Design Life-Cycle

Raw Materials Canson Paper

DES 40A

Yanchi Wang

Professor Christina Cogdell

December 1, 2021

Raw Materials for Canson Paper 

Canson is the brand name of tracing paper for scanner consumables produced by a French company. They are characterized by a natural pure paper base, pure and transparent, non-deformation, light fastness, high-temperature resistance, especially stable and anti-aging, excellent printing process performance, can be offset, flexo, gravure, electro-chemical aluminum hot stamping, screen printing, and other various treatments. Here, I will mainly focus on the life cycle of the raw materials used in making Canson papers, from its raw material acquisition all the way through to recycling and waste management. 

Raw Materials Acquisition

Firstly, to know how the paper was made, we need to know what the raw materials are used in making the paper. In this case, the raw materials for making Canson papers are paper pulp, which is produced from a variety of fibers like trees. According to the information on Canson’s website, they state, “Canson® paper pulp is 70% produced from forest thinning, while the remaining 30% comes from sawmill offcuts. To make Canson® paper, we mix the fibers of coniferous trees with those of deciduous trees. Most of the wood fibers used for the drawing paper pack come from Europe.”

However, there are other materials that can be used to make Canson paper. Materials like cotton, hemp fibers, etc. also called non-wood pulp are used to give strength and stiffness to the paper (Canson). When cotton is ginned, the long “short fibers” are separated from the seeds, and these fibers are raw cotton. After ginning, the remaining seeds are covered with a layer of cotton fibers. When cut from the seed, this is the source of the lint. Lint is the young cotton fiber closest to the seed. It is the main fiber of "cotton content" paper used in machine manufacturing. The article “Properties of Cotton (Papermaking)” indicates, “Staple cotton is a much longer fiber than linters and makes a stronger, harder sheet of paper that shrinks more in drying. It is well-suited for watercolor and book papers.”

Moreover, hemp is an annual herb with a single, straight, unbranched hollow stem. The stem is characterized by a relatively thin outer layer and a wood-like core surrounding the hollow center. The length of primary bast fibers varies greatly, ranging from 10 to 100 mm. These fibers have thick and hard walls, so it needs to be leached with hydrogen peroxide (Properties of Hemp). Different fiber will form different types of papers, as the article “How Paper is Made from a Tree” states, “The length of the fibers in the plant will determine the kind of paper that can be made from that particular fiber.”

Manufacturing, Processing, and Formulation

There are two methods of manufacturing paper from pulping, that is chemical pulping and mechanical pulping. “Chemical pulping is used to produce higher quality paper with more expensive production cost than that of mechanical pulping” (Hiziroglu). Canson uses fourdrinier paper machine for paper making, which is mechanical pulping. With mechanical pulping, the first stage is grinding the chip into fibers and mix with the water in a pulper which refines the fiber mixture to improve their mechanical characteristics and matting. In this process, by adding a small amount of minerals, such as chalk, calcium carbonate, etc., can make the paper opaque and keep its shape under any circumstances (Canson). Adding bleaches to give the whiteness of the paper and opaque.

Secondly, the pulp is poured onto a continuously moving mesh called "forming table". Once the water is drained, the fibers will intertwine on the mesh and form a sheet. The water is gradually removed by gravity and then removed by a suction device under the screen. This is the stage of marking certain papers, using a roller with embossed patterns to leave an imprint on the paper, or in the form of laid lines, papers, or designs. Next, when the paper loses enough moisture, it can be spread on wool felt or synthetic felt. This method can give the paper a texture. The paper then passes through a press consisting of steam-heated drums, where it loses more moisture (Canson).

Moreover, in order to improve the surface of the paper, the paper will be covered with a layer of gelatin when it passes through a machine called a "size press." “Sizing agents are incorporated into the pulp so that the paper doesn't soak up the liquids” (Canson) This coating can give the paper the final surface quality. It then passes through another dryer section to eliminate more water by contacting the steam-heated drum. As the final stage, the paper is wound on a reel called the "mother reel". Finally, cut them into various sizes and transport them to various regions (Canson).

Distribution and Transportation

In order to optimize the transportation, all the process from the tree to the final cut paper sizes has been done at the same location. As they say, “For paper production, GHG emissions mainly stem from the production of paper pulp, and to a lesser extent from transport. To optimize transport, the Canson paper mills are only a few kilometers away from the sites which process the paper and make products such as the Canson drawing paper pack.” The final roll which is ready for cutting into paper sizes will be sent to another processing plant (same factory) to revive the coating, quality, and feel.

However, on Canson's official website and related websites, I can't find more information about their own transportation. What I can find is the basic information or commonly used transportation methods for paper. According to AsstrA, during the production process, the products are neatly stacked and packaged in the same size. When loading, all packages are stacked evenly to ensure no kinks. The boxes in which the goods are placed are also made of durable and moisture-proof materials, so that they may be aware of getting into contact with water or damp areas during transportation. Any free space in the box is filled with soft material to ensure that it will not shake. The paper will be wrapped in thick brown paper, tied with packaging tape or twine, and wrapped and fixed with stretch film. The box is labeled according to its content and then transported to the destination using vehicles, airplanes, ships, etc.

Use, Re-use, and Maintenance

According to the information given by Canson, it “is an exceptional paper, perfect for fine art techniques (pastel, charcoal, red chalk, pencil, and even poster paint), and manual activities (folding, cutting, collage, card-making, etc.)” (Canson). Drawing paper is heavier and better quality than sketching paper. It is usually used for sketching and finishing work. Ideal media for use with drawing paper are graphite, charcoal, dry monochrome, soft pastels, oil pastels, marker pens, and pens and ink. Other than that, it could also be used to make origami, etc. Canson paper has a series of unique tones and provides fifty kinds of lightfast colors. Due to their high cotton content, they feel very soft and gentle to the touch and can be used in origami. Its double-grain texture allows users to enjoy a variety of painting effects, and it is resistant to erasing and repeated scratching without abrasion.

In addition to the reuses of the paper, it can be reused for making origami, paper cards, paper folding models, scratching, drafts for ideas, etc. These are the methods that how I reuse the drawing papers on my own. In the maintenance, they do not need special protection, the only thing that needs to be paid attention to is not to contact with moisture, because it will damage the texture of the paper. 

Recycle and Waste

Personally, when I think that the paper is no longer reusable, I will sort it into the recyclable trash can for recycling. In Kathryn Sukalich’s article, “Everything You Need to Know About Paper Recycling,” she has briefly explained how the paper is being recycled:

1. After you put paper in your recycling bin, it’s taken to a recycling center where contaminants such as plastic, glass, or trash are removed.

2. Next, the paper is sorted into different grades.

3. Once the paper is sorted, it will be stored in bales until a mill needs it, and then it will be transferred to the mill for processing.

4. Once at the mill large machines (pulpers) shred the paper into small pieces. This mixture of paper, water, and chemicals is heated, and the pieces of the paper break down into fibers.

5. The mixture is pressed through a screen to remove adhesives and other remaining contaminants.

6. Next, the paper will be spun in a cone-shaped cylinder to clean it, and sometimes ink will also be removed. At this point, the pulp is sent through a machine that sprays it onto a conveyor belt. Water will drip through the belt’s screen, and the paper fibers will start bonding together.

7. Heated metal rollers will dry the paper, and the paper will be put onto large rolls, which can be made into new paper products. (qtd. in Sukalich)

The process of waste paper recycling usually involves mixing used or old paper with water and chemicals to break it down. It is then chopped and heated to further decompose it into cellulose; this resulting mixture is called pulp or slurry. It is tightened through a screen, which removes the plastic-coated paper present in the mixture, and then cleans, deinks, bleaches, and mixes with water. Then it can be made into new recycled paper (Wikipedia). Regarding the question of waste production, the answer given by Canson’s official website says, “When our products are designed, we try to reduce waste production as much as possible at the source. The aim is to reduce the amount of wastepaper:

by optimizing our production and bobbin widths,

by reducing the trim,

by ensuring our equipment is up to date and functions well. (qtd. in Canson)

Conclusion

In conclusion, the raw materials used in Cansno's papermaking are wood, cotton, hemp, etc., all of which belong to plant fibers. The fusion of different plant fibers and different chemicals produces different pulps. Both in terms of toughness, and the effect of use are very different. To reduce the damage to the paper during transportation, the Canson Papermill is only a few kilometers away from the paper processing and production plant. This means that all manufacturing processes, cutting, packing, etc. are all carried out in the same factory but in different plants. In addition, Canson's painting paper can also be recycled. Through the process of decomposition, ink removal, etc., the paper can be recycled to produce a new batch of recycled paper. In summary, Canson has really achieved good results in papermaking, and has made great achievements in terms of customer experience and environmental protection.

Bibliography

“A Unique Range of Colours and an Unparalleled Mechanical Make-up with a High Cotton Content and Double Texture (a Honeycombed Grain on One Side and a Fine Grain on the Other), Giving You the Freedom to Go Where Creativity Takes You: These Are the Qualities of Canson® Mi-Teintes.” International, https://en.canson.com/news/canson-mi-teintes-or-paper-meets-all-your-needs.

“Biomaterials.” International, Canson, https://en.canson.com/words-expert/biomaterials.

“Canson.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 21 Sept. 2020, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canson.  

“Combating Climate Change.” International, Canson, https://en.canson.com/commitments/combating-climate-change.  

Hiziroglu, Salim. “Basics of Paper Manufacturing.” Basics of Paper Manufacturing | Oklahoma State University, 1 July 2016, https://extension.okstate.edu/fact-sheets/basics-of-paper-manufacturing.html.  

“How Paper Is Made from a Tree.” Tree Removal, https://www.treeremoval.com/how-paper-is-made-from-a-tree/#.YZ_sr_HML9E.

“Paper Manufacturing.” Paper Manufacturing | L'atelier Canson, https://www.cansonstudio.com/paper-manufacturing.

“Paper Recycling.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Nov. 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_recycling.

“Papermaking on a Fourdrinier Papermachine.” International, https://en.canson.com/papermaking/papermaking-fourdrinier-papermachine.  

“Papermaking.” International, Canson, https://en.canson.com/brand/papermaking.  

“Properties of Cotton (Papermaking).” Cotton as Raw Material for Papermaking, https://paperonweb.com/Cotton.htm. 

“Properties of Hemp.” Properties of Hemp (for Papermaking), https://paperonweb.com/Hemp.htm.  

Sukalich, Kathryn. “Everything You Need to Know about Paper Recycling.” Earth911, 17 Feb. 2021, https://earth911.com/business-policy/paper-recycling-details-basics/.

“Transportation of Paper, Shipping of Paper Products.” AsstrA, https://asstra.com/industries/wood-pulp-and-paper-industry/.  

Julia Ramos

DES 40A 

Professor Cogdell 

TA Lauren 

December 1, 2021

Embedded Energy Canson Paper: Energy

Along with human history, the paper has played an important role in the political, social, and cultural aspects of society. In order to create ‘world making’ as humanity knows today came from ideas and those ideas into paper. Canson paper is one of the most popular paper brands for artists and designers to express their ideas, it is known for the high quality they manage and accessible prices. Even though it is a material people use almost every day, its energetic input is almost unknown. From extraction to production/manufacture to distribution, different sources of energy are used in order to make paper arrive at the closest store. 

Extraction and transportation:

Starting with the raw material extraction, the energy input in the forestry heavy machinery such as forwarders, skidders, knuckle-boom loaders, swing machines, shovel loggers, etc; needs fossil fuels in order to extract efficiently the raw materials. A chart was created based on the literature review to display average fuel consumption estimates for the five different types of logging systems in liters per cubic meter (l/m3) (Kenney, 2015). Both charts show the approximate estimate of the quantity of diesel used in order for these machines to perform during the raw material extraction

Production/Manufacture 

One of the main processes is called: kraft. Also known as kraft pulping or sulfate process, it is a process for conversion of wood into wood pulp, which consists of almost pure cellulose fibers, the main component of paper. It is the dominant method for producing paper. Pulp and paper production is among the most energy-intensive segments of all industries. However, it is useful to distinguish between pulp and paper manufacture. Pulp and paper mills are not always integrated, and while pulp mills produce more energy than they need, paper mills require large quantities of steam to run their dryers. Kraft and soda pulp mills are energy self-sufficient, and often generate excess steam and electricity which can be used by an associated paper mill or sold to neighboring industries or communities.  

Kraft mills use energy in various forms, heat, chemical, and electrical: heat energy is usually in the forms of steam, chemical as biomass or fossil fuel, and electrical as self-generated or purchased electrical power. The energy derived from the process produces enough steam (and in some cases electricity) to supply about 50 percent of the typical US pulp and paper mill’s energy needs. Additional energy is often recovered from the combustion of bark and other wood residuals  (Tye Kenney, 2015). This value is generally higher in some of the North European countries where higher energy prices drive them to spend more capital in order to obtain increased efficiencies. The production of paper and board is an energy-intensive process. With an energy use of 6.4 EJ in 2005, the pulp and paper industry was responsible for about 6 % of the world’s total industrial energy consumption (International Energy Agency (IEA) 2008), which is the fourth largest industrial energy user worldwide (Tye Kenney). For selected mills, the 2008 share of energy in production costs was up to 30 % (Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI) 2008). Most of the pulp and paper mills have become part of the Emission Trading System and the industry’s vision is to further improve its performance in terms of greenhouse gas emissions (Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI) 2008) and energy efficiency (Tye Kenney, 2015). 

Steam is used in most areas of the mill, the large consumers are the digester, the pulp dryer, and the evaporator plant. It is used mainly at two pressure levels: 1,200 kPa (175 psig) and 400 kPa (60 psig) (Alex Orr, H.A. Simons, 1995). Chemical energy is provided by the lignin in the black liquor, by waste wood, and by oil, coal, or gas. These fuels are used. in the boilers, and oil and gas in the lime kiln (Alex Orr). Electrical energy is used throughout the mill. Kraft mills exist in a wide range of sizes, but most modern mills are between 500 and 1800 air dry tons of pulp per day (ADtpd), with new mills being in the range of 1200 to 1800 ADtpd. While there are some energy economies of scale, the specific use is fairly constant over the size range and we can compare mills based. on their consumption per ADt. Ambient conditions, summer and winter differences, for example, have a very significant impact on energy consumption, particularly water temperature (Alex Orr, H.A. Simons, 1995). As a result, it is always to keep in mind these variations in the energy input on these processes. 

Since black liquor composition varies with the process and its concentration is manipulated as it passes through the pulp mill from the washers through the evaporators to the recovery boiler, the ratio of black liquor to wood charged does not define its energy content. However, a simple approximation applies (Kraft Pulping, 1997). Assuming an approximate raw pulp yield of 50%, the dissolved organics in the black liquor contain somewhat more than half the original energy content of the wood. Most of the higher energy content lignin ends up in the black liquor, while the pulp is mainly higher oxygen content carbohydrates. In addition, oxygen-poor [and energy-rich] extractives such as fatty acids and resin acids are original black liquor components until they are skimmed off as by-product tall oil (Laurijssen, Jobien, et al. 2012). The next chart is will show some numbers about the thermal and mechanical energy requirements to perform the paper manufacturing. 

Another process to take into consideration is Mechanical pulp. It is very different from the pulp produced in the chemical processes (the sulfite process and the Kraft process). The chemical methods give paper with higher strength and pulp that can be bleached further than the mechanical pulps  (Biermann, Christopher 1998). A benefit from the mechanical processes is that they have a high yield, usually between 90 and 98%, which means that nearly all the wood is used. The yield of the Kraft process is only about 50%, which makes the demand for wood twice as high for the same amount of produced pulp (Biermann, Christopher 1998).  

Reuse/Recycle Process:  

As environmental consciousness started to spread around in our society, recycled paper became more popular. A worldwide trend in the pulp and paper industry is the increasing use of recovered paper in paper production. In 2010, 63.5% of the paper consumed in the U.S. was recovered for recycling compared to 48.2% in 2002 (Laurijssen, Jobien, et al.2012).

Some difficulties arise from the economics of collection and transportation of waste paper products to centers for reprocessing. Estimates of energy savings that can be realized due to recycling of paper products vary greatly (Jain, Balbach, Urban, & Webb, 2012). Most studies indicate that energy savings of 7 to 57 percent are possible for paper products such as newsprint, printing paper, packaging paper, and tissue paper. On the other hand, paperboard products require more energy (40 to 150 percent more) when manufactured from recycled material (Jain, Balbach, Urban, & Webb, 2012). This diagram shows the step process to produce recycled paper, the arrow points to the “bleaching” step, where it usually starts in this process, because there is no need to put paper into the pulping process. During the bleaching process, the paper gets “cleaned” from its past use. 

According to the Environmental Paper Network’s Paper Calculator, it takes about 32 million BTUs of energy to produce 1 ton of virgin paper fiber. To produce 1 ton of recycled paper takes about 22 million BTUs (Southern California Shredding, 2013). Without any regard to where the energy comes from, that shows that it takes 31 percent less energy to produce recycled paper.  Not only that, recycled paper production releases 44 percent fewer greenhouse gases, produces 53 percent less wastewater, and results in 39 percent less solid waste  (Jain, Balbach, Urban, & Webb, 2012). And, of course, it uses 100 percent fewer trees. Different from virgin paper, recycled paper consumes 31% less energy than virgin paper production because the kraft process is already done. Meaning, recycled paper skips more than 7 steps in the paper manufacturing process. The cumulative impact of recycled paper production versus virgin paper production, the numbers make it clear. Recycled paper conserves natural forests, freshwater, landfill space, and energy while releasing fewer greenhouse gases. However, this does not mean manufacturing recycled paper does not use large quantities of energy, and producing energy always pollutes our environment (Southern California Shredding, 2013).

The production and manufacture to produce paper can be very extensive and complex that needs large quantities of energy in order for to paper be created. However, technology has improved energy consumption and waste by being able to make recycled paper in large quantities. It is important to remark that paper production and recycled paper use almost the same quantity of energy. Reducing paper consumption and the wise use of paper has more environmental benefits than using recycled paper.

Works Cited

Alex Orr, H.A. Simons. “Energy Generation And Use In The Kraft Pulp Industry.” 

Kraft Pulping, The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, 1989. web.archive.org/web/20110928021005/www2.biotech.wisc.edu/jeffries/bioprocessing/pulping.html. 

Biermann, Christopher J. Handbook of Pulping and Papermaking. Academic Press, 1998.

“Does It Take More Energy to Produce Recycled Paper? - Southern California Shredding.” Southern California Shredding - Servicing Areas: Orange County San Diego, Los Angeles County, and Riverside County, 5 Jan. 2021, ocshredding.com/2013/03/07/does-it-take-more-energy-to-produce-recycled-paper/.

Casey, Ryan. “How Is Paper Made?” Casey Printing - Commercial Printing, Labels & Folded Cartons, www.caseyprinting.com/blog/how-is-paper-made.

Handbook of Environmental Engineering Assessment: Strategy, Planning, and Management. Butterworth-Heinemann, 2012.

Kaplan, S. I.. Energy use and distribution in the pulp paper and boardmaking industries. United States: N. p., 1977. Web. doi:10.2172/7286206.

“John Deere.” John Deere US, www.deere.com/en/forwarders/.

Laurijssen, Jobien. Energy Use in the Paper Industry An Assessment of Improvement Potentials at Different Levels. Lecturis BV, 2013.

Laurijssen, Jobien, et al. “Benchmarking Energy Use in the Paper Industry: a Benchmarking Study on Process Unit Level.” Energy Efficiency, Springer Netherlands, 13 July 2012, link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12053-012-9163-9.

“Recycled Paper.” Recycled Paper - an Overview | ScienceDirect Topics, www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/recycled-paper.

Tye Kenney, Jonathan. “Factors that Affect Fuel Consumption and Harvesting Cost.” Thesis,Auburn University, 10 May. 2015,