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When trees are turned into paper, why doesn't the paper have cells?
Question Date: 2019-09-30
Answer 1:

Plant cell has a cellulose layer surrounding the cell membrane called the cell wall. Cellulose makes up about 40% of the dry mass of the wood.

To make paper, wood is processed into pulp either by grinding, heat-treating, or chemically digesting. During the process, wood is broken down to cellulose fibers. Pulp is then spread out and let dry. The fiber forms a network during the process. This network is what we call paper.

The cells are destroyed in the process of making paper and will not be found in paper.


Answer 2:

The cells are broken down when the tree is turned into paper. The wikipedia article about sawdust talks about this.

The tree rings we see when a tree is cut down are dead xylem cells that stack end-to-end and carry water in sap up the tree.



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