ABSTRACT

The pulp, paper, and paper products industry is one of the largest and growing industry in the world. The production of pulp and paper has increased worldwide and will continue to increase in the near future. There have been gradual changes in wood-based pulp and paper manufacturing processes. The use of wood for paper making began with the development of mechanical pulping in Europe in 1840s and rst commercial sulte pulp mill was set-up in Sweden in late nineteenth century. The production of paper and paperboard worldwide is dominated by the United States of America, Canada, Japan, Sweden, Finland, and China. Due to closing down of a large number of paper manufacturing capacities in North America and increasing capacity building in Asia (particularly China), the latter accounts for over a third of world’s paper manufacture, followed by Europe (30%) and North America (25%). The demand for paper is unequally dispersed as 22% of the world’s population in the United States of America, Europe, and Japan consume 72% of the global paper. The industry is very capital intensive with low prot margin, which limits upgradation of technology and innovation in the industry (Dugal, 2009; Lamberg et al., 2013). The pulp and paper industry plays a vital role in the progress of socioeconomic aspects, while it is associated with signicant environmental concerns due to its large footprints on environmental resources.