Think Twice before Publicizing, Advocating and Promoting the Production of Stone-Made Paper

1.Raw Material Concern

The major raw materials for making the so-called Stone-Made Paper which has received a great deal of attention of the media and society, as we have noticed in our relevant research work, include calcium carbonate and high molecular polymer (known as HMP). To produce it, these raw materials should be molded much in the same way (namely, through either extrusion or blow-moulding forming) as we produce plastic films, after being processed with special crafts and techniques. As we can see clearly, the so-called Stone-Made Paper is turned out through an obvious plastic film processing technique. At present, high molecular polymer is made from petroleum which can not be recycled and reproduced after being consumed, thus badly needed and in short supply, while modern paper manufacturing industry produces paper out of plant resources like plant fibers, which can be renewed to make paper again after its being consumed. To replace renewable plant-fibers-made paper by non-renewable in-short-supply petroleum-made Stone-Made Paper , is apparently unreasonable and impractical, for a nation whose annual paper products consumption total amounts to nearly 90 million tons.

2.Pollution Concern

First of all, pollution problem is not necessarily addressed in a better way when producing high molecular polymer out of raw materials like petroleum than manufacturing traditional paper through modern plant resources pulping. More importantly, Stone-Made Paper that is made out of calcium carbonate and high molecular polymer can never be recovered and degraded after being used. In this way, Stone-Made Paper will bring about more serious pollution than plastic products. In short, it does not conform to the fact to describe the so-called Stone-Made Paper to be an environment-friendly product. As a matter of fact, it is misleading and even deceptive.

3.Products Function Concern

Traditional plant-fibers-made paper is a network-shaped flake structure with porous nature that is produced by linking and interweaving single fibers, thus featuring a series of characteristics such as pretty good absorptivity, air permeability, printability, probability to become paper pulp again when being soaked in water and easiness of being degraded under natural conditions. All these important features are what plastic films characteristic of air tightness can never dream of possessing. Hence, in terms of function, this so-called Stone-Made Paper stuff cannot really take the place of traditional plant-fibers-made paper.

4.Naming Concern

From raw material to manufacturing methods and techniques, we can see, this new product is nothing but a plastic one, with calcium carbonate added into the plastic films as their fillers. However, strangely enough, people name this product which should belong to plastic industry with a weird paper name (that is Stone-Made Paper or Rich Mineral Paper) seemingly belonging to paper industry. Why? Probably, for a sensational effect. Due to the fact that the nation is attaching its people s attention to the reduction of emission and conservation of energy in paper industry, those who witnessed certain old or small pulp mills discharging pollutants recklessly thought that paper making is equal to pollution . As a result, they took advantage of the eagerness of the society and corresponding departments of all levels to address the pollution problem caused by paper making, and formally named this stuff with obvious plastic film nature, made out of non-renewable resources, causing serious pollution while being processed and not even being able to be degraded after being produced, Stone-Made Paper or RMP (Rich Mineral Paper), in order to catch the attention of the whole society.

5.Technique Concern

Recent years has seen steady progress in paper making industry in China, with high technology being applied for reformation. That is, traditional paper industry has been transformed into modern paper industry, in which raw materials go beyond traditional renewable plant resources (like wood, reed, bamboo, agricultural straw resources, sugarcane bagasse) to waste paper after being used, which is quite easy to be recovered and degraded. Modern technology has helped to make environmental pollution problem less serious in the manufacturing process. In fact, more than 60% of all fiber materials used for paper making in China comes from waste paper, which makes paper industry one that is superior to others in this aspect. There is no compare between paper industry and other industries in the raw material environment-friendly regard. As to the technique of using calcium carbonate as stuffing for paper making, it s nothing new and has been applied a lot in history. Actually, up to 20% of calcium carbonate has been utilized in paper making industry in China till now. Therefore, it is neither new nor innovative to use calcium carbonate as one of the ingredients in paper making industry.

6.Concern over Negative Influence on the Reclamation and Reutilization of Plant-Fibers-Made Paper

If the so-called Stone-Made Paper is made and used, it will soon make its way into the waste paper, originally made of sheer plant fibers. As Stone-Made Paper can neither be degraded nor recycled, it will certainly exert a very negative impact on the reclamation of waste paper in our nation. That is, the use of Stone-Made Paper will undoubtedly hamper the highly effective process of reclamation and reutilization of waster paper in China.