Post #2-Paper Making Process

Throughout the second unit of our chemistry course, many examples of chemical reactions were prevalent in every slideshow. Throughout the article I retrieved about about the chemical processes involved in the creation of paper, many examples of chemical reactions were present. This article relates to the unit of chemical reactions because the chemicals used in the paper industry convert brown wood chips into the pieces of paper we see in our printers. Two different  chemical reactions can be involved in the paper making process including, krafting and bleaching.

In order for the brown wood chips to be converted into a white piece of paper, the wood will undergo the krafting chemical process. The brown wood chips have something called cellulose fibers within the actual wood which are bound together by lignin. The kraft process involves removing the lignin from the wood pulp. The wood chips are combined with a mixture of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium sulfide (Na2S) forming sodium alginate. The Sodium alginate will dissolve in water, causing the fibres to seperate. During the bleaching process, lignin reacts with a chlorine based bleaching chemical and provides a water soluble compound, removing dirt and lignin.

There are many health risks that come with living near a paper mill. If you live near a mill where chlorine compounds are used in order to bleach the pulp, harmful byproducts called organochlorines, which include dioxins and other similar compounds. These products are known to cause cancer, as well as causing developmental, reproductive, and immune system damage.

It is no shock seeing as chlorine compounds are rated the most hazardous industrial chemicals when present in large quantities.

Based on the evidence presented, I don’t believe it is ethical for people to live near paper mills. I believe there should be a law in place which would entail the specific distance that one is allowed to live from a paper mill. The health effects are drastic and could lead to long-term health issues, or even death overtime.

Questions:

1. Seeing as krafting poses less health issues, why don’t all paper mills utilize the process of krafting?

Reference Page:

Soskolne, C L, and L E Sieswerda. “Cancer Risk Associated with Pulp and Paper Mills: a Review of Occupational and Community Epidemiology.” Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2010, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21199601.

Brennan, John. “What Are Some Chemical Reactions Used in the Manufacturing of Paper?” Sciencing.com, Sciencing, 9 Oct. 2018, sciencing.com/chemical-reactions-used-manufacturing-paper-13973.html.

Blog Post #1: MATTER & BONDING-Artificial Sweeteners

Although there are definitely benefits for a certain group of individuals from using artificial sweeteners, there are also many drawbacks that are present in the actual substance itself. Artificial sweeteners are a crystalized substance that look identical to sugar. Artificial sweeteners are said to be low-caloric or non-caloric sweeteners. The purpose is to add the same sweet flavor that sugar normally would, while intaking fewer calories than sugar. Artificial sweeteners will have a form of aspartame,(C14H18N2O5) sucralose,(C12H19Cl3O8) acesulfame potassium,(C4H4KNO4S) neotame,(C20H30N2O5) or saccharin (C7H5NO3S). This topic relates to the unit of matter and bonding because it investigates the purposes of a variety of molecules.

A team of scientists from Israel conducted an experiment to see if artificial sweeteners were as good as they were once claimed. The group of scientists tested a group of rats over a span of 11 weeks, by feeding them with water containing natural sugar, (glucose or sucrose) and a group of rats with water containing artificial sweeteners (aspartame, sucralose, or saccharin). The mice receiving natural sugar ended up being fine, whereas the mice fed artificial sweeteners had abnormally high blood sugar levels. This indicates their tissues were having difficulty absorbing glucose from the blood, which can actually lead to diabetes. A group of seven lean and healthy humans were given the maximum dose of saccharin monitored under the U.S. Food and Drug for give days, and four of the seven subjects showed a reduced glucose response in addition to an abrupt change in their gut microbes. This can ultimately lead to obesity if the experiment was continued for a longer period of time.

Based on the evidence presented, artificial sweeteners are seemingly harmful to those unaffected by diabetes. Individuals who have diabetes are unable to process natural sugars, which is why artificial sweeteners may still be the best alternative. However, those trying to lose weight should just stick to natural sugars because they will not reduce your bodies glucose response.

Questions:

1. Why do healthier individuals still look to artificial sweeteners as an alternative?
2. Based on the evidence, is saccharin among all the other artificial sweeteners the only threat to human health?

Reference Page:

“Artificial Sweeteners May Change Our Gut Bacteria in Dangerous Ways.” Scientific American, Scientific American, 1 Apr. 2015, www.scientificamerican.com/article/artificial-sweeteners-may-change-our-gut-bacteria-in-dangerous-ways/.

Martin, Laura. “What Are Artificial Sweeteners?” WebMD, WebMD, 26 June 2016, www.webmd.com/diabetes/qa/what-are-artificial-sweeteners.