Everything You Didn’t Know About Paper Towels
Paper towels are a highly demanded hygiene product that appeared on the market by accident. Let’s rewind to 1907. Back then, Scott Paper Company was one of the leading toilet paper manufacturers in the United States. The business had been booming for founder Arthur Scott since the company’s inception in 1879, but then disaster struck.
A batch of toilet tissues wasn’t able to be used—an entire train car of it! The paper was wrapped into rolls so thick they couldn’t be used to make toilet paper. The cargo couldn’t be shipped back or used either. It would have to be thrown away! Not wanting to take such a substantial loss, Scott started searching for another answer.
He remembered a tabloid article he’d read about a Philadelphia teacher who started providing soft paper to her students with colds. The paper tissues were a substitute for the commonly used cloth towels, which she thought were only spreading the disease. Paper tissues, on the other hand, were easy to dispose of and decomposed!
The ‘Ah-ha!’ moment went off for Scott, and his production plant got to work creating the first-ever towel-sized sheets of paper.
What are paper towels made of?
Ingredients | Purpose |
Water, Wood, and Pulp | Raw ingredients The pulp comes from hardwood and softwood trees. |
Printing Ink | Water-based ink Applied for decorative purposes only paper towels are also available in white. |
Water-Based Adhesives | Holds layered paper sheets together Keeps the roll attached to the cardboard core Keeps the end of the roll secure until use The same non-toxic protein and plant-based adhesive are used in food thickening and pharmaceutical products. |
Conditioners | Added the improve the strength and consistency of the paper. |
Paper towel manufacturing with biodegradable adhesive
Non-toxic, water-based adhesives play a big part in paper towel manufacturing. How the sheets of paper are adhered together is the secret to paper towel absorbency!
Paper towel manufacturing begins with the creation of paper pulp. Once the pulp is cleaned and bleached, it is processed using a drying cylinder, often called a Yankee dryer. The dryer dries out the paper pulp on a roller and then scrapes the paper down to the desired thickness for each sheet.
The magic happens during the scrapping process. Water-based glue is sprayed on the roller so that some of the pulp can not be scraped away. This thin layer left behind becomes one of the two or multiple sheets of paper that will form the finished paper towel. The next step in paper towel manufacturing can follow one of two procedures: creping and embossing.
Creping with Protein Adhesive
Creping with adhesive gives the paper flexibility and creates open areas for water absorption. The internal micro-fold structure creping creates is essential to allow the paper towel to absorb and hold moisture.
Embossing Papers Towels
Embossing creates the effect of having multiple sheets of soft tissue paper with spaces in between the layers, like a quilt. The top of the towel is modified using a shaped surface as opposed to the flat working surface. This process creates raised areas in the flat background of the soft tissue paper, and these open spaces can absorb and hold water.
Interesting facts to absorb
- Manufacturers often emboss diamonds or circles on paper towels to improve absorption.
- Paper towels are consumed the most by Americans.
- Paper towels are the second most used product in the tissue industry.
- To improve the wet strength of a paper towel, the resin side of the towel is used.
- Paper towel manufacturers use both protein and plant-derived adhesives depending on the application.
- Paper towels are prized for being sanitary and easy-to-dispose of.
Which adhesive to choose for making paper towels?
For the manufacture of towels and toilet paper, it is best to use a safe water-based adhesive that will not cause discomfort on the skin of the consumer. Adhesive TM “Lux” is well suited for such purposes.
Properties of LUX adhesives:
- Safe for health and the environment.
- Quickly sets on the surface.
- Non-toxic, characterized by a short fixing time.
- Transparent, elastic adhesive film.
- The equipment can be easily cleaned with water.
- Versatile in application.
Buy adhesives for paper towels from Lux-X
You can get more information about the desired brand, price, and delivery and make other inquiries by filling out a request on our website or calling our hotline.
