Papermaking Research Articles

Characterization of seventeenth century papers from Valvasor's collection of the Zagreb Archdiocese

Valvasor's library is a unique example of a Seventeenth century personal library, including over 7300 prints and 1530 books. Today, it is kept in the Metropolitan Library of the Zagreb Archdiocese which is part of the Croatian State Archives. In this study, we analysed a selection of papers from Valvasor's collection (VC) of unknown origin and composition. We used a dual approach, combining the results of the analyses of two sets of samples to find the most useful tools for the characterization of historical handmade papers. 144 randomly selected papers were included in the study. As the VC is a cultural heritage, only non-destructive analyses were used, such as visual inspection, surface imaging, measurements of thickness and the determination of optical properties (brightness, yellowness, opacity and gloss). According to the optical properties, papers from the VC could be characterized as yellowish and opaque, without gloss. Due to the fact that the VC papers could not be destroyed, we took another set of samples consisting of 10 historical papers (HP) from archival materials, dating from the 16th to nineteenth century, and subjected them to non-destructive, as well as micro-destructive analyses. This was done to supplement the findings of non-destructive analyses of the original collection. Initially, spot tests were performed to determine water absorbency and to identify the presence of lignin and starch in the paper samples. SEM–EDS and XRF were applied for the identification of inorganic elements. FTIR analyses were used to identify the chemical structures of the paper components. Microscopic analyses were performed in two ways: the paper surface was imaged with a digital microscope, and the morphological characteristics of the fibres were studied using an optical microscope. The dominant fibres present were flax and hemp, with a smaller proportion of cotton. Additionally, thick and thin light brown fibres resembling straw were detected. The presence of calcium-containing components, gelatine and alum could be confirmed with SEM–EDS, XFR and FTIR analysis. Comparing the results of analyses performed on two sets of samples a connection was explored by which it was possible to define the characterization of VC papers. The main goal of the study was to document and characterize a specific collection for the future use of researchers of handmade paper or paper conservators. Furthermore, the study may serve as a model approach for other researchers who seek to document the characteristics of paper in their collections.

Cellulose‐based micro‐fibrous materials imaged with a home‐built smartphone microscope

Micro-fibrous materials are one of the highly explored materials and form a major component of composite materials. In resource-limited settings, an affordable and easy to implement method that can characterize such material would be important. In this study, we report on a smartphone microscopic system capable of imaging a sample in transmission mode. As a proof of concept, we implemented the method to image handmade paper samples-cellulosic micro-fibrous material of different thickness. With 1 mm diameter ball lens, individual cellulose fibers, fiber web, and micro-porous regions were resolved in the samples. Imaging performance of the microscopic system was also compared with a commercial bright field microscope. For thin samples, we found the image quality comparable to commercial system. Also, the diameter of cellulose fiber measured from both methods was found to be similar. We also used the system to image surfaces of a three ply surgical facemask. Finally, we explored the application of the system in the study of chemical induced fiber damage. This study suggested that the smartphone microscope system can be an affordable alternative in imaging thin micro-fibrous material in resource limited setting.

Development, characterization of traditional inks for restoration of ancient manuscripts and application on various substrates to understand stability

This work deliberates to provide compatible ink for restoration of faded manuscripts. Four writing inks Virdgris, Carbon black, Almond shell and iron galls were prepared based on traditional formulations. The inks were characterized using FTIR, XRF, UV–vis spectrometer techniques. The color characterization technique was done to ensure color stability of the prepared inks. The elemental data showed potassium as a major component for the almond shell (54.42 wt%) and carbon black (24.01 wt%) whereas copper and iron is major element for Verdigris and iron gall inks (>98 wt%), respectively with Mn, Ca, S and Zn as minor components. The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum showed different components are present in the prepared inks. The inks were applied on four different substrate birch bark, palm leaves, handmade paper, and papyrus to elucidate their writing efficacy and color stability. The Commission Internationale de l’Eclairage (CIE) L*a*b* color space parameter was applied to measure the color stability for a regular period. The total color differences ΔE* ab was calculated using L*, a*, and b* data. The color index studies at the regular intervals carried to monitor color difference and surface reflectance. All the substrates were further passed through accelerated weathering test and total color difference ΔE* ab, CIE L* a*b* was again calculated using L*, a*, and b* to know the color stability. Based on the analytical data, these natural and stable inks can be recommended for archival manuscript conservation particularly in retouching operation by adjusting other parameters.

Paper fragments from the Tibetan Samye Monastery: Clues for an unusual sizing recipe implying wheat starch and milk in early Tibetan papermaking

The origin of Tibetan papermaking is poorly documented. Up to now, only the Tibetan paper fragments from Endere and Dunhuang sites have been scientifically studied outlining the basic knowledge about plant fiber uses and artwork manufacturing procedures. In order to deepen the knowledge on the unique ancient Tibetan papermaking, we report here the analysis of a set of paper fragments from the Samye Monastery in south Tibet, China. Multidisciplinary scientific investigations utilizing 14C radiocarbon dating, microscopic observation, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), pyrolysis–gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS), pyrolysis-comprehensive gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GCxGC/MS), and proteomic analysis have been applied to these ancient paper fragments. The results show that the fragments were dated to the 12th–13th century CE and made from fibers of the Thymelaeaceae family plant Stellera Chamaejasme L of which the fiber’s chemical profiles have been firstly studied. The presence of starch granules from Triticum spp wheat and proteins from bovine milk (more likely assigned to native yak), offers the first indication that a unique sizing technique using starch-milk sizing had been employed in early Tibetan papermaking, compared to using alum-animal glue sizing agent which is more popular in contemporary Central China. The combined use of organic material (unaltered starch grains) and inorganic material (calcium carbonate) as paper fillers is also firstly revealed in Tibetan papermaking. The application of Py-GC/MS, Py-GCxGC/MS and proteomic analysis revealed more detailed profiles of early Tibetan hand papermaking, indicating that these methods have great potential to explore the production technology of ancient handmade papers.

Improvement in quality of handmade paper materials by recycling of waste papers and PPE kits

In this pandemic, the requirements of PPE kits are increasing continuously. The doctors and health care workers are using the kits to protect themselves from the virus. After using, these kits become waste. The consumption of these kits becomes a very big challenge for the municipal corporation. Similarly, the papers which are used in offices become waste after use. The consumption of these papers is also a challenge as in the garbage of a city, the maximum percentage is available in the form of waste papers. The waste papers may be recycled after some recycling process and manufacture handmade papers. The quality of handmade papers will be not as good as traditional papers. By the use of waste medical PPE kits and pulp of used office papers, the quality of handmade papers may be increased. Recycling of used papers and medical PPE kits are also useful for the environment and forests. In this manuscript, it is seen that the combined pulp of waste papers and medical PPE kits in the various ratios may increase or decrease the hardness strength, reflection properties, and moisture properties of handmade papers.

Pre-Occupied

Pre-Occupied Jeanne Heifetz (bio) In the Pre-Occupied series, I challenged myself to confront something that terrifies me. I have had death panics since I was eight years old. Ironically, the only real estate I am ever likely to own is a parcel of eight cemetery plots I inherited from my grandfather. The deed to the plots came with a map of the cemetery, which seemed like the logical place to begin to address my fear. Each drawing in this series is based on the map of a different Jewish cemetery, including the ones where my own relatives are buried. (I am not religious, but the historical and familial connection was important: these are all places I could be buried, even though I remain completely unreconciled to the idea of my own death.) I can’t claim that drawing the maps allays my panic. Death remains entirely unknowable terrain: the map can never be the territory. And yet, stripped of identifying text, the cemeteries’ abstract forms are mysteriously compelling, grounding me in the universal human drive to create beauty, order, and ritual in the face of our own mortality. ________ Pre-Occupied is an ongoing series begun in 2016, currently comprising 138 individual works. The drawings are burnished graphite on handmade paper. Portions of the series have been included in group shows at Drive-By Projects, Watertown, MA; Five Points Gallery, Torrington, CT; Odetta Gallery, Brooklyn, NY; Lehman College Gallery, Bronx, NY; Patchogue Arts Center, Patchogue, NY; The Tobacco Factory, Long Island City, NY; 404 Gallery, Brooklyn, NY; BergenPAC Gallery, Englewood, NJ; and in a solo show at the Lobby Gallery of the 14th Street Y in New York City. The full series can be viewed at www.jeanneheifetz.com/pre-occupied. The following is a selection of four images from the series. [End Page 45] Click for larger view View full resolution Pre-Occupied 59. [End Page 46] Click for larger view View full resolution Pre-Occupied 64. [End Page 47] Click for larger view View full resolution Pre-Occupied 90. [End Page 48] Click for larger view View full resolution Pre-Occupied 103. [End Page 50] Jeanne Heifetz Jeanne Heifetz came to visual art by a circuitous route. She has two degrees in English (Harvard AB; NYU MA), spent a year as the writer-in-residence at Exeter, worked at Esquire and American Heritage magazines, and wrote a book on organic food (HarperCollins) and one on the origin of color names (Henry Holt). Heifetz also had a parallel career as a weaver, exhibiting at venues like the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show and the Smithsonian Craft Show. In 2007, she started applying fiber techniques to nontraditional materials; by 2011, her work had shifted entirely from fine craft to fine art. Since then, she has shown in galleries and museums in seventeen states, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Australia, and Israel. Her work is in the Drawing Center’s curated registry and the flat files of the Kentler International Drawing Space. She has curated shows at Schema Projects and the Workshop Gallery in Brooklyn and at the Philadelphia Museum of Jewish Art. A fellow at LABA: A Laboratory for Jewish Culture in 2018–19, Heifetz lives and works in Brooklyn. Copyright © 2021 Purdue University

Production of Handmade Paper from the Sugar Cane Bagasse Pulping

Production of Handmade Paper from the Sugar Cane Bagasse Pulping

The Nature of the Page: Poetry, Papermaking, and the Ecology of Texts in Renaissance England by Joshua Calhoun

Reviewed by: The Nature of the Page: Poetry, Papermaking, and the Ecology of Texts in Renaissance England by Joshua Calhoun Maral Attar-Zadeh Joshua Calhoun, The Nature of the Page: Poetry, Papermaking, and the Ecology of Texts in Renaissance England (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2020), 288 pp., 30 ills. As he meditates on an old Bible, the narrator of Henry Vaughan's "The Book" (1655) has strange and beautiful visions: he imagines the lives of the plants, animals, and humans who have contributed to the material making up the book––the boards and the sheepskin, the rags and linen that were recycled into paper for its pages––and then imagines these same creatures resurrected in the afterlife, trees and sheep restored alongside with men. These visions reveal the old book to be not just a textual object but also an ecological meeting place, embedded in natural cycles of creation and corruption. This is a manner of looking and reading, a way of telling "natural" stories about the "cultural" artifact of the book, which Joshua Calhoun has taken up in his new book, The Nature of the Page: Poetry, Papermaking, and the Ecology of Texts in Renaissance England. With early modern handmade paper as his "marvelous but flawed protagonist" (8), Calhoun tells a story about bibliographic innovation, production, use, and decay in which human and nonhuman agency are always entangled, where the materiality of texts does not recede in the process of literary analysis but rather opens up new poetic and interpretative possibilities. Two main lines of argument emerge from this narrative: first, that the historical readers of Renaissance books––including Shakespeare, Donne, and the translators of the King James Bible––had a fuller understanding of the natural origins of their books and of bookmaking practices, and developed a poetics of paper that was rooted in, and referred back to, the very material on which it was written; and second, that recovering the aesthetics of paper production, quality, and decay draws from and brings into dialogue contemporary debates in the fields of book history and ecocriticism, constituting an "ecology of texts"—what Calhoun calls "a necessary and timely extension" of D. F. Mackenzie's sociology of texts (19). The book is organized into two parts: "Legible Ecologies" and "Indistinct Ecologies." In the first chapter, Calhoun sketches out a history of paper with a special emphasis on material scarcity, the movement of ideas and resources, and the human and ecological cost of the push for increasingly cheaper means of paper production. Chapter 2 is centered on "The Book," exploring Vaughan's "palimpsestic reading strategy," which allowed him to attend to the traces of plant, animal, and human life in a book––visible on the surface of the page as pieces of unprocessed linen or embedded hair, and in its text as metaphors with "vegetable origins" (80). The fascinating third chapter considers blots in early modern books––and one in particular, in a Folger Library copy of 2 Henry IV––as "accidentals": not just accidents but drawing the eye and supplementing the meaning of the text, changing the color and timbre of the reading as a musical [End Page 227] accidental would. The second part of the chapter dwells on the language of blotting and erasure in the King James Bible, exploring how the coexistence of parchment (which could be razed) and paper (which had to be blotted) in this period contributed to the formation of two competing aesthetics of error and correction, two theological models for the forgiveness of sins. Chapter 4, "Sizing Matters," focuses on animal sizing, a mostly invisible and often overlooked part of early modern bookmaking. As with the previous case studies, the chapter brings the poetic tropes referring to this aspect of the book's ecological makeup together with a material history of sizing practices. From this ecopoetic investigation, Calhoun draws a surprising and compelling conclusion about the effect of sizing on historical book use and rates of book survival—as opposed to the intuitive and widely accepted view that books that were most heavily used and annotated would be most vulnerable to decay and less likely to survive, he suggests that the presence and quality of...

Predictive model of geographical origin discrimination of paper mulberry and handmade paper using ICP-AES/MS and multivariate statistical analysis

Abstract The fiber of paper mulberry, which is mostly grown in the East Asian region, varies in both length and width—even if from the same species—depending on the country, soil, and climate where it is grown. This accounts for differences in the quality of handmade paper between domestic and imported products. Once handmade paper is manufactured as sheets, its origin cannot be determined from a morphological perspective, regardless of macroscopic and microscopic observations. Therefore, this study attempted to determine the origin of Korean and imported products using mulberry bast fiber and handmade paper from a chemometrics perspective. The inorganic components of wood are absorbed from the soil and exist in the bark of trees; thus, metal and rare-earth elements in the bast fibers and handmade papers were quantitatively analyzed using inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy/mass spectrometry (ICP-AES/MS). Following this, a prediction model of their origin was constructed by applying multivariate statistical analysis, i.e., a partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) loading plot was constructed, which helped in identifying the discrimination factors resulting from their origin. According to the ICP-AES results, Pb was only detected in the Gyeongbuk Mungyeong dak sample of the Korean bast fibers. The Chinese bast fiber sample had high contents of Ca, and B and Zn were detected only in the Chinese bast fiber samples. Bast fiber samples from China, Japan, and Thailand showed relatively high contents of Al, Ca, and Na. Meanwhile, Cu and Zn were detected in the handmade paper manufactured from the imported materials. According to the ICP-MS results, among the Korean handmade papers, the products from Gyeongbuk Mungyeong, Andong, and Chungbuk Goesan exhibited a high U content and that from Gapyeong had high Sc, Rb, Sr, and Ba contents. Thus, the elemental analysis employed in this study effectively identified the origin of the papers. The origin prediction by PLS-DA for the domestic and imported products revealed an accuracy of 86.4% and 72.7% for ICP-AES and ICP-MS methods, respectively, which is deemed acceptable to assess the origin. We believe this method significantly contributes to determining the origin of paper mulberry bast fiber and handmade paper manufactured in East Asia.

Hibridismo de técnicas artesanais e tecnologias digitais no design gráfico contemporâneo

Esta investigação apresenta a discussão sobre a combinação de técnicas artesanais e tecnologias digitais – considerada como um processo híbrido – que surge como uma tendência na área do design gráfico brasileiro. A partir de recursos teóricos sobre técnicas, tecnologias, conceitos, fundamentos do design e metodologias projetuais aplicada no estudo de caso, observa-se que muitos designers recorrem ao uso de técnicas artesanais como recurso de criação diferenciado, que possibilita atingir maior qualidade conceitual nos projetos.
 A fundamentação teórica desta pesquisa parte de algumas definições acerca do termo design e, mais precisamente, design gráfico a partir de Cardoso (2008) e Villas-Boas (2003). Na sequência, para definir os conceitos relacionados à produção de imagem, considera-se as articulações de Santaella (2001), assim como a discussão sobre o hibridismo aplicado ao campo da arte e do design, de acordo com as considerações de Couchot (2005), Moura (2005) e Paula (2012). Para compreender como ocorre o hibridismo ao longo do processo de criação, é apresentado uma investigação sobre métodos de projeto, a partir da metodologia projetual fundamentada por Munari (1998). Esta pesquisa apresenta também exemplos de processos híbridos, que envolvem técnicas artesanais mescladas às digitais de projetos do design gráfico brasileiro contemporâneo. Para um estudo mais detalhado sobre este tema, apresenta um estudo de caso de design brasileiro. Com isso, esta pesquisa se propõe a analisar e descrever a metodologia utilizada no projeto Paper Town, do designer gráfico Rafa Miqueleto, que apresenta o hibridismo da técnica artesanal de modelagem em papel com a tecnologia digital, relacionando-o aos fundamentos do design propostos por Lupton e Phillips (2008).

Characterization and Morphology of Natural Dung Polymer for Potential Industrial Application as Bio-Based Fillers.

The modern-day paper industry is highly capital-intensive industries in the core sector. Though there are several uses of paper for currency, packaging, education, information, communication, trade and hygiene, the flip side of this industry is the impact on the forest resources and other ecosystems which leads to increasing pollution in water and air, influencing several local communities. In the present paper, the authors have tried to explore potential and alternate source of industrial pulp through ruminant animal dung, which is widely available as a rural resource in India. Three types of undigested animal dung fibers from Indigenous cow (IDF), Jersey cow (JDF), and Buffalo (BDF) were taken. Wheat straw (WS) was the main diet of all animals. The cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin content for all animal dung samples were found in a range of (29–31.50%), (21–23.50%), and (11–13%), respectively. The abundant holocellulose and low lignin contents are suitable for handmade pulp and paper. Surface characteristics of fodder (WS) and all dung fibers have been investigated using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and SEM-Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX). To increase paper production without damaging forest cover, it is essential to explore unconventional natural resources, such as dung fiber, which have the huge potential to produce pulp and paper, reinforcement components, etc.

The Craft of Anne Ryan's Collages

AbstractBetween 1948 and 1954, Anne Ryan produced over 400 small‐scale collages out of worn fabrics and handmade paper. Although this work earned her a fruitful affiliation with the Betty Parsons Gallery in New York, its ‘feminine’ delicacy distinguished it from the bold styles generally associated with the artist's abstract expressionist peers. Revisiting the presupposition of a ‘feminine’ touch, this essay assesses the collages in light of Ryan's expertise as a sewer. Drawing from feminist theories on the significance of everyday embodied knowledge, it is argued that the artist defined the limits of her practice through careful material and tactile choices, demonstrating what is proposed to be a craft expertise engrained over a lifetime of handling threads and fabrics. Such claims, in turn, have broader bearing on how we continue to write about the relationship between modernist art and the structures, skills, and habits of the domestic everyday.

Fabrication of handmade paper sensor based on silver-cobalt doped copolymer-ionic liquid composite for monitoring of vitamin D3 level in real samples

This paper describes the synthesis of novel material and its application to fabricate a sensing tool for the diagnosis of vitamin D deficiency. A simple and economical route for the synthesis of novel composite material based on silver-cobalt (Co-Ag) doped polyaniline-polypyrrole (PANI-PPY) copolymer and ionic liquid (IL) has been described and used as sensing material for vitamin D3 detection. The synthesized composite was characterized using structural, morphological and electrochemical techniques. Co-Ag/PANI-PPY/IL was first used to modify the glassy carbon electrode (GCE) and applied for vitamin D3 detection. Later a conductive ink of the proposed material was prepared and a handmade paper sensor was fabricated. Co-Ag/PANI-PPY/IL@GCE and paper electrode showed excellent electrochemical behavior towards vitamin D3 oxidation within the concentration range of 0.0125–22.5 µM and 0.025–0.125 µM with the acceptable detection limit of 0.0073 µM and 0.015 µM respectively. Co-Ag/PANI-PPY/IL@GCE and paper electrode were successfully applied for the detection of vitamin D3 in serum and urine samples.

Overview of paper and papermaking in Xinjiang, China

Papermaking in Xinjiang has a long history beginning during the Han Dynasty, to which a good many ancient documents excavated there bear witness. As an important trans­mitter of culture along the Silk Road, paper bears the imprint of the historical development of Xinjiang. Paper and papermaking techniques in Xinjiang are therefore of great historical and cultural importance. This article gives an overview of the development of traditional paper­making in Xinjiang, especially the mulberry papermaking in the Hotan area, by presenting its history, the raw materials used, papermaking and processing techniques, usages and the revival of handmade mulberry paper today in order to demonstrate its diverse values.

A scientific description of specimens of Asian paper of known origin

The fibres and technologies used in the production of 14 handmade paper samples of known provenance, collected during study tours to Nepal, Thailand and Japan in 1984, 1985 and 1988 illustrate the importance of the preparation process for the final quality of the paper. The detailed descriptions from field notes and observation of the time-consuming preparation process of the fibres from the Moraceae and Thymelaeaceae plant families in this article indicate the close connection between the preparation of the fibres and the technology used in the sheet formation and the drying process. A useful reference for known fibres, technology and prove­nance, these 14 samples serve in comparative analyses as an identification key for the fibres and technology of unidentified Asian papers.

Jute Fibre: A Suitable Alternative to Wood Fibre for Paper and Pulp Production

Cellulose is the most common of all naturally occurring organic compounds belonging to the carbohydrate group. It makes up at least one-third of all the vegetable matters in the world. Virgin soft and hardwoods used as the main source of cellulose for raw materials of paper production. These can be replaced by jute plant to a great extend as it is considered as one of the most promising alternatives. Pulp and paper production on a huge amount from jute can increase jute usage and thus a vast quantity of jute will be consumed by a single product which will eventually help revitalize the jute sector of Bangladesh. So the study was conducted to use jute, an alternative to non-wood fibre to get the paper pulp and pulp products like cellulose derivatives through an easily adaptable process. The experimental processes are outlined. The physicomechanical properties of handmade papers are estimated by standard procedure. The maximum whiteness of the paper sheet is 76.70%, which is almost similar to offset paper. The basic weight of papers was estimated that ranges from 180 to 340 gsm. The study indicates that these hand-made papers can be used for making eco-friendly paper bags, packaging material which will be a suitable alternative to non-biodegradable plastic, a cause of ecological and environmental pollution.

The spectroscopic and microscopic evaluation of cellulose used in conservation of archival materials

The mechanical strength of cellulose is related to its fibre-to-fibre bonding ability within the structural moiety. The present work summarises the strength of the representative handmade papers of high and low grams per square meter (GSM) value currently used in the conservation of archival material by assess their fibre network, morphology, elemental composition and bonding ability within the cellulose network. The bonding ability of thee handmade papers has been studied using fourier-transforminfraredspectroscopy (FTIR) spectrum and further study of these spectra between bonded and free OH group within the OH stretching vibrational region. The intermolecular hydrogen bonding ability for Nepalese tissue paper is 2.14 and intramolecular hydrogen bonding is 1.66. The hydrogen bond energy of these papers were between 13 kJ and 29 kJ, calculated on the basis of H-bonding behaviour. The morphology provides flat and sheet-like layers in the networking structure studied with environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) and mapping was done for each element. Carbon and Oxygen are the major elements associated in these papers whereas Ca, Cl, Si, Mg, Na, S and Al are present as minor elements in these papers. Results of both the covalent bonding ability and morphology are well correlated.

Kraft pulping and bleaching of Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms (water hyacinth)

Eichhornia crassipes (water hyacinth) was pulped by means of a kraft pulping process with reagent loads of 10 and 20% on a dry matter basis to determine yield, rejects, kappa number, and ash. Fiber classification, brightness, opacity, and viscosity were measured in the brown pulp. Bleaching was performed by means of an O1O2D1(PO)D2HD3 sequence. Yield, kappa number, pH, ash, brightness, opacity, and viscosity were evaluated in the bleached pulp. Finally, a microanalysis of inorganic elements was carried out in both the bleached and unbleached pulp ash. The highest kraft pulp yield was 26.4%, with a 10% reagent load at 120 °C and 30 minutes cooking. It was determined that E. crassipes cellulosic pulp contains large amounts of fines. Results of the bleaching sequence indicate low brightness (58.0 %) and low viscosity (6.43 cP). The most abundant inorganic elements in the ash of both bleached and unbleached pulp were Ca, Mg, P, and Si. These results suggest that E. crassipes biomass might complement cellulosic fibers in pulping processes of low yield, such as the wood fibers used to produce handmade paper.

Classification option for Korean traditional paper based on type of raw materials, using near-infrared spectroscopy and multivariate statistical methods

Depending on the different types of raw materials used to produce hanji, a Korean traditional handmade paper, there can be significant differences in the durability and mechanical properties of the final product. In this study, near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) combined with multivariate statistical methods were used to confirm the classification possibility of hanji based on the various type of raw materials. The hanji papers were prepared from paper mulberry trees, cooking agents, and mucilage. Altogether, a total of 60 hanji spectra were collected by NIR. Then, the 60 spectra were grouped into four categories: the control, paper mulberry, cooking agent, and mucilage type based on each of the types of raw materials contained in the hanji. Three different classification algorithms – partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), support vector machines (SVM), and random forest (RF) – were used to classify the hanji types. The best hanji material classification performance was obtained when the hanji samples were classified according to paper mulberry type, wherein the prediction accuracies of PLS-DA, SVM, and RF were 100%, 100%, and 98%, respectively. These results suggested that NIR in combination with multivariate statistical methods can be used for hanji material classification.

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING: AN ANALYSIS OF IMPACT ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG STUDENTS OF GRADE 12

The molecular model as a learning tool in class-room instructions is significant due to its positive effect on the learning and teaching process. Many students struggle to learn Chemistry and do not succeed. Chemistry is the central part of all Science subjects. To make Chemistry learning easy and joyful appropriate method of class-room instructions are important. The Chemistry of solid states and composite materials is the part of the curriculum at All India Senior Secondary School Curriculum. Students face problems in solid state Chemistry due to its abstract concepts. To address the issue, handmade models and paper-based models are made as evidence-based learning. In this present paper attempt is made to investigate the impact of handmade paper model of unit cell and crystal lattices of solid-state Chemistry on academic achievement. The study is delimited to the students of only one school in rural area. Totally 50 students participate in the study. Sample is distributed into two groups: study group and the control group, by connecting them on the basis of the previous knowledge which is determined through pre-test. The students of the study group are taught solid states Chemistry through handmade paper models of unit cells and crystal lattices and the students of the control group are taught by using traditional chalk and board method. Data is collected by using Test (Pre and Post). Mean standard deviation and mean differences are used as a statistical tool to analyze the data. Substantial difference between the study group and the control group of mean score on test (pre and post and retention) are tested at 0.05 level. The handmade paper model of unit cell and crystal lattices of solid states Chemistry has significant positive impact on the academic achievement in solid state Chemistry. Based on the findings of the present study, some recommendations are made for using paper model as teaching aid for evidence-based learning in Chemistry and other core subjects to move up the students’ academic performance level.