NEW USE FOR NEW ZEALAND FLAX.

Manawatu Herald, Volume LI, Issue 4530, 13 November 1930, Page 2

NEW USE FOR NEW ZEALAND FLAX.

SUITABLE EON PAPER. MAEaiNG. That New Zealand flax is suitable for high-grade line paper and strong wrapping paper is the opinion expressed by the United States Bureau of Standards after samples had been examined. 1 The official report of the paper division of the bureau is as follows: “Both laboratory and semicomihercial paper-making experiments were made through a test procedure essentially the same as >that generally observed in paper production. Test cooks of the flax weire made, using as reducing agents caustic soda, caustic soda ;iikl sodium sulphide combined and . odium sulphite and caustic soda separately. Good ibug or wrapping •pnper pulp was produced by coolking the flux with the caustic soda process, using comparatively small amounts of caustics (10 per cent). With large amounts of caustic (25 per cent.J, the pidpeouid be bleached with about 14 to 1(5 per cent. ■if bleach and was then suitable to use in admixture with other pulps in making line papers. In the semi-commercial tests the yield of air-dried unbleached pulp from.the 25 per cent, caustic cook of unseat cli-ed New Zealand flax was ”7.2 per cent., based on the bonedry weight of tlie flax, while the laboratory test yielded 57.7 per cent. This shows -a very close cheeking of results as to yield bel.ween the laboratory and semicommercial tests when similar cooking conditions and amounts of chemicals -were employed. When Id per cent. of. caustic was used the yield of unbleached pulp was 77.4 per cent. However, this pulp was suited only for wrapping paper, as contrasted with the pulp obi.-lined from the 25 per cent, caustic soda cook, which could be bleached and the resultant pulp made satisfactory fo|r use in fine paper. Unscutched flax cooked with 15 per cent, of caustic soda and 10 per cent, of sodium sulphide combined gave a yield of 62.2 per cent. The pulp obtained was satisfactory for use in wrapping paper.”