What is Kraft Paper?

With the ever-growing awareness of environmental issues among the population, consumers are increasingly turning their loyalties to eco-conscious businesses and products. As a business owner, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the large amount of new terms and products that have become popular over the years due to their environmentally friendly design. If your uncertainty is stopping you from incorporating eco-friendly practices into your business, then read on. We’ve decided to take a versatile product, kraft paper, and explain in simple terms the process of creating it so you can understand exactly how it’s made and what components make it eco-friendly as well as a better option than standard paper. Then we’ll give you some suggestions on how to incorporate kraft into your business.

How is Kraft Paper Made

Kraft paper products are made using the Kraft process, which, like other paper production methods, involves the chemical conversion of wood into wood pulp. The structural components in wood are lignin and cellulose. Since lignin doesn't make good paper, it must be separated from the cellulose. To do this, wood chips are cooked in a “white liquor” made of sodium sulfide and sodium hydroxide. They break the lignin and cellulose apart, leaving solid wood pulp and a “black liquor”. The wood chips have now been turned to a pulp and are screened to remove any larger pieces. The pulp is washed to remove any residual cooking liquors and can then be formed into various paper products.

Kraft Paper

kraft paper is strong and relatively coarse. It has high tensile strength. The grammage is normally 40–135 g/m2. Sack kraft paper, or just sack paper, is a porous kraft paper with high elasticity and high tear resistance, designed for packaging products with high demands for strength and durability.