Papermaking spread

More than a thousand years passed between the invention of paper and its introduction into Spain by the Moors. After learning the trade at Samarkand, the Arabs monopolized papermaking in the West for five centuries. Not until Spain was captured by the Moors did papermaking spread to Europe. 

Paper was introduced to the Western world by the Arabs, who in the eighth century learned how to make paper from Chinese papermakers captured in bat-de. Paper mills were soon established, and the technology spread swiftly to Europe. The first European paper mills were built in Spain as early as A.D. 1100. 

Papermaking involves two stages. The first is to break up a raw material to form a suspension of individual fibers, and the second is to form sheets of paper by spreading the suspension on a suitable porous surface through which water can drain. 

The Chinese managed to keep papermaking a secret for several centuries. However, the knowledge was finally spread by the fortunes of war. Papermaking was introduced to the city of Samarkand in a.d. 751. 

Pulping deseribes the processes by whieh wood is redueed to fibre, or strictly to a mixture of fibre and fibre debris. Papermaking, although teehnieally complex is simple in prineiple. Paper is made by spreading a layer of pulp fibres in suspension on the surfaee of a moving wire (mesh) sereen so as to form a wet paper web whieh, after pressing to remove water and eonsolidate the fibre mat, is dried to form paper. 

Paper production. In the basic process for the manufacture of paper or board, a slurry of cellulose fibres and fillers in water is spread onto screens and the water allowed to drain away leaving a paper mat which is then pressed and further dried off by steam heat. The formulation of the slurry is regarded as the papermaker s art but addition of processing aids, speciality chemicals to aid the production process, based on basic science can assist in the faster, cheaper and, most important, cleaner production of paper and board. Retention of solids on the screens, speed of drainage of water away from the slurry in the forming area and improved dryability are the areas in which the cleaner technology manifests itself. 

C.E. Paper and papermaking (Cai Lun) Although papyrus paper already existed, Gai Lun creates paper from a mixture of fibrous materials softened into a wet pulp that is spread flat and dried. The material is strong and can be cheaply mass-produced. 

The Spread of Papermaking into Central and Southern Asia... 

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