Paper made out of limestone – Stone Paper – Production and properties of environmentally friendly paper substitutes

One would think that stone and paper would not fit together. However, the game “Rock, Paper, Scissor”, in which stone and paper are opponents, has changed a lot. Stonepaper is an innovative material, which can replace conventional paper due to its properties and is used as an ecological alternative for many applications, even for plastic. Stone paper is a sustainably produced substitution product to regular paper.

“Paper” might be a misleading term regarding this context because paper is associated with trees, wood and cellulose. Stone Paper, or Rock Paper, as being the product made out of the so-called limestone flour, does not contain any cellulose! Shortly: Stone paper is not paper, but consists of up to 80% limestone and 20% additives. Therefore this treeless alternative would have to be correctly described as paper alike.

Stone paper is made out of powdered limestone (calcium carbonate). This type of paper is more tear-resistant than conventional paper, even at low grammages. Moreover this material is extremely hard-wearing. Additionally, the flame retardant material is water-resistant, as well. Since neither wood fibres nor water are needed in the production process, stone paper is a sustainable and environment-friendly material. It also convinces with its noble and velvety feel. Due to its stability, it can also be described as rockboard.