Stone paper

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Stone Paper products, generically referred to as bio-plastic paper, mineral paper or rich mineral paper, are strong and durable paper-like material manufactured from calcium carbonate bonded with small amount of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) resin. They are used in many of the same applications as cellulose-based paper.

Production[]

Stone Paper materials consist of three components: Calcium Carbonate, High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE), and usually a proprietary coating, which serves to enhance printing quality and performance.^{[citation needed]}

Properties[]

Stone paper materials have a density range of 1.0-1.6g/cm³, which is equal to or slightly higher than that of ordinary paper, and a texture somewhat like that of the outer membrane of a boiled egg. It may be recycled with Number 2 plastics or remade into stone paper again. It is not biodegradable or compostable, but is photo-degradable under suitable conditions.^[1]

Because it is not made from cellulose fibers, stone paper can have a smoother surface than most traditional products, eliminating the need for additional coating or lamination. The calcium carbonate is sourced from mines, and reduced to fine white calcium carbonate powder. The production of stone paper uses no water, acid, bleach or optical brighteners. It can be recycled endlessly into itself, but only if recycled separately at dedicated civic amenity sites.^[2][3]

Stone paper products are compatible with inkjet or solid ink printers (e.g., offset, letterpress, gravure, flexographic) but do not respond well to very high temperature laser printers.^[4]

Sustainability[]

Comparisons have been made between Stone Paper products and traditional paper for applications like book printing in Europe. If Stone Paper products were to replace coated and uncoated graphic printing stock in Europe, it could potentially reduce the according CO2 generation by 62%, water consumption by 99.2%, and wood usage by 100%.^{[citation needed]} These results depend however on the type of Calcium Carbonate used for Stone Paper products and the source of the HDPE. The ratio of oil required to make virgin HDPE for Stone Paper products are such that large scale replacement of traditional paper could save 46% of oil consumption from the current European graphic paper supply with virgin and recycled components.^[5]

References[]