Advances in Pulp and Paper Technologies

It is of great honor to present this Editorial for the Special Issue “Advances in Pulp and Paper Technologies”. Pulp and paper science and technology have played an essential role in recording media that has led to the development of human civilization. In particular, traditional paper made from mulberry bast fibers has been preserved in good condition for more than a thousand years, allowing us to comprehend years of human history [1]. In addition, it is well known that modern paper is made using an alkaline paper-making system, and furthermore using alkyl ketene dimer or alkynyl succinic anhydride has a remarkable reduction in the rate of paper aging [2]. In this Special Issue, we will cover new technologies that utilize cellulose-based eco-friendly materials to reduce the plastic problem causing severe environmental issues. To replace plastics in paper, the produced paper must not only have gas barrier properties, water and moisture resistance, and preservation properties like plastics [3,4], but also have the property to be decomposed quickly when thrown away. For this, various technologies have been studied, such as thin-film coating, which mixes nanocellulose with a coating color to create a gas barrier, or imparts water and moisture resistance by coating the paper in a biodegradable polymer [4,5]. However, to quickly replace plastics in paper or contribute promptly to reducing plastic dependence, the paper must be cost-competitive. Since the papermaking process is highly energy-dependent, it is impossible to reduce production costs and survive in competition with plastics unless a technology to reduce the energy required in the papermaking process is developed and applied. For example, the refiner plate used in the stock preparation stage has a trapezoidal bar structure with lower bar sharpness and stock throughput. It can be introduced so that the lightweight refiner plate with a newly designed vertical bar shape can overcome these limitations and save energy [6,7].