Tissue paper
Tissue paper or simply tissue is a lightweight paper or, light crêpe paper. Tissue can be made from recycled paper pulp on a paper machine.
Tissue paper is very versatile, and different kinds of tissue are made to best serve these purposes, which are hygienic tissue paper, facial tissues, paper towels, as packing material, among other (sometimes creative) uses.
The use of tissue paper is common in
Properties
The key properties of tissues are absorbency, basis weight, thickness, bulk (specific volume), brightness, stretch, appearance and comfort.
Production
Tissue paper is produced on a
The highest water absorbing applications are produced with a
The properties are controlled by pulp quality, crêping and additives (both in base paper and as coating). The wet strength is often an important parameter for tissue.
Applications
Hygienic tissue paper
Hygienic tissue paper is commonly for personal use as facial tissue (paper handkerchiefs),
Facial tissues
Facial tissue (paper handkerchiefs) refers to a class of soft, absorbent, disposable paper that is suitable for use on the face. The term is commonly used to refer to the type of facial tissue, usually sold in boxes, that is designed to facilitate the expulsion of nasal mucus although it may refer to other types of facial tissues including napkins and wipes.
The first tissue handkerchiefs were introduced in the 1920s. They have been refined over the years, especially for softness and strength, but their basic design has remained constant. Today each person in Western Europe uses about 200 tissue handkerchiefs a year, with a variety of 'alternative' functions including the treatment of minor wounds, the cleaning of face and hands and the cleaning of spectacles.[4]
The importance of the paper tissue on minimising the spread of an infection has been highlighted in light of fears over a swine flu epidemic. In the UK, for example, the Government ran a campaign called "
Pressure on use of tissue papers has grown in the wake of improved hygiene concerns in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Paper towels
Paper towels are the second largest application for tissue paper in the
Wrapping tissue
Wrapping tissue is a type of thin, translucent tissue paper used for wrapping/packing various articles & cushioning fragile items.
Custom-printed wrapping tissue is becoming a popular trend for boutique retail businesses.[citation needed] There are various on-demand custom printed wrapping tissue paper available online. Sustainably printed custom tissue wrapping paper are printed on FSC-certified, acid-free paper; and only use soy-based inks.
Toilet paper
Rolls of toilet paper have been available since the end of the 19th century. Today, more than 20 billion rolls of toilet tissue are used each year in Western Europe.[4] Toilet paper brands include, Andrex (United Kingdom), Charmin (United States) and Quilton (Australia), among many others.
Table napkins
Acoustic disrupter
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, a sound recording engineer named Bob Clearmountain was said to have hung tissue paper over the tweeter of his pair of Yamaha NS-10 speakers to tame the over-bright treble coming from it.[7][8][9]
The phenomenon became the subject of hot debate and an investigation into the sonic effects of many different types of tissue paper.[8][10] The authors of a study for Studio Sound magazine suggested that had the speakers' grilles been used in studios, they would have had the same effect on the treble output as the improvised tissue paper filter.[9] Another tissue study found inconsistent results with different paper, but said that tissue paper generally demonstrated an undesirable effect known as "comb filtering", where the high frequencies are reflected back into the tweeter instead of being absorbed. The author derided the tissue practice as "aberrant behavior", saying that engineers usually fear comb filtering and its associated cancellation effects, suggesting that more controllable and less random electronic filtering would be preferable.[10]
Road repair
Tissue paper, in the form of standard single-ply toilet paper, is commonly used in road repair to protect crack sealants. The sealants require upwards of 40 minutes to cure enough to not stick onto passing traffic. The application of toilet paper removes the stickiness and keeps the tar in place, allowing the road to be reopened immediately and increasing road repair crew productivity. The paper breaks down and disappears in the following days.[11][12] The use has been credited to Minnesota Department of Transportation employee Fred Muellerleile, who came up with the idea in 1970 after initially trying standard office paper, which worked, but did not disintegrate easily.[13]
Packing industry
Apart from above, a range of speciality tissues are also manufactured to be used in the
The industry
In North America, people are consuming around three times as much tissue as in Europe.[14] Out of the world's estimated production of 21 million tonnes (21,000,000 long tons; 23,000,000 short tons) of tissue, Europe produces approximately 6 million tonnes (5,900,000 long tons; 6,600,000 short tons).[15]
The European tissue market is worth approximately 10 billion Euros annually and is growing at a rate of around 3%. The European market represents around 23% of the global market. Of the total paper and board market tissue accounts for 10%. An analysis and market research in Europe, Germany was one of the top tissue-consuming countries in Western Europe while Sweden was on top of the per-capita consumption of tissue paper in Western Europe. Market Study.[16]
In Europe, the industry is represented by the European Tissue Symposium (ETS), a trade association. The members of ETS represent the majority of tissue paper producers throughout Europe and about 90% of total European tissue production. ETS was founded in 1971 and is based in Brussels since 1992.[17]
In the U.S., the tissue industry is organized in the
Tissue paper production and consumption is predicted to continue to
Companies
The largest tissue producing companies by capacity – some of them also
- Essity[21]
- Kimberly-Clark
- Georgia-Pacific
- Asia Pulp & Paper (APP)/Sinar Mas
- Procter & Gamble
- Sofidel Group
- CMPC
- WEPA Hygieneprodukte[22]
- Metsä Group
- Cascades
Sustainability
The
Meanwhile, the paper tissue industry, along with the rest of the paper manufacturing sector, has worked to minimise its
EDANA, the
There has been a great deal of interest, in particular, in the use of recovered fibres to manufacture new tissue paper products. However, whether this is actually better for the environment than using new fibres is open to question. A life-cycle assessment study indicated that neither fibre type can be considered environmentally preferable. In this study both new fibre and recovered fibre offer environmental benefits and shortcomings.
Total environmental impacts vary case by case, depending on for example the location of the tissue paper mill, availability of fibres close to the mill, energy options and waste utilization possibilities. There are opportunities to minimise environmental impacts when using each fibre type.
When using recovered fibres, it is beneficial to:
- Source fibres from integrated deinking operations to eliminate the need for thermal drying of fibre or long distance transport of wet pulp,
- Manage deinked sludge in order to maximise beneficial applications and minimise waste burden on society; and
- Select the recovered paper depending on the end-product requirements and that also allows the most efficient recycling process.
When using new fibres, it is beneficial to:
- Manage the raw material sources to maintain legal, sustainable forestry practices by implementing processes such as forest certification systems and chain of custody standards; and
- Consider opportunities to introduce new and more renewable energy sources and increase the use of biomass fuels to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide.
When using either fibre type, it is beneficial to:
- Improve energy efficiency in tissue manufacturing;
- Examine opportunities for changing to alternative, non fossil based sources, of energy for tissue manufacturing operations
- Deliver products that maximise functionality and optimize consumption; and
- Investigate opportunities for alternative product disposal systems that minimize the environmental impact of used products.[28]
The
In 2019, the NRDC and Stand.earth released a report grading various brands of toilet paper, paper towels, and facial tissue; the report criticized major brands for lacking recycled material.[30]
Types of eco-labels
There are three types of
Type I: ISO 14024 This type of eco-label is one where the criteria are set by third parties (not the manufacturer). They are in theory based on life cycle impacts and are typically based on pass/fail criteria. The one that has European application is the EU Flower.
Type II: ISO 14021 These are based on the manufacturers or retailers own declarations. Well known amongst these are claims of "100% recycled" in relation to tissue/paper.
Type III: ISO 14025 These claims give quantitative details of the impact of the product based on its life cycle. Sometimes known as EPDs (Environmental Product Declarations), these labels are based on an independent review of the life cycle of the product. The data supplied by the manufacturing companies are also independently reviewed.
The most well known example in the paper industry is the Paper Profile. You can tell a Paper Profile meets the Type III requirements when the verifiers logo is included on the document.[31]
An example of an organization that sets standards is the Forest Stewardship Council.
See also
References
- ^ Tissue Paper Converting Machine Photos. Archived 2017-12-20 at the Wayback Machine. Al Baraka.
- ISBN 952-5216-18-7.
- ISBN 0-615-13013-5.
- ^ a b European Tissue Symposium. "Tissue Product Properties" Archived 2010-02-12 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved on 2010-01-02.
- ^ Department of Health "Respiratory and hand hygiene guidance" Archived 2009-06-08 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved on 2009-06-05.
- ISBN 952-5216-18-7.
- ^ Gardiner, Bryan (15 September 2010). "Yamaha's NS-10: The Most Important Speaker You've Never Heard Of" Archived 2014-02-12 at the Wayback Machine. Gizmodo
- ^ a b 1977 Yamaha NS-10M Speakers|Mix Inducts the Yamaha NS10M Speakers into the TECnology Hall of Fame Archived 2014-02-02 at the Wayback Machine. Mix (28 August 2008).
- ^ a b PR Newell, KR Holland & JP Newell. "The Yamaha NS10M: Twenty Years a Reference Monitor. Why?" Archived 2012-06-04 at the Wayback Machine. Report commissioned by Sound on Sound, Institute of Acoustics (2001)
- ^ a b Bob Hodas. "Examining the Yamaha NS-10M 'Tissue Paper Phenomenon' – An Analysis of the Industry-Wide Practice of Using a Tissue-Paper Layer to Reduce High-Frequency Output" Archived 2013-09-08 at the Wayback Machine. Recording Engineer/Producer Magazine, February 1986
- ^ Aguilar, John (2016-11-03). "Littleton TP's its own streets as a way to fill its cracks — single-ply only". The Denver Post. Denver, Colorado. Archived from the original on 2017-11-23. Retrieved 2017-09-22.
- ^ Salter, Peter (2014-12-31). "City crews hitting the streets with single-ply toilet paper". Lincoln Journal-Star. Lincoln, Nebraska. Archived from the original on 2017-09-23. Retrieved 2017-09-22.
- ^ Ojanpa, Brian (2011-08-12). "Road T.P. was his idea that stuck". Mankato Free Press. Mankato, Minnesota. Archived from the original on 2020-02-26. Retrieved 2017-09-22.
- ^ European Tissue Symposium "Facts and Figures" Archived 2008-06-20 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 2009-06-05
- ^ European Tissue Symposium "Profile of the ETS" Archived 2010-02-06 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 2010-01-02
- ^ Western European Tissue Consumption Archived 2017-12-07 at the Wayback Machine, 2010 – 2016
- ^ European Tissue Symposium "ETS: About Us" Archived 2010-02-06 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 2010-01-02
- ^ "Tissue Products | AF&PA". www.afandpa.org. Archived from the original on 2021-10-09. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
- ^ a b "Is tissue becoming a safe haven for the global pulp and paper industry? Global paper and board industry is in transition". paperindustryworld. 2015. Archived from the original on 2016-05-29. Retrieved 2016-06-23.
- ^ COVID-19 and tissue markets [1] Archived 2020-07-12 at the Wayback Machine April 2020|publisher=Fastmarkets RISI
- ^ "Tissue - SCA Corporate". Archived from the original on 2016-06-25. Retrieved 2016-06-23.
- ^ Homepage – Producer for Sanitary Paper – toilet paper, tissues, kitchen towels and napkins
- ^ "Does your toilet paper cause rain forest destruction?". WWF. Archived from the original on 2016-04-04. Retrieved 2016-04-11.
- ^ "Flushing Forests | Worldwatch Institute". Archived from the original on 2016-04-21. Retrieved 2016-04-11.
- ^ "Don't flush forests down the toilet | WWF". Archived from the original on 2016-04-11. Retrieved 2016-04-11.
- ^ Paper Online "Environmental Issues" Archived 2010-02-06 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2010-02-04
- ^ European Disposables and Nonwoven Association "Sustainability and Absorbent Hygiene Products" Archived 2009-05-02 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2009-06-05
- ^ European Tissue Symposium "Sustainable Use of New and Recovered Fibre Types" Archived 2011-07-10 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2009-06-05
- ^ Paper Online "Environmental Reports" Archived 2010-02-09 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2010-02-04
- ^ "The Issue with Tissue: How Americans Are Flushing Forests Down the Toilet". NRDC. Archived from the original on 2020-05-13. Retrieved 2019-09-03.
- ^ European Tissue Symposium "European-Wide Tissue Eco labels" Archived 2015-05-11 at the Wayback Machine