber products such as high quality paper and filter materials. Cotton-based pulps are preferred for these applications, as they contain neither the acids nor lignin found in wood pulp. The pulp is mainly produced from cotton waste collected from cotton plants or from cotton waste, such as rags and trimmings. The cotton pulping process involves “cooking” finely shredded cotton fibers with various chemicals and water. During this process, the pulp mash undergoes several cleaning steps before being formed into finished products or semi-finished sheets for further processing by end users.
Cotton is one of the purest forms of cellulose found in nature. Pulps made from cotton are free from nearly all lignin, acid, and non-cellulosic contaminants common to wood pulps, making products manufactured with them more stable, reliable, and robust. These characteristics make paper made from cotton much more desirable as an archival basis for artwork and documents, as they do not degrade quickly in artificial light. Cotton pulp, due to its lack of lignin, is also inherently brighter than wood pulp, thus requiring very little bleaching.
Most cotton pulp is produced from cotton waste or rag waste. Waste is a short, fine natural fiber that surrounds the seeds of cotton plants. The waste is collected during the cotton boll harvest and sorted to separate the fibers suitable for the production of cotton pulp. Rag scraps are generally all cotton fabric scraps from textile or clothing manufacturing processes that would otherwise be destined for disposal. These rags can be of a wide variety of weights, sizes and colors, all of which are suitable for the cotton pulp process when properly prepared.
The cotton pulping process begins with sorting the waste or rags to remove any foreign contaminants. Then, the raw materials are finely chopped and placed in a pressure tank with water and a variety of chemicals. The blend is then “baked” at carefully controlled temperatures and pressures, typically under computer control, to break down the cotton fibers into a cellulose-rich slurry. Once the cotton pulp has reached the required consistency, it is passed through several refining processes which remove all fine dirt and any remaining contaminants.
Once cleaned, the cotton pulp is pumped into storage vats, semi-finished or transformed into finished products. The stored cotton pulp and semi-finished, or semi-finished, pulp is generally sold to non-pulp end users to make a range of high quality paper products. Half stock is made by forming the pulp into thick sheets where they are drained by suction and dried before packing into bales for distribution.
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