Paper pulp (pulp) is a kind of fibrous material made from plant fiber by different processing methods. According to the processing method, it can be divided into mechanical pulp, chemical pulp and chemical mechanical pulp; according to the fiber materials used, it can also be divided into wood pulp, straw pulp, hemp pulp, reed pulp, sugarcane pulp, bamboo pulp, rag pulp, etc. It can also be divided into refined pulp, bleached pulp, unbleached pulp, high yield pulp, semi chemical pulp and so on. Generally used in the manufacture of paper and cardboard. Refined pulp is not only used to make special paper, but also used to make cellulose derivatives such as cellulose ester and cellulose ether. It is also used in man-made fiber, plastic, coating, film, gunpowder and other fields.

       Pulp is made from some plants. It is the basic raw material of papermaking. Generally, plants used as pulping materials can be divided into four categories: stem fiber, phloem fiber, seed fiber and wood fiber. Among them, wood fiber is the most important. At present, China's wood resources are far from meeting the needs of the growing pulp and paper industry. In order to make up for the shortage of raw materials, a considerable amount of pulp is imported from abroad every year. The main importing countries are the United States, Canada and Brazil.

       In 2010, China's paper industry had 146 Enterprises above Designated Size, with a year-on-year growth of 2.10%; the total industrial output value reached 32.491 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 38.00%; the sales revenue was 31.749 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 40.71%; and the total profit was 2.153 billion yuan.

        Most of the special paper raw materials of domestic paper enterprises depend on import. In 2010, Chile's strong earthquake affected 8% of the world's commodity pulp supply and 14% of China's wood pulp import. In addition, the strike in Finland, a powerful papermaking country, triggered a sharp rise in the price of international specialty paper, and the price of many kinds of paper has exceeded the high point. The price rise of special paper has forced paper enterprises to reduce production and tighten inventory.

       This contraction is not expected to reverse in the near future. In the medium and long term, the rising probability of paper price trend is still large. From 2011 to 2015, the domestic paper production capacity with intention to put into production will reach 46 million tons, and it is estimated that 11.3 million tons of broadleaf pulp and 3.8 million tons of softleaf pulp will be added. During 2010-2015, the new production capacity of broad-leaved pulp reached 14 million tons, and that of coniferous pulp was 1.5 million tons. However, during 2011-2012, there were few new wood pulp lines, most of which were put into production after 2013. Therefore, the general trend of paper price in 2011-2012 is rising.

        The high international paper price has a subtle impact on the domestic paper industry. Under the pressure of imported raw material cost, companies with high proportion of self-made pulp have certain advantages in cost control, while some small and medium-sized paper enterprises will be eliminated due to backward production capacity. Therefore, if paper enterprises want to survive in the fierce competition, they can consider increasing investment in the pulp industry, which is conducive to controlling costs and increasing profits.

        Traditional pulping refers to the production process of using chemical method, mechanical method or a combination of the two methods to dissociate plant fiber raw materials into natural color or bleached pulp. The common process is to crush, steam, wash, screen, bleach, purify and dry plant fiber. A new biological pulping method has been developed in modern times. Firstly, special strains (white rot fungi, brown rot fungi and soft rot fungi) are used to decompose lignin structure, and then the remaining cellulose is dissociated by mechanical or chemical methods, and then bleached. In this process, most of the lignin has been decomposed and opened by organisms, and chemical methods are only used as auxiliary functions. Compared with traditional methods, few chemical products are used. Therefore, less or no waste liquid can be discharged, which is an environmentally friendly and clean pulping method.