Reflections on the Development of High Strength Corrugated Base Papers (1)

1 Corrugated cardboard is an important packaging material. Commodity packaging is a very important link in the circulation and supply chain. It is an important guarantee for the safe and complete delivery of goods from the manufacturer to the consumer. With economic development, especially retail With the development of the industry, the packaging industry has achieved considerable development. In 1997, the world packaging industry achieved sales of US$475 billion, and the proportions of sales of various packaging materials were: metal 25%, glass 6%, plastic 30%, paper 34%, and other 5%, among which the share of paper packaging maximum. Corrugated material is the most important paper packaging material. It is usually processed into corrugated cardboard from corrugated cardboard and corrugated base paper, and then processed into various types of corrugated cardboard boxes using corrugated cardboard. The main uses of corrugated boxes vary from country to country, with 40% in North America and Western Europe used to package foods, 50% in Japanese packaged foods, and 30% in China to package foods and beverages.
In addition to being widely used in food packaging, corrugated cartons can also be used to package furniture, large appliances, textiles and rubber products. Corrugated cartons developed in recent years can be used to package small items for sale on supermarket shelves. Due to the structural characteristics of corrugated board itself, it has a very high strength/weight ratio and is a very good packaging material; in addition, papermaking fibers can be recycled and recycled, and this packaging material has also been favored by modern society that attaches great importance to environmental protection. . According to statistics, the consumption of corrugated materials in the world is about 100 million tons, and it increases by an average of 3.6% during the period from 1980 to 1996. It is predicted that it will still increase at a rate of 3.5%/a in the next 10 years. Per capita consumption of corrugated materials is the highest in North America at 100 kg/a, followed by Japan at 72 kg/a, followed by Western Europe (43 kg/a), Australia and New Zealand (36 kg/a). The population in these four regions only accounted for 15% of the world's population, while the consumption of corrugated materials accounted for 68% of global consumption. The relationship between corrugated materials consumption and the level of national economic development is evident. The per capita consumption of corrugated materials is 14kg in the world, and 7.6kg in China. The per capita consumption of corrugated materials in China is only half of the global per capita consumption.
In North America, the consumption of corrugated material was significantly higher due to the higher basis weight of cardboard and corrugated paper used in the past. With the trend towards the use of low-quantitative and high-strength boxboard and corrugated base paper in recent years, plus some markets occupied by plastics, it is estimated that The consumption of corrugated materials in North America is nearly saturated, and its growth in recent years is estimated to be below 1%. In contrast, due to the rapid economic growth in Asia and the further development of the retail market, it is estimated that by 2005, the annual consumption of corrugated materials will increase by 4%.
2 China corrugated paper demand forecast table 1 is the total paper and board consumption and corrugated material consumption in several countries and regions in 1998. In the listed countries and regions, the consumption of corrugated materials accounts for 26% of the total paper and board consumption. %, most regions account for about 30%. From a global scale, the consumption of corrugated materials accounts for about one-third of all paper and board consumption. According to experts' forecast, the consumption of paper and paperboard in China will be about 50 million tons in 2005, and consumption of corrugated materials will be measured at 30%. By that time, the consumption of corrugated materials in China will be 15 million tons.
Table 1 Corrugated materials, consumption, and total paper and board consumption in several countries (regions) in 1998 (10,000 t)

From a macro-statistical perspective, the proportion of corrugated boardboard and corrugated paper in various countries (regions) varies, with 31.5% of corrugated paper in the United States, 39% in Japan, 30% in South Korea, and 38% in the United Kingdom, accounting for Taiwan in China. 41%, which is related to the structure of the corrugated board used in the area and the quantification of corrugated paper. The proportion of corrugated paper consumption in China is much higher than that of cardboard. In 1998, the proportion of corrugated paper consumption was much higher than that of cardboard. In 1998, consumption of corrugated board was 9.56 million tons, of which corrugated paper was 5.86 million tons, accounting for 61%. Contrary to the international proportion, this is largely due to the fact that the corrugated paper used in China is generally high-quantitative, and the amount of high-strength corrugated paper used in China is still too low. Taking into account the development of corrugated base papers in the direction of low quantitative and high strength, such as corrugated paper accounting for 45% of corrugated board, the consumption of corrugated base paper in China in 2005 will increase by 2.45 million tons compared with 1998.
In recent years, few domestic projects have been planned for the construction of new and expanded corrugated paper bases, and the newly increased production capacity is not large. Even if the projects currently planned to be launched on time are put into production, there will be at least 1 million tons of gaps by 2005. At the same time, the international market for corrugated paper is not sufficient, which may be related to the low added value of this product. In 1998, for example, the only major net exporters were Canada, Russia, South Korea, France, and Taiwan Province of China. Canada’s net exports are 470,000 tons, accounting for 43% of its total output; South Korea’s net exports are 158,000 tons, accounting for 21% of its output; China’s Taiwan Province and France’s net exports are 73,000 tons and 33,000 tons, respectively. In fact, paper-producing countries such as the United States and Japan actually import net corrugated paper every year. In 1998, the United States imported 127,000 tons, and Japan imported 24,000 tons. It seems that the demand for corrugated paper cannot rely too much on the international market. The gap in corrugated paper in China should be resolved by increasing domestic production capacity.
3 The main raw materials for imported corrugated paper, imported waste paper, domestic waste paper and wheat straw half-chemical pulp should be the main fiber raw materials for the development of corrugated paper in China. Internationally, semi-chemical hardwood pulp is widely used to produce corrugated paper. As early as 1925, NSSC pulp was used as raw material. In recent years, due to the emphasis on environmental protection, the use of OCC as raw materials has become increasingly common. West Asia and Europe corrugated materials waste paper consumption of up to 75%, Asian waste paper accounted for 71%, South Korea and Taiwan Province of China is to use waste paper as raw materials to produce cardboard and corrugated paper. In recent years, many production lines in China have used corrugated cardboard boxes (AOCC) as raw materials to produce corrugated materials. Although the cost of waste paper raw materials is lower than that of the original fiber, the research results show that the raw materials of the corrugated medium with NSSC as raw material have good stiffness, and have better running performance when the creping machine starts to pick up, and can maintain high values ​​under high humidity. With tensile stiffness and compressive strength, the manufactured corrugated boxes have better stiffness in wet conditions.
In addition, the shortage of imported waste paper resources should also attract sufficient attention. In recent years, there has been little export of waste paper in Europe, and the export of waste paper in Hong Kong has also shown a downward trend. Table 2 shows the recovery and export of used corrugated boxes (AOCC) in the United States. By 2001, only 396 million tons of AOCCs were available for export. The same article reported that in 1996, the OCC accounted for 39% of US exports of waste paper. Based on this calculation, the total amount of US waste paper exports in 2001 should be about 10.15 million tons. In 1996, the export flow of waste paper in the United States was 20% in Korea, 12% in China, 12% in Taiwan, 15% in Mexico, and 18% in Canada. For example, if the waste paper exported to China is still at the 12% level, all the US waste paper that China can import will be about 1.21 million tons. South Korea, China Taiwan, and Mexico are certainly the main competitors of imported AOCC, and China Taiwan imports 900,000 tons of OOCC from the island each year. It seems to be soberly estimated that the further development of corrugated materials cannot be excessively dependent on AOCC.
Table 2 Recovery and Export Situation of Waste Corrugated Paper Containers (AOCC) in the US (10,000 t)