09 How can hemp be used to make paper?
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This article is from the Hemp / Cannabis / Marijuana FAQ, by Brian S. Julin verdant@twain.ucs.umass.edu with numerous contributions by others.
09 How can hemp be used to make paper?
Both the fiber (bast) and pulp (hurd) of the hemp plant
can be used to make paper. Fiber paper was the first kind
of paper, and the first batch was made out of hemp in
ancient China. Fiber paper is thin, tough, brittle, and a
bit rough. Pulp paper is not as strong as fiber paper, but
it is easier to make, softer, thicker, and preferable for
most everyday purposes. The paper we use most today is a
`chemical pulp' paper made from trees. Hemp pulp paper can
be made without chemicals from the hemp hurd. Most hemp
paper made today uses the entire hemp stalk, bast and hurd.
High-strength fiber paper can be made from the hemp baste,
also without chemicals.
The problem with today's paper is that so many chemicals are
used to make it. High strength acids are needed to make
quality (smooth, strong, and white) paper out of trees.
These acids produce chemicals which are very dangerous to
the environment. Paper companies do their best to clean
these chemicals up (we hope.) Hemp offers us an opportunity
to make affordable and environmentally safe paper for all of
our needs, since it does not need much chemical treatment.
It is up to consumers, though, to make the right choice --
these dangerous chemicals can also be used on hemp to make a
slightly more attractive product. Instead of buying the
whiter, brighter role of toilet paper, we will need to think
about what we are doing to the planet.
Because of the chemicals in today's paper, it will turn
yellow and fall apart as acids eat away at the pulp. This
takes several decades, but because of this publishers,
libraries and archives have to order specially processed
acid free paper, which is much more expensive, in order to
keep records. Paper made naturally from hemp is acid free
and will last for centuries.
``It's Time to Reconsider Hemp'' by Jim Young in ``Pulp & Paper'' pp.
7. June, 1991.
``Hemp Variations as Pulp Source Researched in the Netherlands'' by E.
P. M. de Meijer in ``Pulp & Paper'' pp. 41-42. July, 1993.
``The Manufacture of Paper from Hemp Hurds'' by Jason L. Merril in
``USDA Bulletin/Yearbook of the United States Department of
Agriculture'' Iss. 404 pp. 7-25. pub. United States Department of
Agriculture
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