Cellulose in paper

Table 5.1 Effect of swelling on the surface area of cotton as measured by chemical (thallation) and physical (N2 adsorption) methods. (Source G.A. Roberts, Accessibility of Cellulose , in Paper Chemistry , ed. J.C. Roberts, ch. 2, Blackie, Glasgow, 1991).

When cellulose is used as a stationary phase, with water or aqueous organic solvents as eluents, the separation of substances is by partition between the eluting mixture and the water adsorbed on the column. This is similar to the cellulose in paper chromatography. 

Peter Waters, based on his experience at the National Records Center fire in St. Louis, the fire at Temple University, and elsewhere, is satisfied that freeze and vacuum drying operations do not damage cellulose in paper (8) and that these methods are the best now available for mass drying of books. 

The carbohydrate you come into contact with the most is the one you are looking at right now—cellulose, in paper, which comes from wood fiber. Cellulose is the most abundant organic compound on Earth. It is the polysaccharide that most plants use to give their structures rigidity. The leaves, stems, and roots of these plants are all made of cellulose, shown in Figure 2. 

Uses Fertilizer animal feed supplement stabilizer for resins, plastics, explosives softener for cellulose in paper industry deodorizer penetrant cure accelerator and activator airport runway deicing agent dispersant (animal glue, proteins) plasticizer for starch adhesives food additive, yeast nutrient, fermentation aid flour treatment agent diuretic, antiseptic in pharmaceuticals antistat, humectant in cosmetics keratin softenerfor dry skin prods. in ammoniated dentifrices in side seam cements for food-contact containers... 

Biopolymers such as cellulose, starch, and proteins are available in large quantities. They can be processed into high purity products at modest costs. However, other than cotton and rayon in textiles, cellulose in paper and lumber, and a few cellulose derivatives in pharmaceutical preparations, biopolymers have been largely neglected in modern research for potential applications in polymeric materials. 

Ethylene oxide is used industrially to increase the wet strength of paper by reacting with the cellulose in paper to create another, stronger molecule. Thus conservators should be aware that using ethylene oxide on cellulosic materials may produce similar molecular changes. The long-term effects of such changes are not yet known, but... 

The reinforcing ply of laminates may be a woven fabric scrim, a nonwoven web of polymer monofilaments, or a mat of fibers. One of the most common reinforcements in use is also one of the oldest, ordinary cellulose fiber paper. 

The rubber polyisoprene is a natural polymer. So, too, are cellulose and lignin, the main components of wood and straw, and so are proteins like wool or silk. We use cellulose in vast quantities as paper and (by treating it with nitric acid) we make celluloid and cellophane out of it. But the vast surplus of lignin left from wood processing, or available in straw, cannot be processed to give a useful polymer. If it could, it... 

The cellulose fiber in paper is attacked and weakened by sulfur dioxide. Paper made before about 1750 is not significantly affected by sulfur dioxide (11). At about that time, the manufacture of paper changed to a chemical treatment process that broke down the wood fiber more rapidly. It is thought that this process introduces trace quantities of metals, which catalyze the conversion of sulfur dioxide to sulfuric add. Sulfuric acid causes the paper to become brittle and more subject to cracking and tearing. New papers have become available to minimize the interaction with SO2. 

Carbohydrates occur in every living organism. The sugar and starch in food and the cellulose in wood, paper, arid cotton are nearly pure carbohydrates. Modified carbohydrates form part of the coating around living cells, other carbohydrates are part of the nucleic acids that carry our genetic information, and still others are used as medicines. 

Sulphur dioxide is used as a preservative for beer, wine and meats in the production of sulphites and hydrosulphites in solvent extraction of lubricating oils as a general bleaching agent for oils and foods in sulphite pulp manufacture in the cellulose and paper industries and for disinfection and fumigation. 

Electrokinetic processes are widely used in different fields of science and technology. We had already mentioned the use of electrokinetic processes for research into the electric properties of surface layers of insulating materials. Such measurements are used, in particular, when studying the surface properties of polymeric materials, their behavior in different media, and their interactions with other materials (e.g., with adsorbing surface-active substances). The results of this research are used in textile, cellulose and paper, and other industries. 

Anderson, R.W. Baker, J.R. "Use of Guar Gum and Synthetic Cellulose in Oilfield Stimulation Fluids", SPE paper 5005, 1974 SPE Annual Meeting, Houston, October 6-9. 

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