Sustana’s innovative manufacturing processes mine the “urban forest” with the least amount of impact to the environment and its natural resources.
We are an industry-leading producer of quality fiber-based products and services built on a solid commitment to sustainability and continuous improvement.
Our manufacturing process meets the highest environmental standards, while delivering high-quality products. Our production processes, which focus on minimizing water usage, energy usage and waste, begins with fiber sourcing and fiber recovery.
Preparation of coarse pulp by mixing old papers with water and breaking them up using the pulper’s powerful agitator.
The pulp is pushed through the screen to remove solid impurities such as staples and glue.
Visible dirt and glue residue in the water are removed.
Ink particles are removed by rubbing fibers together.
Fine soapy bubbles are added to the pulp to bring ink particles to the surface.
Removal of small water impurities that were set apart from pulp in previous stages.
Release of remaining dye particles with fiber-on-fiber friction wear.
The pulp is bleached using hydrogen peroxide, a non-chlorinated component that is environmentally friendly.
Fine soapy bubbles are added to the pulp to bring residual ink particles to the surface.
The pulp is put through cleaners, which use centrifugal force to separate the impurities from the pulp.
In this second phase of chlorine-free bleaching, the degree of whiteness of the pulp increases and any remaining coloring is removed.
The pulp is pushed through the screen to remove residual sticky particles.
Thickening the pulp by dewatering, sheeting, cutting and baling.
Our main source of raw material is the ‘’urban forest’’ which we use to manufacture our recycled fiber. By sourcing alternative fiber from recovered recycled paper materials, we address the problem of landfills, pollution and generated waste. This ensures a minimal impact to the area’s biodiversity, environment and natural resources.
Fresh water is a precious resource, so we treat it with care. Rather than constantly using fresh water, our paper mill recirculates every drop 30 times and uses six times less water than industry average. With less energy needed to heat fresh water, this closed-loop process contributes to our low environmental footprint. And our water treatment equipment ensures operations with clean water in, clean water out.
We use FSC®-certified virgin fiber and ensure a sustainable supply chain. Our products come with a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®) Chain of Custody certification, which considers all paper manufacturing steps, and marks that our products can be tracked back to an FSC®-certified source.
1. Disintegration
The pulp is mixed with water to a consistency of approximately 2% fiber and 98% water. Additives are then added to define the opacity, brightness and color of the paper.
2. Refining
To avoid build-up accumulation, refining separates fibers from each other, which are mixed and stirred in a large vat in order to obtain a completely uniform pulp.
3. Screening and Treatment
The screening and treatment phase removes all debris and agglomerations from the pulp to improve fiber dispersion.
1. Head Box
A constant amount of pulp is pumped evenly, across the machine’s width, from the head box onto the wire.
2. Wire
A woven mesh made from synthetic filaments, permits water drainage from the pulp through gravitational pull, thereby allowing the fibers to settle properly to form a wet sheet.
3. Forming or Dandy Roll
A mesh covered roll that pierces air bubbles that may have formed and improves the sheet formation. The forming roll can be replaced by a dandy roll with a pattern used to make a watermark on the paper.
4. Suction Roll and Felt
The paper passes through a suction roll in order to remove as much water as possible before arriving at felt section to start the drying stage. At that time, the sheet contains approximately 50 to 60% humidity/moisture.
1. Size Press
The size press applies a light film and continuous starch on both sides of the sheet. This treatment hardens the paper’s surface and fixes the fibers so that the sheet is able to resists penetration of liquid inks.
2. Dryers
The paper passes through a series of steam-heated cylinders shaped like an accordion. The evaporation rate is constant and increases rapidly from one cylinder to another.
3. Calenders
Calendering determines the finished of the paper. The sheet passes through two adjacent rollers which rotate to smooth and compress in the same way on both sides.
4. Winder
The paper is wrapped on a wide metal mandrel to create a master roll, which is then transferred to a jumbo roll using a crane for the winding step. The master roll is held and then cut into strips according to the needed width, to then be finally wound onto cardboard cores.
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