Bills can be paid online, newspaper is becoming a thing of the past, and books just take up room on the shelves (some may argue), so with a decreasing need for paper, does this industry still matter?

The simple answer is yes and the more complicated answer is still yes. Paper is and will continue to be relevant in our society with its importance in legal documents and the upcoming revival of tactile instead of digital information. People still like magazines, books, and a pen and paper, which is why improving the industry’s efficiency is still very important.

Paper production has always been something dependent upon natural resources, not the least of which is lumber for pulp. There are other parts of production, however, that tax the environment such as energy and chemical inputs. Improvements in pulp mixing has come leaps and bounds in recent years as companies are abandoning their reliance on brutal heavy mechanical mixers for the elegance and precision of static mixers.

Static mixers shear pulp much more efficiently than mechanical mixers and furthermore do so with significantly less energy. These components utilize the existing pulp flow for mixing instead of high horsepower motors and energy demands. This process greatly reduces the paper industry’s carbon footprint and also produces a better overall product.

Using the right static mixers means bleaching chemicals can be distributed thoroughly throughout the pulp. Mechanical mixers create uneven distribution, thus increasing the amount of bleach needed and leaving the final product less pliable. New methods reach up to  99 %distribution so the bleaching chemicals are evenly mixed throughout the pulp.

It’s true that digital systems are decreasing our dependence on paper, yet this is not a complete usurpation of power. Instead, we depend upon paper and digital equally, which is why it is important to continue improving the paper industry.