Kraft Process: A Paper-Maker’s Craft

• 23 Dec 2023

The kraft process is used to produce cellulose fibers from wood chips, which are then used to make paper and other everyday materials.

• It is a chemical process involving the treatment of wood chips with water, sodium hydroxide, and sodium sulfide at high temperatures.
• The mixture of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide creates white liquor, which breaks the bonds between lignin, hemicellulose, and cellulose in the wood chips.
• This process is the most common method for paper production, yielding stronger paper determined by its sulphidity, indicating the relative sulfur content.
• The process releases substances like lignin, dissolved carbon, alcohol ions, and heavy metals into the water, making it environmentally unfriendly.