Can Brown Paper Be Made Acid Free?
Brown paper is an unbleached paper product. Though paper pulp from wood is naturally brown and high in acid, paper can be treated to remove the acid without bleaching the paper.
Other People Are Reading
-
Treatment
-
Acidic wood pulp is treated with calcium bicarbonate to produce an acid-free pulp product used in the production of paper. Chalk filler used with pulp also creases neutrality in paper and results in an acid-free product.
Acid-Free
-
Completely acid-free brown and white paper is paper with a pH value of seven or more, but paper with a pH value of six or more is considered acid free by most paper makers.
-
Bleaching
-
Because paper pulp is naturally brown, paper that's white is paper that has been bleached. Brown paper is a paper product that has not been bleached, but bleaching has nothing to do with the paper's alkalinity. Therefore, brown paper can be as acid-free as other papers.
Environment
-
The chlorine product used to create bleached white paper is harmful to the environment, making acid-free brown paper products more environmentally friendly. This paper is known as Totally Chlorine Free, or TCF, paper.
Documents
-
Ultimately, there is no difference between chlorine-free brown and white paper. Acid-free, chlorine-free paper is ideal for preserving documents because it does not deteriorate as quickly as acidic paper products.
-
References
- Photo Credit a sheet of technical paper, abstract image by Stasys Eidiejus from Fotolia.com
