Engineers Throughout Lifecycle of Paper

Paper is an ancient resource dating back to 3000 BCE, when early Egyptians created papyrus from reeds. The paper they made was thick but smooth and flexible. It was the first material that could hold ink without smudging. In fact, the English word paper comes from the word papyrus. This first form of paper was created by early Egyptian engineers and used to record ancient history. Today many different types of engineers are involved in the creation of paper. These engineers play an essential role in the paper industry, creating an important product that can be used for many things. We use paper in every part of our lives-in fact, I wrote the rough draft of this essay on a pad of paper.

The lifecycle of paper begins in the forest. Wood pulp from trees is the raw material for paper. The most common types of trees that are used to create paper are soft wood trees like spruce, pine or hemlock. Environmental engineers play an important role in the beginning of the life of paper. These engineers help to manage forests so that there are enough natural resources to make paper for the world. Their job includes helping to manage land resources, prevent soil erosion, restore trees, and reduce both water and air pollution, which can threaten forests. Environmental engineers must restore and rehabilitate forests after the trees have been cut down to make paper. This restores the ecosystems allowing for new trees to be planted for future paper production.

After a tree is cut down, it is debarked, and then put in a chipper. Mechanical engineers are responsible for making and maintaining all of the equipment in the paper making process, including the machines that will debark and chip the wood. Chemical engineers at the pulp mill are responsible for making the chemicals that remove cellulose from wood chips to create a glue-like substance called pulp. Making pulp often involves chemical, thermal, and mechanical processes which are created by both mechanical and chemical engineers. Chemical engineers then bleach the pulp to make white paper. Then at the paper mill, pulp is mixed with water before being fed into a paper machine to press out the water and shape it into sheets. The pulp is then warmed to remove any remaining water and rolled into paper. At this time, it can be dyed, cut, or shaped, using machines created by mechanical engineers. Mechanical engineers play an important role in this process by making sure they are using the right equipment to produce the most paper as cheaply and as safely as possible. These engineers must make sure the equipment is safe for all the workers in the paper mill. They must also make the process efficient by reducing the amount of waste. This process creates water and solid waste, which must be recycled, treated, or disposed. The remaining waste that contains water, chemicals, and other material must be treated by chemical engineers to make it safe so that it can be disposed of.

After a paper is made it can be used in many ways: packing material, toilet paper, books, and writing material. However, the lifecycle of paper is not done yet! Paper is the most recycled material. Recycling is an eco-friendly way of saving trees. This is important because The US Environmental Protection Agency found that there was 67 million tons of paper waste in 2018; however, 46 million tons were recycled in this year. The process of recycling paper involves mechanical engineers that create and maintain the machinery. The recycled paper must be pressed and shredded, then de-inked, and finally soaked until it becomes pulp again. Then the process of making paper starts again with all the other chemical and mechanical engineers.

Paper is an important part of our lives. When we wake up in the morning, we pour ourselves milk from a paper milk container and if we spill milk, we clean it up with a paper towel. When we go to school, we read out of paper books, take tests on paper, and eat lunch out of our paper bags. At the end of the day, we recycle the newspaper and any old homework. We should thank the environmental, chemical, and mechanical engineers who made our day possible.