Hello everyone! My name is Jocelyn. I am a chemical engineering student working at the mill in Thunder Bay. This is my first time working as a member of the forestry sector and I wanted to highlight the importance of the work being done in Canada across mills and other areas of the sector.
To begin, the wood which is used in our processes is sustainably harvested and cut into chips. The size and shape of the chips allows for easier and more efficient processing. The wood chips are then chemically treated to breakdown the wood into pulp. With many steps in between, the finished product which is sold to other companies is kraft pulp, but you may better know it as modified cellulose.
Modified cellulose is a popular additive in many products in the food processing and pharmaceutical industries. This additive is used as a creaming, thickening, or binding agent, and as a fiber supplement. Kraft pulp is often listed as modified cellulose (MC), microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), or carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) on ingredient lists and can be found in a wide range of foods such as cereals, coffee creamers, salad dressings, granola bars, and even ice cream!
As far as pharmaceuticals go, a main use for CMC is a stabilizing agent in liquid dosage forms of medicine. These applications include children’s medicine, and over-the-counter cough medicines. CMC is also commonly used as the adhesion and film-forming agents of tablets such as magnesium and various vitamin tablets. The kraft pulp created by many mills across Canada is also sold to companies to make everyday household essentials such as bath tissue, facial tissue, and paper towels. Kraft pulp is also used to create various types of paper for a multitude of purposes.
By taking a closer look at the ingredients lists on the labels of the products we consume, it can be seen that kraft pulp plays a large role in the everyday lives of Canadians. And that's why it is important to better understand the forest sector – from the beginning of their process of harvesting trees, down to how they deal with waste or by-products of the kraft pulp process.
