When will Ukrainian paper from fallen leaves conquer the world? Technology secrets
Even the Queen of Great Britain became interested in the Ukrainian man's invention. We debunk the myths about a paper from leaves and look into the future
Photo Reuters
They tried to implement the technology of turning leaves into paper in France in 1919, but because of a lack of resources and knowledge, no one succeeded. However, when Ukrainian Valentyn Frechka was still a schoolboy, he had no idea about the failed experiments of the French. By trial and error two years ago, he found a technology that allows you to make non-printing paper, and its main raw material is ordinary fallen leaves. The 19-year-old is now managing his own company, RE-leaf PAPER, now exploding and receiving leaf processing orders from around the world.
Photo Reuters
The company produces non-printing paper, something like a consumable then used in producing cardboard, bags, or other packaging. The most interesting fact is that one can create this paper from ordinary fallen leaves. Utility services collect them in the fall, and RE-leaf PAPER transports and harvests the leaves for further use: they granulate it, then the paper goes to the plant and passes through a drying chamber, and then they sent it to the elevators. In such a form, the finished raw material can be stored and used for processing at any time of year.
The first industrial launch of paper from fallen leaves.
"The hardest road always leads to the top" – the first thing that comes to mind when developing the RE-leaf PAPER project in Ukraine, because we faced a number of problems, including the lack of production capacity to process fallen leaves into fibre on an industrial scale.But we did it, and our peak, on a difficult path, was the production of the first industrial tonnage of paper based on fallen leaves, which finally has the necessary mechanical characteristics and meets the requirements.I remember the first time we conducted a pilot test on paper formation, and again, a year later, with all the refinements, we reproduced everything in the conditions of industrial production.Such a large project is the result of hard work of a group of people all over Ukraine and abroad, it is the result of hours of negotiations, tests, experiments, failures (by the way, there were the most of them).How was it? The video that most vividly reflects the production process that our fallen leaf fibre went through to become paper. As a result, we obtained 1.5 Т. of paper with a density of 90 and 100 g/m2, a thickness of 0.2 mm., and a puncture resistance of 285 kPa. Given the complexity of the process, we have achieved ideal parameters that reflect the full range of possibilities of deciduous fibre. We are currently preparing to convert the manufactured batch of paper into paper bags, samples of paper utensils and cardboard, we hope for positive results.UA версія «Найважча дорога завжди веде до вершини» – перше, що спадає на думку, розвиваючи проєкт RE-leaf PAPER в Україні, адже ми зіштовхнулися із низкою проблем, зокрема із відсутністю виробничих потужностей, які б дали змогу переробити опале листя на волокно у промислових масштабах.Але ми це зробили, і нашою вершиною, на складному шляху, стало виробництво першого промислового тоннажу паперу на основі опалого листя, який нарешті володіє необхідними механічними характеристиками і відповідає поставленим вимогам.Пам'ятаю, як ми вперше провели пілотний тест по формуванню паперу, і знову, через рік, із усіма допрацюваннями відтворили все в умовах промислового виробництва.Такий великий проєкт – це результат кропіткої праці групи людей по всій Україна та за її межами, це результат годинних перемовин, тестів, експериментів, невдач (їх, до речі, було найбільше).Як це було? Відео, яке найяскравіше відображає виробничий процес, через який прошло наше волокно із опалого листя, щоб стати папером. Як результат ми отримали 1,5 тонни паперу із щільністю 90 та 100 гм2, товщиною 0,2 мм., та значенням опору продавлювання 285 кПа. Враховуючи складність процесу, ми досягли ідеальних параметрів, які відображають увесь спектр можливостей листяного волокна. Наразі ми готуємося до конвертингу виготовленої партії паперу у паперові пакети, проби паперового посуду та картону, сподіваємося на позитивні результати.
Posted by RE-leaf PAPER on Tuesday, October 27, 2020
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