A paper revolution

The Manila Times

A paper revolution  Worldwide, new technologies are being developed to conserve global resources, and Japan’s latest contribution is innovative methods for reducing the environmental burden of papermaking. We’ll see a system already in use in offices, which - in a world first - turns used paper into new, erasing all the printing, and best of all requiring virtually no water. Another revolutionary paper technology uses limestone, a very common rock, as raw material. This gives a paper that’s highly liquid- and tear-resistant, and can also replace plastic in many products.  VIDEO BY MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF JAPAN  Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe    Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net    Follow us:  Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook  Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram  Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter  DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion    Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital    Check out our Podcasts:  Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify  Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts  Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic  Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer  Stitcher: https://tmt.ph/stitcher Tune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein   #TheManilaTimes #Japan #papermaking #technologies #environment

Transcript

00:00 [Music]

00:09 [Music]

00:11 Paper. It's an indispensable part of modern life.

00:16 Manufacturing paper requires huge amounts of water and wood.

00:26 To produce just one A4 sheet of paper it takes a whole glass of water.

00:31 But now in a world first, a new invention makes it simple for offices to produce their own paper using virtually no water.

00:41 And best of all, the raw material is recycled paper.

00:47 The equipment is quite compact, considering its capacity.

00:55 To use it you simply load the old paper and press the start button.

00:59 In just a few minutes it begins to pump out sheets of clean new paper.

01:06 This machine can produce about 720 A4 pages an hour.

01:11 At Ota City Office we get through about 380 tons of paper each year.

01:20 This machine was introduced to help reduce our paper use.

01:24 The developers' main goal was to find a way to make paper without using water.

01:29 The key technology we developed was a means for mechanically crushing old paper and reducing it to fibers.

01:38 In the machine the used paper is mechanically broken up into small pieces.

01:45 This process completely obliterates anything printed on the paper.

01:52 The resulting fiber looks like this.

01:55 Next a special binding compound is added and the fibers are pressed into sheet paper.

02:02 Finally the paper is cut into the desired format.

02:08 Offering a complete small-scale recycling process, these machines are already popular in corporate and government offices.

02:19 Next, making paper from rocks.

02:22 Limestone, found worldwide, is the raw material for this waterless papermaking method.

02:29 In use it feels just like regular paper.

02:36 Rocks, of course, are heavy, while paper must be light to be usable.

02:41 This was the biggest hurdle for the developers.

02:46 Instead of the usual method of pressing and molding, we stretched and pulled the paper to introduce air and make it lighter.

02:53 The trick was to achieve precise control over this stretching process.

02:59 First limestone and resin are mixed and formed into sheets.

03:05 The sheets are then heated and stretched.

03:08 Pulling to each side creates air-filled spaces around the limestone fragments.

03:14 The more air included, the lighter the material.

03:17 Rock-based paper is waterproof.

03:23 It's great for menus, since spillages can be simply wiped off.

03:28 It's also very tough and tear-resistant.

03:33 These qualities mean stone-based paper can replace plastic for many common items.

03:43 Some forward-thinking stores are already using the new paper for their shopping bags.

03:48 Limestone!

03:57 That's amazing!

03:58 That is amazing!

03:59 I'm just happy to know we're doing something good for the environment

04:04 by using this new paper instead of plastic bags made from fossil fuels.

04:09 New Japanese paper technologies helping conserve our precious natural resources.

04:14 New Japanese paper technologies helping conserve our precious natural resources.

04:19 New Japanese paper technologies helping conserve our precious natural resources.

04:25 New Japanese paper technologies helping conserve our precious natural resources.

04:29 [BLANK_AUDIO]

Transcript

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