SUPREMACY OF POLYMER BANKNOTES: A Comparative Study Between Paper and Polymer Banknotes By: Dr. Ahmed Saad Goher Riyadh - 2012 © Naif Arab University for Security Sciences, 2012 King Fahd National Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data Goher, Ahmed Saad Supremacy of Polymer Banknotes (A Comparative Study Between Paper and Polymer Banknotes) / Ahmed Saad Goher - Riyadh, 2012 P. 192 ; 17 x 24 cm ISBN: 978-603-8116-10-4 1 - Polymers 2 - Polymerization 3- Banknotes I-Title 547.7 dc 1433/7027 Legal Deposit No. 1433/7027 ISBN: 978-603-8116-10-4 All Rights Reserved Naif Arab University for Security Sciences CONTENTS PREFACE 5 CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION TO PAPER 7 1.1. Fibrous Raw Materials for Pulp and Paper Industry 7 1.2. Chemistry of Cellulose 8 1. 3. Types of Cellulose 11 1. 4. Hemicellulose 12 1. 5. Lignin 14 CHAPTER II: PULPING PROCESSES 17 2.1. Conventional Pulping Processes 17 2.2. Non-Conventional Pulping Processes (Organosolv pulping) 19 2.3. Bleaching of Wood Pulp 20 CHAPTER 3: PAPER MANUFACTURING PROCESS 27 3.1. Making Pulp 27 3.2. Beating 28 3.3. Pulp to Paper 28 3.4. Finishing 30 3.5. Additives in Papermaking 30 3.6. Filler in Papermaking 30 CHAPTER 4: INTRODUCTION TO POLYMER 33 4.1. Chemical and Physical Properties of Polypropylene 34 4.2. Degradation of Polypropylene 36 4.3. Synthesis of Polypropylene 36 4.4. Practical Applications of Polypropylene 39 4. 5. Adoption of Polymer Banknotes 40 CHAPTER 5: SECURITY FEATURES IN BANKNOTES 49 5.1. Substrate Features 49 5.2. Ink Features 68 5.3. Design Features 73 5.4. Security in Machine Readable Features 78 CHAPTER 6: HYGIENE 79 CHAPTER 7: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS 83 CHAPTER 8: CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL ANALYSIS OF PAPER AND POLYMER BANKNOTES 89 8.1. Raw Materials 89 8.2. Analysis of Banknotes 89 8.3. Physical Properties of Banknotes 90 CHAPTER 9: MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF BANKNOTES 91 9.1. Tensile Strength and Breaking Length 91 9.2. Burst Strength 92 9.3. Tear Resistance and Tear Initiation Test 92 9.4. Folding Endurance 94 CHAPTER 10: AGING OF BANKNOTES 95 10.1. The Effect of Aging on Breaking Length 99 10.2. The Effect of Aging on Tear factor 101 10.3. The Effect of Aging on Burst factor 102 10.4. The Effect of Aging on Folding Endurance 103 10.5. Effect of Aging on Lightness and Colour Changes of Paper Banknotes 103 CHAPTER 11: THERMAL ANALYSIS 115 11.1. Thermogravimetric (TG) Analyses 115 11.2. Calculation of Activation Energy 116 CHAPTER 12: CRUMPLE RESISTANCE 119 CHAPTER 13: CHEMICAL RESISTANCE TESTS 123 CHAPTER 14: SOIL & WEAR RESISTANCE TESTS 131 CHAPTER 15: COLOUR FASTNESS TEST 135 CHAPTER 16: EXPOSURE TO HUMIDITY & WEATHERING TEST 137 CHAPTER 17: TABER ABRASION TEST 141 CHAPTER 18: MACHINE WASHABILITY TESTS 143 CHAPTER 19: TAPE ADHESION TEST 147 CHAPTER 20: RUB RESISTANCE 149 CHAPTER 21: EFFECT OF SOLVENTS ON POLYMER AND PAPER BANKNOTES 151 21.1. With Acetone 151 21.2. With Ethyl Acetate 152 21.3. With Benzene 154 21.4. Effect of Solvents on Folding Endurance 155 CHAPTER 22: FT-IR SPECTRA OF PAPER AND POLYMER SUBSTRATE 157 22.1. FT-IR Spectra of Paper 157 22.2. FT-IR Spectra of BOPP Substrate 158 CHAPTER 23: COMPARISON BETWEEN SECURITY ELEMENTS IN PAPER AND POLYMER BANKNOTES 159 CHAPTER 24: COMPARISON BETWEEN COUNTERFEIT RATES IN PAPER AND POLYMER BANKNOTES 163 CHAPTER 25: DURABILITY OF BANKNOTES 169 CHAPTER 26: COST-EFFECTIVENESS 173 CONCLUSION 179 ABBREVIATIONS 180 REFERENCES 183 PREFACE Counterfeiting is a present threat for universal economy. Nowadays this threat looms even larger as improvements in the quality of colour photocopiers, computer scanners and imaging software, accompanied by falls in the cost of such technology, brought high quality counterfeits within the reach of unskilled “casual” counterfeiters. As such, this threat results in finding an alternative way to face this catastrophe. A new creative experiment appeared in Australia, based on changing the traditional rag security paper (natural polymer) used in banknotes to synthetic polymer substrate (Polymer). Polymer banknotes were developed by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) and the University of Melbourne. Togather the latter were first issued as currency in Australia in 1988. These banknotes are made from the polymer biaxially-oriented polypropylene (BOPP) which greatly enhances durability of the banknotes. Polymer banknotes also incorporate many security features not available to paper banknotes, making counterfeiting much more difficult. Innovia market the unique BOPP film used for banknotes as “Clarity-C”. Guardian is unique form of opacified BOPP Clarity-C film. By applying the Australian experiment on all its denominations, the world divided into two viewpoints. One of them supports the Australian experiment, Thirty five countries applied it, based on the fact that Polymer banknotes are more durable than the Paper (natural polymer) banknotes (lasting around four times as long). Finally, these have a clear window, which is an effective optical security device. Finally, these are cleaner and more hygienic because of their non-porosity. The other viewpoint is conservative to the Australian experiment based on the fact that paper banknotes are more effective than polymer banknotes in combating counterfeiting by most counterfeiting ways. The well-established technology to create watermarks and security threads within the fibers during manufacturing of the paper, in addition to the porosity of the paper substrate enables printing inks to interact with the paper substrate absorptionaly and not adsorptionaly. In this book, a comparison between the use of paper and polymer substrate in banknotes is investigated in twenty six chapters. This investigation covers the following areas: 5 - Mechanical properties and the effect of thermal treatments on these properties, Chemical analysis, infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. - Security, and the security features that exist in both substrates. - The standard banknote durability and hazard tests, such as, Crumple Resistance Test, Soil & Wear Resistance Test, Colour Fastness Test, Exposure to Humidity & Weathering, Tape Adhesion Test, Rub Resistance Test, Chemical Resistance Tests, Taber Abrasion Test and Machine Washability Tests measuring colour changes of the treated banknotes. - Printability, the thermal treatments on colour changes are investigated. i.e. the effect of temperature on the colour of the note. - Durability, counterfeit detection rates, cost-effectiveness, environmental aspects and hygiene were investigated. First and foremost, the author would like to thank Allah for helping him to accomplish this work. Profound thanks to all the staff of the Rakta paper mills Co., Alexandria, Egypt and to all the staff of the Securency International Pty Ltd in Craigieburn, Australia, for their help to complete this work. The author heartily appreciates Dr. Mohamed Y. EI-Kady, Professor of Organic Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Egypt, for his interest, encouragement and valuable discussion. The author feels also indebted to Prof. Dr. Abd-Alla Mohamed Abd-Alla Nada, Professor of Organic Chemistry, Cellulose and Paper Department, National Research Center, Egypt, for his constant, effective help, supervision, and precious criticism. The author wishes to express his sincere appreciation and respect to Prof. Dr. Gorge Nubar Simonian, Professor of Printing, Faculty of Applied Art, Helwan University, Egypt, for his efficient keen suggestions and valuable help and advices during the process this work. The author wishes to express his thanks and respect to chemist, Riad F. Basalah, General Director, Forgery and Counterfeit Department, Ministry of Justice, Egypt, for his help, continuous guidance and encouragement. Finally, the author is grateful to my family, father, mother, daughters (Sarah, Salma and Sohyla) and special thanks to my greatest wife for her patience, help and continuous encouragement. 6 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION TO PAPER Formed from wood pulp or plant fiber, paper is chiefly used for written communication. The earliest paper was papyrus, made from reeds by the ancient Egyptians (Biermann, Christopher J, 1993). Paper was made by the Chinese in the second century, probably by a Chinese court official named Cai Lun. His paper was made from such things as tree bark and old fish netting. Recognized almost immediately as a valuable secret, it was 500 years before the Japanese acquired knowledge of the method. Papermaking was known in the Islamic world from the end of the eighth century A.D. Knowledge of papermaking eventually moved westward, and the first European paper mill was built at Jativa, in the province of Valencia, Spain, in about 1150. By the end of the 15th century, paper mills existed in Italy, France, Germany, and England, and by the end of the 16th century, paper was being made throughout Europe (Bell, Lilian A, 1992; Ferguson, Kelly, ed, 1994). Paper, whether produced in the modern factory or by the most careful, delicate hand methods, is made up of connected fibers. The fibers can come from a number of sources including cloth rags, cellulose fibers from plants, and, most notably, trees. The use of cloth in the process has always produced high-quality paper. Today, a large proportion of cotton and linen fibers in the mix create many excellent papers for special uses, from wedding invitation paper stock to special paper for pen and ink drawings. 1.1. Fibrous Raw Materials for Pulp and Paper Industry: Pulp and paper can be made from many different plants, but whether or not a plant is well-suited for this purpose depends largely on the suitability of fibers, dependability of supply, cost of collection, transportation, preparation and tendency to deteriorate in storage (Hale, 1969). The parts of plants that are used for papermaking must contain adequate amounts of fibers. Fibrous raw materials for pulp production are generally divided into two main categories: i) Wood fibers: Wood is the most widely used raw material for the production 7 of paper and chemical pulps (Rydholm, 1965; UNIFAD, Rome, 1973).