Exploiting New Fibres.—The exploitation of any new paper-making fibre requires attention to certain important details, which may be fairly considered in the following order:—
(1) Supply.—The supply of material must be plentiful and obtainable in large quantities. Too often this question is entirely neglected by those who bring new fibres to the notice of paper-makers, probably because they do not realise that enormous quantities of material are necessary to supply even a very small section of the paper trade, the fact being that few plants yield more than half their weight of paper-making fibre.
(2) Suitability.—The fibre should be properly examined as to its chemical and physical properties in a laboratory equipped with appliances for its conversion into bleached paper pulp on a small scale. The examination of the fibre would include tests as to the amount of pulp which can be obtained from one ton of raw material, the approximate cost of treatment, and details as to the value of the fibre for paper-making.
(3) Cost of Raw Material.—If the supply of material seems to be sufficient, and the paper pulp obtained possesses suitable qualities, then it is necessary to get accurate information as to the cost of the fibre delivered to some given spot at or near the place of collection.
The exploitation of any new fibre for paper-making purposes will involve a recognition of the fact that the raw material must be converted into pulp at or near the place where the material is most abundant.
The only interesting exception to this is the case of esparto fibre, which is imported into England in large amount, but this is only possible because esparto possesses most valuable paper-making qualities, and is obtained in countries close to England, where large quantities are consumed. It is doubtful whether other fibres could be utilised in the same way.
(4) The Cost of Manufacture at or near the place of collection requires to be carefully worked out, due consideration being given to the actual cost of chemicals on the spot, cost of labour, and the conditions under which the maintenance of machinery can be efficiently looked after.
(5) Carriage and Freight Charges are the last, but by no means the least, items of importance. It is not too much to say that the whole success of the exploitation of new paper-making fibre hangs entirely upon this item, the majority of many fibres which have been brought to the notice of the trade being suitable, but impracticable, solely on account of these and similar commercial considerations.
In the pages of the trade press for the last few years the following fibres have been noticed:—
(1) Flax Pulp.—This material was to be obtained from flax straw. Attempts were made on a commercial scale to produce quantities of flax fibre, but so far the efforts made have not been very successful.