Wood pulp

Wood pulp is a fibrous material made by separating cellulose fibers from wood. It is the principal raw material for paper and many molded fiber products.

Mechanical pulping: A pulping process that grinds or refines wood to separate fibers while retaining most of its lignin. It produces high-yield pulp used where brightness and low cost matter more than durability.
Cellulose: A structural polysaccharide composed of long chains of glucose, abundant in plant cell walls. Its fibers form the main structural material retained in most paper pulp.
Papermaking: The manufacture of paper by forming, pressing, and drying a network of fibers from a water suspension. It is the primary use of wood pulp.
Recycled paper: Paper made partly or wholly from recovered paper fibers that have been processed for reuse. Recovered fibers can replace some fresh wood pulp in new paper.
Chemical pulping: A process that dissolves much of wood's lignin with chemicals, freeing cellulose fibers. Removing lignin yields stronger, more durable pulp than grinding alone.
Lignin: A complex aromatic polymer that strengthens and waterproofs plant cell walls. Its presence darkens pulp and can weaken paper as it ages.
Newsprint: Low-cost paper used chiefly for newspapers, commonly made with high-yield pulp. Mechanical pulp's high yield and opacity suit this short-lived paper grade.
Bamboo pulp: Fibrous material produced by pulping bamboo for paper and other cellulose products. Bamboo provides a non-wood plant source of papermaking fibers.
Kraft process: A chemical pulping method that cooks wood chips in sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide. It is the dominant chemical route for making strong pulp from many wood species.
Hemicellulose: A group of shorter, branched polysaccharides found alongside cellulose in plant cell walls. It influences fiber bonding and is partly retained or removed during pulping.

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