The Industrial Situation of High-Performance Paper Materials in Advanced Pulp, Microcrystalline Cellulose, and Cellulose Derivatives Applications
Wood undergoes chemical treatment and mechanical processing to extract organic fibrous materials, which can be used to manufacture paper, cellulose, and various cellulose derivatives, making it one of the most important raw materials in modern industry.
Industry Situation of Advanced Pulp Applications
Pulp, made from plant fibers through various processing methods, is the main raw material for the papermaking industry. It can be classified into wood pulp, waste paper pulp, and non-wood pulp based on the source of raw materials.
1. Wood Pulp
Wood pulp can be divided into mechanical wood pulp, sulfate wood pulp, and sulfite wood pulp based on different processing techniques.
(1) Mechanical Wood Pulp
Also known as groundwood pulp, this pulp is produced using mechanical methods to grind fibrous raw materials. It plays a significant role in the papermaking industry due to its low production cost, simple process, strong ink absorption, high opacity, and soft, smooth paper texture, meeting the requirements for printing. However, its short fibers and high non-cellulosic content result in low paper strength. Additionally, most of the lignin and other non-cellulosic components in the wood are not removed during the process, causing the paper to yellow and become brittle over time, limiting its long-term preservation.
Mechanical wood pulp typically refers to two types: bleached and unbleached. Bleached mechanical wood pulp is mainly used for producing newsprint and can be mixed with other pulps to make writing and printing paper; unbleached mechanical wood pulp is often used for packaging paper and board, especially industrial cardboard.
(2) Sulfate Wood Pulp
Sulfate wood pulp is produced using a cooking agent made of a mixture of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide. During the cooking process, the gentle action of the chemicals minimally erodes the fibers, resulting in strong and tough fibers. The paper made from this pulp has excellent folding endurance, tear resistance, and bursting strength. It is generally available in bleached and unbleached forms. Unbleached sulfate wood pulp is used for making kraft paper, paper bags, kraft linerboard, and general packaging paper and board. Bleached sulfate wood pulp is used for high-quality printing paper, art paper, offset paper, and writing paper.
(3) Sulfite Wood Pulp
Sulfite wood pulp is produced using a cooking agent made of a mixture of sulfurous acid and acid sulfites. This pulp has long fibers, soft and tough properties, high strength, and is easy to bleach, with excellent intertwining capabilities. It is available in unbleached, semi-bleached, and bleached forms. Unbleached pulp, due to its small amount of lignin and colored impurities, is yellow and has harder fibers, mainly used for medium-quality printing paper, thin packaging paper, translucent paper, and greaseproof paper. Semi-bleached pulp contains a large amount of xylan, so it is used for making transparent tracing paper and imitation parchment paper. Bleached pulp has white fibers, a pure and soft texture, but lower fiber strength due to the bleaching process. This pulp is mainly used for making various high-quality papers.
2. Waste Paper Pulp
Waste paper pulp is made from used waste paper or paper trimmings from printing factories, processed through mechanical agitation and bleached or deinked.
The fiber strength and performance of waste paper pulp depend on the type of pulp used in the original paper. However, the fibers are usually of lower quality than the original fibers due to chemical erosion or mechanical damage. Depending on the quality of the waste paper pulp, it can be used for making printing paper, writing paper, cardboard, and lower-grade papers.
3. Non-Wood Pulp
Non-wood pulp is mainly divided into three categories: graminaceous fiber raw material pulp (such as straw, wheat straw, reed, bamboo, bagasse, etc.), bast fiber raw material pulp (such as hemp, jute, flax, mulberry bark, cotton stalk bark, etc.), and seed hair fiber raw material pulp (such as cotton fiber, etc.).
According to the “China Paper Industry 2019 Annual Report” released by the China Paper Association, the total national pulp production in 2019 was 72.07 million tons, an increase of 0.08% over the previous year. Among them, wood pulp was 12.68 million tons, an increase of 10.55% over the previous year; waste paper pulp was 53.51 million tons, an increase of -1.71% over the previous year; non-wood pulp was 5.88 million tons, an increase of -3.61% over the previous year.
Pulp Production from 2010 to 2019 (Unit: 10,000 tons)
*China Paper Association “China Paper Industry 2019 Annual Report”
In 2019, the total national pulp consumption was 96.09 million tons, an increase of 2.36% over the previous year. Wood pulp accounted for 37% of the total pulp consumption, with imported wood pulp accounting for 24% and domestic wood pulp accounting for 13%; waste paper pulp accounted for 57% of the total pulp consumption, with imported waste paper pulp accounting for 10% and domestic waste paper pulp accounting for 46%; non-wood pulp accounted for 6% of the total pulp consumption.
Pulp Consumption from 2010 to 2019 (Unit: 10,000 tons)
*China Paper Association “China Paper Industry 2019 Annual Report”
Currently, the international trade of commodity pulp is mainly based on bleached softwood and hardwood sulfate pulps. In China’s pulp market, the main imported softwood bleached sulfate pulp brands come from Canada, the United States, Chile, Russia, and Finland. In 2017, the import volume from these five countries accounted for about 93% of the total imported softwood pulp, with Canada accounting for about 31.3% of the total import volume. The main importing countries for bleached sulfate hardwood pulp in China’s pulp market are Indonesia, Brazil, Chile, Russia, and other countries.
Main Imported Softwood and Hardwood Pulp Products and Origins in China
Microcrystalline Cellulose
Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), also known as crystalline cellulose, is a straight-chain polysaccharide linked by β-1,4-glycosidic bonds, derived from natural cellulose hydrolyzed to a limit degree of polymerization (15~175) into very fine (20~80μm) powder-like, short rod-like, or colloidal porous particles. This substance has unique properties such as being odorless, tasteless, insoluble in water, dilute acids, organic solvents, and fats, having strong fluidity, dispersing in water, and partially swelling in weak alkaline solutions. It is widely used in various applications.

- In the food industry, MCC is used as a dietary fiber and an ideal health food additive, widely applied in dairy products, frozen foods, meat products, and other areas. In the pharmaceutical industry, MCC is mainly used in three aspects: utilizing its property of easily forming gels under strong stirring in water to prepare paste-like or suspension-like drugs; using its molding action as an excipient for pharmaceutical tablets; and encapsulating active substances in its porous structure as a drug release agent. In the daily chemical industry, MCC can be used as a blend in various cosmetics, skin treatment and care products, and cleaning detergents. It can also be added to clay to increase the strength of wet blanks, added to paints to give them thixotropic properties, added to synthetic leather, rubber, plastics, and various filter aids as a thickener and microporous agent, and added to welding rods as a binder and combustion promoter. Additionally, MCC has relatively high reactivity in carboxymethylation, acetylation, and esterification reactions. Therefore, as an important component of cellulose modification products, it also has a broad application field.
- In terms of industry, the microcrystalline cellulose industry has a high concentration, mainly concentrated in the United States, Europe, China, and Japan. High-end products mainly come from the United States and Western Europe, with market shares of 24.18% and 22.86%, respectively. Major participants include FMC, JRS, Rayonier Advanced Material, Asahi Kasei, Mitsubishi Chemical, Sigachi Industrial, Accent Microcell, etc. In recent years, with the continuous increase in domestic market demand, although the industrial production scale has expanded, most of the product research and development are still in the initial stage, and the productivity is low, with few large manufacturers and mostly small and medium-sized enterprises producing in a scattered manner. Manufacturers are mainly concentrated in Anhui, Shandong, and Zhejiang.
- In terms of the market, the global microcrystalline cellulose market size was 1.017 billion US dollars in 2019. Affected by COVID-19, the global market is expected to be 919 million US dollars in 2020. According to GII forecasts, the global MCC market will reach 1.4 billion US dollars by 2027, with a compound annual growth rate of 5.9%. In the segmented fields, the compound annual growth rates of the food and beverage, pharmaceutical, and personal care sectors are 7.9%, 4.6%, and 6.5%, respectively. In terms of regional distribution, Europe, benefiting from drug development and the food industry, remains the largest MCC market in the world, with a compound annual growth rate of 3.7%. The United States is another important market participant, with the MCC market expected to be around 248.7 million US dollars in 2020, with a compound annual growth rate of 2.6%. The Chinese market is entering a period of rapid development, with an expected annual growth rate of 9.1%.
Applications and Industry Situation of Cellulose Derivatives
Cellulose derivatives (Cellulose derivatives) are products formed by the reaction of hydroxyl groups in cellulose molecules with chemical reagents through esterification or etherification. According to the structural characteristics of the reaction products, cellulose derivatives can be divided into cellulose ethers, cellulose esters, and cellulose ether esters. Details of commercial varieties and applications are shown in the table.
Classification of Cellulose Derivatives
In the cellulose derivatives submarket, the cellulose ether market is larger and has a higher industry concentration. In 2019, the global market for cellulose ethers was 1.2825 million tons, valued at approximately 4.5 billion US dollars. Due to the development of emerging fields such as food, personal care, and pharmaceuticals, the cellulose ether market will maintain stable growth in the future, with a compound annual growth rate of around 5%. In terms of market distribution, it is mainly concentrated in China (51.4%), Europe (26.93%), North America (8.82%), and Japan (7.77%). Major international suppliers include Akzo Nobel, Ashland, CP Kelco, DKS, Dow, Shin-Etsu, etc. China is the largest producer and consumer of cellulose ethers in the world, but the domestic production concentration is not high, scattered in Shandong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang, etc. Leading enterprises include Shandong Heida, Northern Tianpu, Yangzi Chemical, Lihong Fine Chemical, Shandong Ruitai, etc. These companies’ products mainly focus on medium and high-end construction grade cellulose ethers, pharmaceutical grade, food grade cellulose ethers, or general models of construction grade cellulose ethers with large market demand. The quality stability of the products is good, and they have certain competitiveness in both domestic and international markets. However, compared with the demand, there is still a large gap in production.
Cellulose esters mainly include nitrocellulose and cellulose acetate, both of which have relatively mature technologies and a wide range of applications. Among them, nitrocellulose has both military and civilian applications. The military part is mainly concentrated in the production of weapons and explosives, while the civilian part is used in coatings, celluloid, artificial fibers, inks, film, cosmetics, and other fields. Currently, the global production capacity of nitrocellulose exceeds market demand, and the market competition is fierce. Cellulose acetate is commonly used in plastic products, textiles, cigarette filters and membranes, polarizing films, and other thin film products. Currently, the technology for cellulose acetate is monopolized by a few large foreign companies, including Eastman and Celanese in the United States, S.Amereic in Italy, Novaceta in Italy, Mitsubishi Acetate Fiber in Japan, Teijin in Japan, and Courtaulds in the UK, accounting for about 90% of the world’s total output. China’s cellulose acetate industry is not yet fully developed, with some gaps in smoking materials; the degree of reliance on imports for textile-use cellulose filaments is also high. In 2019, China’s production of cellulose filaments was 401,500 tons, with an import volume of 12,800 tons. The key technologies for TAC films in display modules are all controlled by Japanese companies, with Fujifilm and Konica in Japan accounting for about 75% of the global TAC film production capacity.
Future Development Trends of Paper Materials
From a historical development perspective and public awareness, the paper industry is a traditional industry. Although product quality and market diversity and individuality needs are constantly being met through technological and equipment upgrades, the product forms and functions of major bulk products such as printing paper, packaging paper, and household paper known to the public have not fundamentally changed. However, with the continuous increase in innovation awareness, paper and paperboard products will not only appear in life in traditional forms but can exist as functional materials, such as the currently applied aramid honeycomb paper used in airplanes and high-speed trains, and filter paper used in cars and air purifiers. In the future, the application fields of the paper industry’s products will be more extensive, and the product types will be more diverse.

(1) International Development Trends in the Paper Materials Field
For countries with advanced paper material development, most advanced papermaking technologies have been maturely applied; energy conservation and emission reduction, clean production, have become the norm, and the water consumption, power consumption, and pollutant emissions per unit of
production are all within the range allowed by the country and society, and they have embarked on the path of green development. The design capacity, operating speed, and intelligent control of the equipment manufacturing industry have met the needs of the industry.
To promote the development of the paper industry and explore the future development of engineering technology in the paper materials field, technologically advanced Europe and North America have formulated the future R&D focus of engineering technology, that is, the medium and long-term development strategy. The main focuses of the future engineering technology development trend in the paper materials field are as follows:
1. Future Development Directions of European Paper Materials
In November 2011, the Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI) launched the “Forest Fibre Industry 2050 Roadmap,” seeking ways to achieve the main goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 80% while generating more than 50% additional value in the roadmap, proposing the following future breakthrough technologies, and requiring these breakthrough technologies to be commercialized before 2030.
(1) New Pulp Production Technology – Low Eutectic Solvent Method for Pulp Production
Open up a new way to produce pulp at low temperature and normal pressure. By using low eutectic solvents (Deep Eutectic Solvents), any type of biomass can be dissolved into lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose with minimal energy consumption, carbon emissions, and residue. The goal is to achieve a 50% reduction in pulp production energy consumption.
If the current pulp production energy consumption can be reduced by 50%, this will be a major breakthrough in energy conservation for the pulp and paper industry, as pulp production energy consumption is one of the largest energy-consuming units in the pulping and papermaking process.
(2) Waterless Papermaking Technology
Current papermaking technology consumes a large amount of energy and water resources, with only about 1% fiber concentration on the paper machine, and the papermaking process requires complex equipment units for dehydration, making papermaking one of the largest energy-consuming units. The international paper technology community has seen significant drawbacks in the energy-consuming papermaking method with extremely low fiber concentration and is trying to solve this problem through efforts.
There are two technologies belonging to this concept: one is steam papermaking, which is a production method very close to waterless papermaking. Steam agitation is used to blow basically dry fibers into the forming area, which then settle into a paper web. The water requirement is only equivalent to 1/1000 of the current amount. The other is pulp solidification forming papermaking technology, which is also a papermaking process that uses very little water. Treated fibers are sent into a viscous solution to form a suspension with a concentration of over 40%, and finally, the solution is pressed out, and the fiber layer is solidified into a paper sheet through additives. Different additives are selected according to different paper types.
(3) Lightweight Technology
Producing more products with fewer fibers, obtaining greater added value, and producing low-weight products is one of the keys. Advances in paper sheet forming technology and raw material mixing technology will make future paper products more lightweight.
Paper sheet lightweighting, while maintaining performance, especially strength, also depends on the role of chemicals, and the application of chemicals is key. In addition to solving problems in paper sheet formation and mixing with chemicals, the preparation of green chemicals also needs to be addressed.
(4) Nanocellulose
Nanocellulose forms a stable colloidal suspension in water and can be mixed with thickeners and emulsifiers for application. Plant fibers can be used to develop and produce nanocellulose products. Compared with other fibers, plant fibers have a natural tendency to form films due to their high aspect ratio, higher specific surface area, and enhanced hydrogen bonding capability.
The advantages of nanocellulose solutions have been widely demonstrated. It is foreseeable that this series of special materials, nanocellulose products, can be used in papermaking, food, cosmetics, coatings, and can also be expected to be applied in electronics, medical, and pharmaceutical fields, creating new huge business opportunities. Significant achievements have been made in the research of this nanomaterial in the commercialization process.
(5) Biomass Refining Technology
The concept of transformation and upgrading of the pulping and papermaking industry will continue to focus on the sustainable development of wood biomass components. For example, research has been conducted on the role of ionic liquids and enzymes together in the process of wood cellulose treatment, and various cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin derivatives, and composites have been developed for use in films, barriers, adsorbents, adhesives, and composite materials.
(6) “Paper Machine Doctor” Concept
Currently, the equipment manufacturing industry can design and produce paper machines with capacities, speeds, and widths that fully meet the needs of the industry. The diagnosis, maintenance, and repair of modern paper machines in operation
have been brought to a prominent position. Therefore, the concept of “paper machine doctor” has been proposed in the scientific and technological field to ensure that existing paper machines can operate normally and adapt to new requirements.
2. Future Development Directions of North American Paper Materials
The North American region focuses on energy conservation, consumption reduction, carbon emission reduction, and the transformation and upgrading of pulp and paper enterprises through biomass refining technology as the key points for future engineering technology.
(1) Energy Conservation
The U.S. paper industry accounts for 10.5% of the total industrial energy consumption, making it one of the four major energy-consuming industries. Energy conservation is the goal of key research and development technologies. For example:
① Under the condition of ensuring paper quality, improve the dryness of the paper entering the drying section to 65% through the improvement of dehydration pressing technology, increasing by 10%~15%.
② Develop a new generation of pulping machines to increase the yield of chemi-mechanical pulp and reduce unit energy consumption by 20%, such as adopting enzyme pretreatment and heat recovery technology.
③ Reduce black liquor alkali recovery energy consumption by 50% by increasing black liquor washing concentration, evaporation concentration, and concentration entering the recovery furnace.
(2) Reducing Water Consumption
Develop and implement new technologies for 100% recycling and utilization of wastewater to reduce water consumption by 50%. Key research and development focus on clean separation technology for pollutants in wastewater.
(3) Efficient and High-Value Utilization of Plant Resources
① Increase the yield of chemi-mechanical pulp and dissolving pulp, with the chemi-mechanical pulp yield reaching 90% or above.
② Efficient utilization of wood waste and production process waste, proposing the concept of “full component utilization of biomass.”
③ Biomass refining technology, with specific technical scope similar to the wood biomass refining technology proposed by the European Paper Industry Association.
④ Research on high-value utilization of cellulose. In recent years, research and development on high-value applications of cellulose derivatives such as cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) or cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) have emerged.
Overall, the development direction of international papermaking mainly focuses on:
① Saving energy consumption, water consumption, and reducing pollutant emissions.
② Conserving plant resources and realizing the full utilization of plant resources.
③ Utilizing biomass refining technology to achieve the transformation and upgrading of the paper industry.
④ Clean separation of plant components, efficient and high-value utilization of cellulose, lignin, and hemicellulose in plants and their subsidiary products, enhancing the overall value of the paper industry.
⑤ Intelligent papermaking equipment.
(2) Domestic Development Directions in the Paper Materials Field
Considering the current gap between China’s paper field engineering technology and international advanced countries, as well as the differences in raw material resources, water resources, and environmental conditions between China and international advanced countries, combined with the actual situation of China’s paper field, the future development directions of the domestic paper materials field mainly include the following aspects.
1. Sustainable Development of Environmental Ecology
Research on the efficient utilization and sustainable development of agricultural straw biomass.
2. Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction Technology
(1) Research on High-Concentration Papermaking Technology
Currently, the pulp concentration in papermaking is below 1%, so subsequent processes consume a lot of energy to remove water, and most of the energy consumption in papermaking is spent on paper dehydration and drying. If the papermaking concentration is doubled, the dryness of the paper entering the drying section will increase by 5%~10%, and the energy consumption of the paper machine will be reduced by more than 20%. The key technical issues in increasing papermaking concentration are the flow and flow uniformity of high-concentration pulp, monitoring of fiber dispersion and flocculation, and optimization of equipment for high-concentration papermaking.
(2) Research on Closed-Loop Recycling Technology for Waste Paper Pulping Wastewater
If wastewater can be used in a closed loop, with a 100% reuse rate, it will not only save water resources but also solve environmental problems, achieving true zero emissions.
The key technology is the clean separation and integrated treatment technology for pollutants in wastewater.
(3) Research on High-Concentration Technology for Straw Pulp Black Liquor
In conjunction with the efficient utilization of agricultural straw in China, the high-concentration washing and evaporation concentration technology for straw pulp black liquor must be solved. The washing concentration should reach 15% and above, and the concentration of solid matter in the black liquor after evaporation and concentration should reach 65% and above, truly solving the alkali recovery problem, process technology, and equipment technology for straw pulp black liquor.
3. Transformation and Upgrading Technology
(1) Plant Biomass Refining Technology
Propose the concept of “full component utilization of plant biomass,” clean
separation of components, efficient utilization of lignin and hemicellulose, and full utilization of waste.
(2) Research on Plant Resource Nanocellulose Technology
Nanocellulose technology applies nanotechnology to the inexhaustible and inexhaustible cellulose field in nature. Due to its high strength, rigidity, excellent optical properties, lightweight, biodegradability, and sustainability, it is widely used in electronics, biomedical, chemical, textile, papermaking, and other fields.
4. Advanced Intelligent Manufacturing
(1) Research on Intelligent Control Technology for High-Speed Paper Machines
Modern paper machines with intelligent production are mainly equipped with intelligent control systems for the entire production process and intelligent online monitoring and fault diagnosis. Intelligent control systems realize distributed control of the entire papermaking production process and fully automatic control of paper quality. Intelligent monitoring implements online monitoring of high-speed running paper webs, online monitoring of paper defects, and online monitoring of equipment operating status and fault diagnosis for automatic execution. It can automatically adjust production according to user orders and automatically switch product control; intelligent management systems realize intelligent management of the entire process from production planning to production, quality management, cost management, production tracking, warehousing, and shipping, achieving intelligent manufacturing of papermaking.
(2) Technology to Increase the Dryness of the Paper Entering the Drying Section by 5%~10%
By upgrading, the overall technical level of the paper machine can be improved, increasing the dryness of the paper entering the drying section by 5%~10%. This should be solvable within the next 10~20 years.
5. Paper-Based Functional Materials
With the rapid development of science and technology, paper-based functional materials have become the core of the new materials field, which is of great significance to the national economy, civilization development, and national construction. Not only do they play an important role in advancing high technology but also in improving China’s relevant traditional technologies and achieving leapfrog development. Therefore, it is crucial to develop paper-based reinforced materials, paper-based antibacterial materials, paper-based filter materials, paper-based conductive materials, paper-based luminescent materials, paper-based insulating materials, paper-based hydrophobic materials, and paper-based sensor materials. Key technologies to enhance the performance of paper-based functional materials need to be developed.
Nanocellulose, as a new type of biomass nanomaterial, has gradually become a research focus in paper-based functional materials. Currently, the application of nanocellulose in paper-based functional materials mainly focuses on filling reinforcement, impregnation coating, grafting modification polymerization, etc., while neglecting the research on multifunctional assembly based on it as a carrier. Based on nanocellulose assembly supramolecular polymers, combining hydrogen bonding theory and supramolecular chemistry theory, constructing intelligent and high-value paper-based functional materials is the development direction of functionalized application research of nanocellulose.
People also ask?
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