Introduction:
If you open your school bag, you would definitely come across any book or a piece of paper. Not just in school but in offices as well, we are surrounded by paper. But why use paper ? Paper is cheap, but valuable for storing information, especially transmission of knowledge from one person to another. The reason for paper being commonly used is how light it is and how simple it is to write data on it. Although we have shifted to storing our data digitally, paper still remains the greatest medium for the text as on average 2700 books are published daily.
Cellulose Fibres are one of the most important materials of wood pulp which is essential for making paper traditionally. But do we still have to depend on wood for cellulose or making paper in general in this era of biotechnology ? Or are there any other ways to do so without causing deforestation?
Why look for other cellulose Sources ?:
The paper industry is interested in cellulose fibres because these fibres are strong and durable. And most importantly they can be gained from a cheap source such as wood. To capitalize on the ever increasing demand of paper, from textbooks to colorful sticky notes, a large number of trees are cut down annually to meet the demand.
The paper industry’s wood utilization accounts for 14% percent of the total wood obtained from deforestation. Deforestation and other anti-green human activities have already caused global climate change to reach an irreversible tipping point, and many environmental scientists fear that in the coming decades we will witness more drastic changes to our environment.
These drastic changes can be more intense than the wildfire which took place in Turkey in 2021 and the one which covered Australia with red haze in 2019-20. Both the fires led to vast areas of forests being razed to the ground and releasing tonnes and tonnes of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere. The more we alter the natural balance, the more intense the consequences would be, and one can predict from the increasing amount and intensity of hurricanes and wildfires that occurred in the United States of America over the last few decades alone.
Month-by-month accumulation of billion-dollar disasters for each year on record. The colored lines represent the top 5 years for most billion-dollar disasters prior to 2020. All other years are colored light gray. Before the end of August, 2020 (red line) had broken the previous annual record for billion-dollar disasters—16—set in 2011 (royal blue) and tied in 2017 (purple). NOAA image by NCEI.
Every year around 15.3 billion trees are cut down and the paper industry utilizes around 2.14 billion trees every year. At this vulnerable stage of human history, even small numbers can't be ignored, especially when the number is as large as 2.14 billion there’s no excuse to reduce our dependence on wood for cellulose.
Pakistan already has a low forest cover, which is diminishing at a fast rate due to the unmoderated chopping of trees for sports, paper industry and for domestic fuel. If drastic changes are not implemented such as changing our ways of paper production, we actually might be in a much worse condition than we can imagine. Reducing our dependence on wood for cellulose is important, As it might save us from severe climatic changes, if not revert them.
Other ways of getting cellulose!:
Thanks to biological advancements, we have discovered that it's not only the plants that have cellulose. Microorganisms such as algae and bacteria also contain cellulose. One such example of cellulose containing algae is Chlorophyta. The Discovery of such microorganisms has shown us the possibility of a wood-free paper industry and a greener environment. On top of that, these algae and bacteria can be grown in large fermenters and could be genetically edited to produce more cellulose content.
An advantage of microbial cellulose is that it doesn’t have lignin which otherwise would have had to be removed from wood cellulose to make paper. Furthermore, another advantage of using algae cellulose is that it can already be harvested from oceans as it is already present there in large quantities. Vast empty ocean spaces can be used to grow algae for the paper industry( Presence of different algae is one of the reasons for the difference of colour between different oceans).
Companies might be hesitant to invest in microbial cellulose as it might seem a costly venture for them. But one should not forget that necessity is the mother of innovation. And the use of cellulose from microorganisms can only become mainstream once global climate change is given more importance and work is done regarding obtaining cellulose from the microbes.
Another way of making paper involves animal manure. Manure might seem disgusting at a perfunctory glance, but it can’t be undervalued, as it can be used as a raw material to make paper. Depending on the animal, up to 40% of the manure content can be cellulose. And as the world has moved from using manure as a fertilizer, it can now be used as a green alternative in paper making instead. And successful implementations of animal manure in production of paper have been performed in Thailand and Sri Lanka.
In Pakistan manure has been used to produce natural gas and is aiding populus during gas shortages. Apart from this, it has allowed them to save some money by becoming sustainable. Although, Idea of using manure to make paper in Pakistan looks an appealing idea but such ideas are only kept to the brain, not put into the practicality.
Cellulose Independent Way of Making Paper:
Perhaps we might not even need cellulose to make paper at all. Many entrepreneurs and the green paper making industry have turned to stone to make paper. Through this method, stone waste and other industrial waste can be used in its production. Calcium carbonate is an important component, and it can be found throughout the world, as it constitutes 4% percent of the earth’s crust. Although stone-made paper might be expensive in comparison to a normal wood cellulose-based notebook. But stone-based paper is tear-resistant and hydrophobic as claimed by its producers. So, no fear of losing your work if you accidentally spill water on it. Other than that, pages will always give a fresh look as they don't turn yellow.
Countries such as Australia are producing stone-paper and are moving away from the traditional paper for a better environment for their younger generations. In Pakistan we have a large quantity of resources available to produce such paper which can help us counter the environment changes and their dire consequences.
Conclusion:
Production of paper other than wood pulp might seem an expensive idea to put into practice. But is it worth letting the environment degrade for a few more bucks in the pocket? The costly production of paper by alternative means could be overcome by innovation. Only if more importance is given to the environment than filling pockets. Hopefully the discoveries in papermaking can help with keeping the earth green and leaving a better world, if not for us, but for our future generations.