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Cellulose and Paper-Making Fibers
adapted from The Manufacture of Paper

by R. W. Sindall

When plants such as cotton, straw, and other varieties of the vegetable kingdom are digested with a solution of caustic soda, washed, and then treated with lime chloride, a fibrous mass is obtained. It is white in color. Paper makers call this substance paper pulp. Several modifications of this pulp, drawn from different plants are known to chemists as cellulose.

Although plants differ in physical structure and appearance, they all contain tissue which, using suitable methods, yields a fibrous substance. It is easy to prepare a small quantity of cellulose from materials such as straw, rope, and bamboo without special appliances. Paper makers cut soft materials, such as straw, into short pieces and thoroughly hammer out hard substances like wood and bamboo to secure a fine subdivision of the mass. Next, the fiber is placed in a small saucepan and covered with a solution of caustic soda and water. Then, this material boils for eight to ten minutes to ensure that the water lost through the evaporation of steam is replaced by fresh quantities of hot water at regular intervals. When the mass breaks up readily, it is poured over a piece of muslin stretched over a basin where it is washed with hot water until it is completely clean. Hard pieces and portions which seem incompletely boiled are removed, and the leftover fibers are separated out. These fibers are placed in a clear solution of bleaching powder, left for several hours, and thoroughly washed. This process will create a fair amount of white fibrous material to make paper.

Gina is writing an essay about paper-making.

Which research question is most useful to find more information about cellulose?

A.

How is plant-based pulp used to manufacture paper on a large scale?

B.

How do chemists use paper pulp to observe and study the properties of cellulose?

C.

Why do chemists call the plant-based material "pulp?"

D.

Why are plants used to manufacture paper?