Application of Wood and Paper Chemistry to the Industrialization of the Nigeria’S Economy: a Review

Home , Kraft process

International Journal of Environment and Bioenergy, 2012, 4(2): 46-63 International Journal of Environment and Bioenergy ISSN: 2165-8951 Journal homepage: www.ModernScientificPress.com/Journals/IJEE.aspx Florida, USA Review Application of Wood and Paper Chemistry to the Industrialization of the Nigeria’s Economy: a Review

Okon E. Osung 1, Aniekan E. Akpakpan 2, *

1 Department of Science Technology, Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic, Ikot Osurua, Ikot Ekpene, Awa Ibom State, Nigeria 2 Department of Chemistry, University of Uyo, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: [email protected].

Article history: Received 28 August 2012, Accepted 16 October 2012, Published 20 October 2012.

Abstract: This paper is concerned with the application of wood and paper chemistry to the industrialization of the Nigeria’s economy. Wood which is the base material and the mother of pulp and paper products is discussed based on the chemical products, and the role of chemistry in the industrialization of Nigerian pulp and paper industries is also discussed. The inseparable bond (or cordial relationship) between chemistry and the wood and paper industry is highlighted by treating the chemistry of some of the processes involved. This review finally enumerates prospect of the paper industries and the problems that had reduced the industrialization efforts of these industries in Nigeria and proffered possible solutions.

Keywords: wood; pulp; paper; industry; economy.

1. Introduction

Wood is a very important renewable natural resource that has a credible impact in the evolution of civilization and advancement of mankind. It is indispensable to the survival of man and animals of varying characteristics. Wood is a recurring decimal in the history of man, and the basis for the evolution of other natural resources like coal, and even fossil fuels (Rowell, 1983) By definition, wood is a complex material of the skeleton of trees. In other words, it is the part of the boles and branches of trees and shrubs, exclusive of pith, which has risen. Wood is sometimes defined as the secondary xylem in the stems of trees (Hickey and King, 2001). Trees are the largest

Int. J. Environ. Bioener. 2012, 4(2): 46-63 47 repository of wood, i.e. less arguably, wood is the main substance of a tree. This statement is made without bias, but rather with due regards to other parts of a tree like leaves, fruits, bark, etc. which have their own appreciable applications. Wood tissues, however, occur to some extent in herbaceous plants. The level of consumption of wood/wood based products are considered as a good measure (or index) of development of a particular country. That is, the more the wood and its products are consumed, the more likely that such people or nation has attained a high standard of living. This is because wood and its products are used in diverse ways in almost all areas of human endeavour e.g. construction of houses, bridges, tunnels, mines, jetties, household goods, furniture, sports equipment, medicine, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, railway tracks, railway coaches, vehicles, ships, boats, transport equipment/facilities, chemicals, etc. Paper is a wood based product without which modern civilization would not have evolved, and would not have been sustained and advanced. But paper itself, is a major product of wood pulp; i.e. pulp gives birth to paper, also pulp can be used for diverse purposes such as in the preparation of cellulose derivatives e.g. cellulose nitrate, cellulose acetate, regenerated cellulose etc. (Akpabio et al, 2012). Uses of pulp could be seen in the following: (1) shoes, cars and trucks; (2) packaging materials like cartons, chalk packets, foods/drinks packaging e.g. 5-Alive, chivita, sugar, etc.; (3) traveling bags and suitcases; (4) insulation boards/walls boards; (5) gift items/photographic papers; (6) decorative materials; (7) roofing felt and aircraft; (8) artwork materials, toys and artifacts; (9) corrugated paper; (10) cardboard, insulating materials. Uses of paper: (1) for writing; (2) newsprint for newspapers/diaries/calendars, etc.; (3) for printing, i.e. as printing materials, newsprint; (4) for paper money (currency); (5) minting material e.g. for receipts, etc.; (6) computer consumables; (7) for postal products e.g. stamps, postal and money orders etc.; (8) absorbent papers/toweling; (9) for packaging; (10) wall papers; (11) wrapping; (12) artworks/decoration; (13) tissue/toilet papers; and (14) carbon papers. Sources of pulp: The primary source of pulp is wood and the prime sources of wood are the angiosperms (hard woods) and gymnosperms (softwoods) trees of which about 3000 species are known today (Young, 1986). (1) Softwoods: This composed of interwoven systems of cells, one from root to crown (longitudinally), the other from bark to pith (radially). These cells vary in size, shape and function. There are much more pores, vessels and intercellular cells than hard woods. In softwood, support and conduction are achieved by cells called tracheids. These contain pits in secondary cells which are gaps that allow flow of liquid between neighboring cells. Soft wood produces long fibres (Akpabio and Eno, 1999). (2) Hardwoods: Hardwoods are structurally more complicated, with less

Copyright © 2012 by Modern Scientific Press Company, Florida, USA Int. J. Environ. Bioener. 2012, 4(2): 46-63 48 pores and vessels than softwoods. Their cells show greater variation in size and shape. Hardwood fibres are short fibres (Casey, 1980). Anatomically, wood has three main sections: (a) Transverse section – rays, (b) Tangential section – rays, and (c) Radial section-vessels fibres. In details, wood is composed of pith, outer bark, inner bark, bast, growth rings, cambium, late wood, early wood, tracheids, vessels, ducts resin ducts, fibres rays, food cells, pits, pores, and resin canals. (3) Functions of key wood anatomical parts: (a) Vessels: are conducting tissues, carrying sap in sapwood from roots to leaves; (b) Fibres: are found between and around vessels; they provide support for the tree; (c) Rays: store and conduct food horizontally; (d) Food cells (parenchyma): store and conduct food vertically; (e) Bast (phloem): carries food leaves down stem to feed cambium and manufacture wood; (f) Canibium: are thin layer of cells, capable of division, forming new cells towards the wood (xylem) and have cells toward the bark.

2. Application of Chemistry in Wood and Paper Industries

Wood is a great repository of natural chemical products, from which other derivatives are derived. Chemistry is everywhere, in almost everything. There is chemistry in air, soil, food, plants/wood, minerals, petroleum and gas, water, vegetation, etc. Chemistry is involved in virtually every aspect of human life. In other words, the world is awash with chemistry. There is a large school of thought that agrees to the fact that no nation can grow appreciably without having a large number of chemist and chemical sciences experts. Wood is full of chemistry and there are an array of research works to be done in wood and paper chemistry to sustain and advances in the current level of knowledge. Such research works will increase the contribution of chemistry to the advancement of wood and paper industries in Nigeria’s industrialization efforts. At this juncture, we will bring to the fore, those areas that wood chemistry is really applicable and feasible in the wood and paper industry, thereby contributing to Nigeria’s industrialization efforts. We rather choose to use the words “industrialization efforts”, not “industrialization”, because by all standards of assessment, Nigeria is yet to industrialized. But rather an efforts is made towards industrialization; albeit too slowly.

2.1. Chemical Wood Products

Some important industries are based on chemical products obtained from wood. Some of these products are naturally embedded in wood, and must be extracted through chemical wood processing methods, e.g. Delignification, distillation, hydrolysis, or other chemical method (Casey, 1980). Wood substance consists of several different types of cells, the most important being the fibres. Wood is

Copyright © 2012 by Modern Scientific Press Company, Florida, USA Int. J. Environ. Bioener. 2012, 4(2): 46-63 49 essentially composed of cellulose, hemicelluloses, lignin, and extractives. According to Casey (1980), the cell wall of wood fibres is composed principally of: a) Cellulose (C6H12O5)n – 40-50% b) Hemicellulose – 20 – 30% = f(species) c) Lignin – 10-15% d) Tannins especially in oak, omo, apa e) Volatile oils and resins (especially in pines) f) Gums, latex, alkaloids, dyes and colouring substances. g) Ash (rich in post ash for soil fertility) after burning h) Starch, proteins, silica (- inorganic) Gums and latex are largely from pored woods. *a, b and c - are primary components of wood. *d-g - are secondary components. *d-f- are extraneous materials (extractives) (are heart-wood based). Cellulose and hemicelluloses are polysaccharides meaning “more sugars” they are carbohydrates of long chain characters respectively. Cellulose is based on glucose unit, and is a soft white, fibrous material resistant to more chemicals, and a major textile, and pulp and paper raw materials. Hemicelluloses are polymeric in nature and more than one kind of sugar e.g. arabinose, manose and xylose (Kenney et al., 1996). Cellulose is combined with nitric acid to form nitrocellulose, which produces explosives, celluloid and lacquers with other chemicals. Cellulose is also used for making artificial silks (rayons), films, cellophane and cellulose acetate (Akpabio et al, 2012). Lignin is a complex chemical compound most commonly derived from wood, and an integral part of the secondary cell walls of plants (Hibbert, and Phillips, 1930). It is one of the most abundant organic polymers on earth, exceeded only by cellulose, employing 30% of non-fossil organic carbon (Casey, 1980) and constituting from a quarter to a third of the dry mass of wood. As a biopolymer, lignin is unusual because of its heterogeneity and lack of a defined primary structure. Its most commonly noted function is the support through strengthening of wood (xylem cells) in trees (Casey, 1980). Lignin provides the mechanical support for stems and leaves and supplies the strength and rigidity of plant walls. Lignin provides the structural strength needed by large trees to reach heights in excess of 100 m. Without lignin trees would collapse on themselves. Also, lignin alongside with other cell wall constituents provides resistance to diseases, insects, cold temperatures, and other stresses. Lignin plays a crucial part in conducting water in plant stems. The structure of lignin has not been properly determined as it usually fragments upon extraction and there appears to be no consistent structure to it. Lignin is not a polysaccharide, but based on a derivative of benzene. It is a brown

Copyright © 2012 by Modern Scientific Press Company, Florida, USA Int. J. Environ. Bioener. 2012, 4(2): 46-63 50 powder which can be used for glues, plastics and fertilizers. Lignin, together with cellulose is the basis of the fibre boards industry.

2.2. Wood Chemical Reactions

Wood is notably resistant to the action of solvents and of many chemical reagents. No solvent is known yet that can dissolve wood without chemical attack. Water applied at temperatures of up to 100 oC (boiling point) has little or no action on wood, except the removal of certain volatile extractive components. At above 100 oC, around 150 - 175 oC water attack is more severe on cell wall and 20- 30% of the wood is dissolved in a few hours (3 - 4 h) (DeLong et al., 1990). Hot water extracts become acidic due to hydrolysis of acetyl groups of the wood (cellulose) to produce acetic acid. The more deliberated the wood is, the more rapid and severe the hot water attack would be, due to ease in penetration. Neutral organic solvents have little action on wood at 100 oC, but at the temperature between 150 - 180 oC, alcohol and phenolic acids react in small quantity. It is important to get a fast reaction at the lowest temperature without wood degradation. High temperature reactions are possible (up to 170 oC) if the reaction time is very short and no strong acid or base catalysts are used. Wood degrades rather quickly at temperatures above 175 oC (Stamm, 1964). Alkaline solvents (such as ethyl amines) and their water solutions react more vigorously with lignin in a very complex manner and also attack polysaccharides. Action of acids on wood: Wood is resistant to hydrolysis by dilute acids at ordinary or low temperature. This is the reason of the wide use of wood to make tanks used to store substances that have dilute aqueous solutions of mineral or organic acids. At temperature greater than 100 oC, dilute acids, e.g. 3% H2SO4 or HCl cause rapid hydrolysis of wood especially hemicelluloses. Sapwood is poor in extractives, and so susceptible to decay by biological agents. In contrast, heartwood is rich in extractives, and so is protected against decay and so more durable. These facts constitute the basis for the evolution and growth of wood and/or agricultural preservatives industries globally.

2.3. Destructive Distillation of Wood

Charcoal is formed by subjecting wood to intense heat in ovens, and the vapour and gases given off are condensed and relined to produce wood tar and alcohol. If pine is used, pine oil is produce which is used for disinfectants, paints and vanish production.

Chemical reaction of wood Product obtained and uses Acid Hydrolysis: uses mainly coniferous sugars: - Ethanol woods, emanating major wood substances - Food for cattle sugars to alcohol by treatment with - yeast for brewingable hydrochloric acid Derivations: -vanillin - adhesives Chemical pulp: Mainly coniferus woods -paper, plastics,films,lacquers, rayoncellophame, fibre Cellulose pulp prepared in digesters by boards, explosives (from cellulose nitrates) chemical pulping Destructive distillation of wood: wood is a) Charcoal used for carbonized in the absence of air. - Explosives (ingredient) - Medicine - Poultry food (ingredient) b) Tar used for - wood creosote (preservative) - soaps c) Pine Oil used for -disinfectants - paints and varnishes (d) Methyl alcohol (e) Turpentine (f) Acetic acid Mechanical pulp: (mainly coniferous Newsprint woods used) Wood defibred by grinding - Insulating boards against special stones - Hard boards Wood extractive (uses different woods for (a) Essential oils: oleo-resins specific extracts). Treating with water and (b) Tannins other solvents to dissolve extracts. (c) Dyes (d) Gums for confectionary perfumes, and adhesive (e) Resins-paints, antiseptics

Distillation also produces turpentine and resins (resins harden by oxidation) oil and waxes. Wood burns because the cell wall polymers undergo pyrolysis reactions with increasing temperature to give off volatile and flammable gases. The gases are ignited by some external source and combust. The hemicelluloses and cellulose polymers are degraded by heat much before the lignin (Rowell, 1984).

2.4. Pulping Processes

Pulping is the process by which the fibres are separated from wood or cellulosic plant components and it can be done chemically, mechanically or by combination of the two methods i.e.

Copyright © 2012 by Modern Scientific Press Company, Florida, USA Int. J. Environ. Bioener. 2012, 4(2): 46-63 52 semi-chemical or chemi-mechanical process. Each operation requires the treatment of wood with such chemicals as sodium hydroxide, sodium sulphite and further defibering by mechanical refining. These operations are not as complex as they appear in the mills; it simply means cooking of the wood sample to free the fibres (Akpabio and Eno, 1999). Chemical pulp is produced through chemical pulping of wood. The objective is to separate the fiber from each other with a minimal damage. This is accomplished by suitable chemical action which removes the more soluble cementing materials (largely lignin), and part of hemicelluloses, leaving behind a fibrous pulp of more or less pure cellulose (Casey, 1980). These methods are used: a) Acid sulphite process b) Soda process alkaline processes c) Sulphate process d) Organo-solvent pulping

2.4.1. Acid sulphite process

Through the action of H2SO4 and calcium bisulphate Ca(HSO3)2 to reduce wood to pulp. This cooking liquor is prepared by burning sulphur to form sulphur dioxide gas, SO2.

Large steel vessels/tower S + O2 SO2

The full details of acid sulphite pulping process for the production of chemical pulp cannot be contained within the scope of this review paper. But, nevertheless, the following chemistry of the process is necessary: i) Formation of sulphurous acid

SO2 + H2O H2SO3 (cooking liquor) ii) Formation of calcium hydroxide from limestone

CaO + H2O Ca(OH)2 iii) Formation of calcium bisulphate from milk of lime

Ca(OH)2 + 2H2SO3 Ca(HSO3)2 + 2H2O iv) Formation of soluble bisulphate

Na2CO3 + 2H2SO3 2NaHSO3 + CO2 + H2O Mechanical pulp is weaker in strength, and deteriorates rapidly. It is used to make cheap and low grade pulp for paper making. To add strength and improve the quality of mechanical pulp, it is mixed with chemical pulp in a semi-chemical pulping process. The weakness is due to the grinding process which destroys the fibres, but can be ameliorated by boiling the wood logs, before de-barking,

2.4.2. Soda pulping process The first chemical process for reducing wood to pulp was the soda process, so-named because it uses caustic soda as the cooking agent. This process was developed in 1851 by Hugh Burgess and Charles Watt in England, who secured an American patent in 1854. Soda pulping process is a chemical process for making wood pulp with sodium hydroxide as cooking chemical. The soda process gives pulp with lower tear strength than other chemical pulping processes (sulphite and Kraft process), but has still limited use for easy pulped materials like straws and some hardwoods (Ali et al., 2001). However, many grasses, bagasse, bamboo and some tropical hardwoods contain much silicates that may cause sodium aluminium silicate scales. Moderate amounts of silicates can be controlled with purging lime mud or lime kiln ash. Silicate removal from green liquor in a soda mill can be achieved by lowering the pH of the liquor with CO2-containing flue gases from the lime kiln or other sources (Gominho and Pereira, 2006).

2.4.3. Sulphate or Kraft process The sulphate process (also known as kraft pulping process) describes a technology for conversion of wood into wood pulp consisting of almost pure cellulose fibres. The process entails treatment of wood chips with a mixture of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulphide, known as white liquor; these break the bonds that link lignin to the cellulose. The kraft process was invented by Carl F. Dahl in 1879 in Danzig, Prussia, Germany. The U.S. Patent 296,935 was issued in 1884, and a pulp mill using this technology started (in Sweden) in 1890 (Biermann, 1993). The invention of the recovery boiler by G. H. Tomlinson in the early 1930s was a milestone in the advancement of the kraft process (Sjöström, 1993). It enabled the recovery and reuse of the inorganic pulping chemicals such that a kraft mill is a nearly closed-cycle with respect to inorganic chemicals, apart from those used in the bleaching process. For this reason, in the 1940s, the kraft process surpassed the sulphite process as the dominant method for producing wood pulp (Biermann, 1993). One of the main chemical reactions that underpin the kraft process is the scission of ether bonds by the nucleophilic sulphide (S2-) or bisulphide (HS-) ions (Sjöström, 1993).

2.4.4. Organosolv pulping (solvent-based or solvolysis) Organosolv pulping (solvent-based or solvolysis) is a chemical pulping method in which delignification of the biomass (wood or non-wood) is done in an organic solvent or solvent plus water system (Kennedy et al., 1996). The advantages of organosolv pulping is low kappa number, low impacts of environmental problems (as known to be an environmentally friendly pulping process), and

Copyright © 2012 by Modern Scientific Press Company, Florida, USA Int. J. Environ. Bioener. 2012, 4(2): 46-63 54 the silica of raw material does not accumulate in the system and retained in the pulp (Rowell et al., 1994). In order to improve optical properties of unbleached pulp or obtain bright (white) paper, bleaching treatment of pulp should be done (Stenius, 2000). Bleachability of non woody pulps with respect to wood pulps is easy. In addition, organosolv pulps are bleached easier than other chemical pulps (Pan and Leary, 2000). Organosolv pulping has been evaluated by a number of investigators (Kennedy et al., 1996; Akpakpan et al., 2011).

2.5. Pulp Bleaching

This is a very major portion of paper making and constitutes a major arm of wood/paper industry. This is because bleaching can be done at a separate facility by a separate industrial organization, different from the one that produces the pulp. Therefore, the most important chemical industry based on wood is pulp and paper industry. Unbleached chemical pulp is too dark in colour for use in manufacture of high grade paper. The black colour of pulp is due mainly to the remnant lignin in the pulp. This lignin must be removed during bleaching process to get the pulp/paper whitened. Single stage bleaching was used decades ago, but today, multistage bleaching is the practice. Chlorination is a single stage bleaching process. Multistage bleaching involves alkali-extraction stage. But generally, the practice is to alternate between acid and alkaline stage. In the acid stage, an oxidizing agent is applied whereas in the alkaline stage, the products formed in the oxidative stage are extracted from the pulp. But in hypochlorite, oxygen and peroxide bleaching, oxidation is carried out in alkaline stage. The measure of how well bleached (bright) a pulp is, is known as bleachability. Its starts with determining the lignin content, establishing the amount of bleaching agent, duration function of brightness level required. Hypochlorite is also used as bleachability test with a method called sieber chlorine number. The following relations suffice on this regard: % Lignin = 0.147  kappa number (generally used method) % Lignin = 0.811  Roe number % Lignin = 0.90  chlorine number Because permanganate reacts rapidly with lignin, the number of mL of 0.1 N potassium permanganate solution consumed by 1 g pulp in 10 min is known as kappa number (TAPPI, 1985). +  Cl2 + H2O HOCl + H + Cl Chlorine bleaching or chlorination   2ClO2 + Cl2 2ClO2 + 2 Cl (Chlorine bleaching number) Multistage bleaching of pulp is carried out in different combinations of stages and their

Copyright © 2012 by Modern Scientific Press Company, Florida, USA Int. J. Environ. Bioener. 2012, 4(2): 46-63 55 symbols are as follows:  Chlorination C  Alkaline extraction E  Hypochlorite bleaching H  Chlorine dioxide bleaching D  Peroxide bleaching P  Oxygen bleaching O  Chlorination with addition of little chloride dioxide CD  Chlorine + mixture of chlorine and chlorine dioxide with more (larger) part being chlorine C+D  Acid treatment A It is necessary to note that chlorination leads to loss of methoxyl group in lignin. The rate of chlorination reaction decreases with the increase of pH and concentration of black liquor from cooking, burned in recovery furnace, results in salts and heat.

2.6. Chemistry of Wood Preservatives

A whole chemistry and biochemistry based industry for manufacturing wood preservatives has developed over time, employing directly and indirectly large number of world population. This industry is infantile and small scale in Nigeria, producing just a little percentage of overall need of these products. Nigeria-German Chemicals and Bayer Nigeria Plc are the major local producers. But globally, European and North America companies like Swiss Chemicals dominate the sector producing an array of useful products to preserve and prolong wood’s functions and usefulness. These products also cover insecticides, and other products that protect even stem wood and agricultural crops from attack by biological agents like fungi, termites, beetles, wood worms and insects. There are different types of wood preservatives: a) Tar oil preservatives: This is made from coal, peat, shale or wood. Most important is coal tar creosote. Creosote is more widely used today than any other preservatives, but it has bad odour and poisonous. b) Organic solvent + solvents: The examples of this preservative are:  Pentachlorophenol PCP  Organo chlorine  Organo phosphorus compounds e.g. femitrothian  Organometallic compounds e.g. mercury, copper, zinc, tin

Copyright © 2012 by Modern Scientific Press Company, Florida, USA Int. J. Environ. Bioener. 2012, 4(2): 46-63 56 c) Water borne preservative: This type of preservatives includes:  Copper/chorine arsenate CCA  Ammoniacal copper chromate ACC  Chromate zinc chloride CZC  Flour/chorine/arsenate/phenol FCAP Of all the above preservatives, CCA are more effective. Common commercial names of these products are:  Xylamon - against termites  Basileum - against fungi and insects  Basiment - against wood staining fungi (blue stain) and wood boring insects; and wood rotting fungi.  Basilit - against blue stain  Minalith, pyromors transparent - against fires All preservatives must be safe, effective, cost affordable and last long. They are passed onto wood material through (i) surface treatment, (ii) immersion, (iii) vacuum impregnation, and (iv) pressure impregnation.

2.7. The Chemistry of Wood Adhesives

Wood adhesives are polymeric materials that are capable of interacting physically or chemically, or both, with the surface of wood in such a manner that stresses are transferred between bonded members, hopefully without rupture of the adhesive or detachment of the adhesive from the wood (Marra, 1984). Adhesives and the physicochemical phenomenon of adhesion play an important role in more than 70% of all wood based materials in use today (Marra, 1984). On the other hand, adhesives are chemistry based products used in bonding (binding) of component materials, in the manufacture of wood based panel products. Such products are plywood, particle (chip) board, medium density fibre boards etc. Wood adhesives are of different types: i) Urea formaldehyde resins UF ii) Melamine formaldehyde resins MF iii) Melamine – urea-formaldehyde resins MUF iv) Phenol-resorcinol formaldehyde resins PRF The binding is done under established pressure, time (duration) and temperature. Hardener can be applied or incorporated in the resin for ease in curing after pressing (Green et al., 1999). Besides wood based panels, adhesives, also called glues find extensive applications in finger jointing, furniture and joinery, and assembling of component furniture parts or system.

In Nigeria, only few companies produce some unpatented and contented products in very small scale capacities. Qualities of the local products are not good enough for international markets. Popular product names are top bond, Arec, etc. Again, foreign companies dominate the sector. Major foreign producers are Dyno industries, lillestron, Norway with well established quality brand dynorit recovering all areas of applications, including PVAC adhesives for wood plastic surface bonding. Finland based company is another global player-major producers/supplier, and Exter, Urex, Melurex, Tomarsinol and Watex are their brand names. There is also a wood dyeing and colouration industry, dominated by Tabu spa of Italy. It is important to note and cherish, the fact that these important products, even though not produced in appreciable quantities in Nigeria, are being imported (excuse capital flight) and facilitate extensively the growth of wood based industries in Nigeria. Production is mostly foreign based, but use and impact is very great in Nigeria’s wood industry and industrialization. Without these products our cottage and large scale wood processing concerns would have folded up with negative consequences especially in high imports of wood products and under-development, unemployment and poverty.

2.8. Paper Making Raw Material

Fibrous raw material used in paper making are the pulps obtained from wood, while the non- fibrous paper making raw materials or chemical additives are the starch, the fillers, the rosin etc. depending on the type of paper required. The sources of these raw materials are readily available locally as starch can be made from many carbohydrate sources; roots (e.g. cassava), tubers (yam) and grains (maize), the fillers can be produced from clays and limestone, while rosin may be extracted from plant exudates. The processes are not complicated and not very expensive hence private investment is possible.

2.8.1. Paper making operations There are two possible methods of making paper; paper can be made manually using hand mould or laboratory sheet former or it can be made in a continuous process using complicated machines. In each case the operations usually carried out are the stock preparation (refining and cleaning of fibres and addition of chemicals); sheet formation on the paper wire, removal of water from the sheet by the press and the drying. The finishing operations consist of rewinding and calendaring to smoothen the surface of the paper. The other operations include paper conversion, involving cutting the jumbo reels into required size, fabricating them into different shapes such as cartons, boxes envelopes, pipes, coating, laminating and gumming as the case may be. For conversion operations, already made papers are used. Star Paper

Mill Ltd. Aba and Una Ama Paper Mill are two of such houses. These two companies are not producing enough papers for local consumption, and more private investors are needed to produce coated or waxed papers, gummed papers and paper laminates for some specific uses. Handmade paper can be made by a few people e.g. a family, and these papers are quite suitable for the arts works. It is hoped that if produced in commercial quantity thy will quite profitable.

3. The Role of Pulp and Paper Industry in the Industrialization of Nigeria’s Economy

To put it briefly, Nigeria consumes large quantities of paper/paper products but produces very little of these. Nigeria uses all types of paper. The high demands are due to: a) Large education sector i.e. schools, pupils/students, teachers, etc. b) Increasing literacy rate c) Large bureaucracy- government and private d) The surge in information technology e) Large array of newspapers/journals f) Awareness/modern use of new marketing cum publicity tools like calendars, diaries, flyers, brochures, packaging, and invitation cards, etc. g) Large book/printing industry

Pertinent questions arise: i) What is the total and per capita consumption of paper/paper products in Nigeria? ii) Analysis of operations, production capacities and products of Nigeria pulp and paper industries? iii) What are the raw material and secondary material requirements of the industry? iv) What are the problems facing the industry? Federal ministry of commerce estimates the per capita consumption of paper and paper product to be 13.30 kg. If related to about 140 million it comes to 1862 m kg in total consumption.

3.1. History of Paper Industry in Nigeria

1) Nigerian Paper Mill (NPM) Ltd. Jebba This was the first paper mill in Nigeria, established in 1965 built by German and commissioned in 1969 with Merssers Birla Brothers of India as managing agents. It is the first paper mill in West Africa. It had initial capacity of 12,000 tons of short fibre and to import 33,000 tons of long fibre for it operations. However, in 1978, much expansion of the mill took place involving pulping mixed savanna free species, and capacity increase to 65,000 tons per annum. The products included various grades of

Copyright © 2012 by Modern Scientific Press Company, Florida, USA Int. J. Environ. Bioener. 2012, 4(2): 46-63 59 paper-stationery, packaging materials etc. Downstream industries developed to harness wastes. The mill recycled waste paper to produce new paper products. This was a leap for Nigeria’s industrialization efforts.

2) Nigerian Newsprint Manufacturing Company (NNMC) Oku-Iboku, Akwa Ibom State This paper mill was established in 1975 as a joint venture company between the federal government of Nigeria, 90% equity shares and Cross River and Akwa Ibom States (then cross River State) together having 10% equity. It was constructed by Messrs Parsons Whillemore and Lydon (PWL) Ltd. in the UK. It was an integrated project designed to produce 100,000 metric tons of finished newsprint grade papers annually. It was commissioned in 1986 after a 5-year delay because of stage of funds. It cost USD 360 million, and is a big pouch towards industrialization in Nigeria. This paper mill was eventually closed down in 1993. The reason identified for its failure as a paper company included low production level and high cost of product among others. The company was eventually sold out to a private indigenous consortium in 2006.

3) Nigerian National Paper Manufacturing Company (NNPMC) Iwopin Established in 1975 and owned by the Federal Government of Nigeria 80% equity shares, Oyo, Ogun and Ondo States sharing the remaining 20% capital equally. Production city installed 60,000 metric tons with expansion programme targeting 100,000 tons. The mill was to produce fine and cultural papers for printing and writing, though started production and stopped later. A large hectreage plantation between Ore and Ode owned by the company lies unutilized and over-grown.

3.2. Paper Recycling/Conversion Plants

A few small scale mills for recycling and conversion of waste paper have been established. The most prominent is Star Paper Mill Recycling Plant (SPMRP), Aba, which was established by a known industrialist Chief Nana Kalu, OFR. That was commissioned in September, 1984 at a cost of USD 7.2 million with capacity of 300 tonnes of toilet tissues per annum largely reduced from recycled waste paper. A personal assessment of its operation reveals efficient and independent management of resources culminating in good maintenance temperature (all equipment office facilities working very well), safety and clean. They also produce exercise books at Aba plant. Other downstream concerns exist all over Nigeria, using imported pulps to produce paper products like exercise books, envelopes, writing paper and tissue paper, etc.

3.3. Types of Paper

Studies have shown that there are as many as 37,000 different types of papers in the whole

Copyright © 2012 by Modern Scientific Press Company, Florida, USA Int. J. Environ. Bioener. 2012, 4(2): 46-63 60 world today. This is because papers are put into several uses as stated above and any paper made must be tailored to meet its specific end use. According to their uses the major types of paper are: the writing papers, printing papers, book papers, newsprint, drawing papers, the tissues paper, the filter paper, the blotting papers, the cigarette papers, the security papers (bank notes and cheques), wrapping papers, coated papers, wet strength papers and the paper boards. In Nigeria only a few of these papers were manufactured, and a large number of them is still being imported. Those produced locally include the kraft papers for industrial applications (wrapping, paper bags, envelopes etc.), the printing (duplicating) papers and the tissues paper. Newsprint was formerly produced by NNMC, Oku. But now none of these papers are produced in Nigeria because of the closure of all the paper mills.

4. Prospect of Wood and Paper Industry in Nigeria

4.1. Economic Imperatives

The pulp and paper industry is an incentive to economic life of any community in which it is sited and indeed an economic boaster to the whole country. Employment opportunities are created as many people become employed in the forestry division as forestry attendants while trained personnel like the engineers, scientists, technologists and management staff will be engaged in the entire production line, thus reducing the number of unemployed Nigerians. Above all, productions of pulp and paper has a multiply-effect on the national economy, the pulp can be used in the production of fibre boards and other constructional materials; paper conversion and direct paper trading are all viable and profitable ventures which can be carried out individually or by companies. Above all Nigeria should be able to manufacture the papers used for the Naira notes locally in order to control both the quality and the quantity under her climatic conditions and the level of demand.

4.2. Political Imperatives

If Nigeria is to revolve a stable political and legal systems, sufficient papers in different grades must be manufactured locally for use in educating the masses on government policies; constitution must be written down on papers for people to buy, read and study; government proposals, edicts, parliamentary debates, political party manifestos, court cases/judgments must be written down on papers affordable by the masses. If papers aren’t cheaply available these cannot be done effectively and the absence of information may lead to a general suspicion of the performance of the government in power and an eventual uprise against the authority, hence there are needs to produce enough papers locally.

4.3. Social/Educational Imperatives

Availability of locally made papers contributes immensely to the social life and educational activities of any nation. When papers are readily available at affordable cost, our origin and cultural heritages will be well documented in books for dissemination to the masses and for preservation for future generations. One of the factors accounting for the fallen standard of education in Nigeria is scarcity of papers which are used in making exercise books, printing educational materials and books; thus, their prices have gone up more than 100% since 1993, parents cannot afford to buy sufficient exercise books and textbooks for their children while the teachers cannot buy current texts or even papers to prepare their notes of lesson, hence the fallen standard of education. It is likely that one way of improving the mass literacy in Nigeria is to produce papers readily available at affordable prices, it is impossible to achieve this when papers and books are sold at very high prices so that only a privileged class can afford to buy them. Therefore it is imperative that the private sector of our economy has to invest in the pulp and paper industry so as to produce sufficient papers to improve our educational system, improve political awareness and enhance social integration of all Nigerians. The private investors will also make profits on their investments.

4.4. Problem of Wood/Paper Based Industry in Nigeria a) Infantile wood/paper based chemical industries that has slow growth rate, technically managerially and capacity wise. Such industries producing glue (resins), preservatives, wood finishing materials-turpentine, stains, enamel bleaching agents, shellac, lacquer, varnish, abrasive, thinner, etc. would have industrialized Nigeria considerably with attendant technology acquisition and import-substitution. b) Forest depletion of choice/economic wood species due to unwarranted/uncontrolled over exploitation. c) Inadequate pulp wood plantations, especially the long fibre type (pines); hectreage too small for the nation’s big paper mills. d) Inadequate electric power supply, pulp/paper mills are characterized by a multitude of operations involving heavy machinery which consume much electric power, Nigeria is yet to rise to this challenge. e) Over dependence on foreign technical expertise, including imported equipment maintenance of expatriates and serving or replacement of key equipment are costly and negatively affect the industry’s financial strength. f) Large sizes of Nigeria’s wood/paper based mills constitute and operations/sections are too many such most is reduced or bisectional to function as integrated but separate companies for

efficiency. h) Lack of facilities to process wastes to useful productions, thereby maximizing the usefulness of the facilities e.g. cooking liquor can be processed, another line of derivatives industries could spring up. i) Nigeria’s penchant for foreign made goods forward in almost every aspect of life, including wood/paper industries. Nigeria’s wood/paper industries that were AT & P, Sapele, Epe Plywood, premier Plywood, Akure, etc. are turn-key projects executed solely by expatriates. j) Bank interest rates are too high in Nigeria, depriving the companies of needed finance to operate.

5. Conclusions

Wood and paper industry plays a crucial role in the industrialization of Nigeria’s economy. Hence the wood and paper based industries must act together to move forward, by addressing the problems outlined above. If adequate steps are also taken to acquire technology and develop local capacity by equipping the laboratories in schools and research/higher institutions, then we are moving forward, otherwise the contribution of wood/paper chemistry to Nigeria’s industrialization will be too slow and too insignificant to great impact on nation’s economy. Today the impact is not enough by all considerations. For Nigeria to develop and attain her vision 2020 target, more efforts should be geared towards the development of pulp and paper industries, this will boast the economic, political, social and educational wellbeing of our economy. Since pulp and paper making leads to deforestation which result in global warming, hence more research should be done on non wood raw materials for paper making in Nigeria.

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