cotton/linen rag

Ingredients

cotton, linen, rags, starch paste

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

Prior to the introduction of machine-made paper, paper was made from cotton/linen rag. Cotton is considered pure cellulose (content higher than 90%); it is composed of an inner network of microfibrils randomly organised within a mixture of waxes, pectins, proteins and other noncellulosic materials in trace amounts (p. 369). Arabian papermaking traditions used rags due to a lack of fresh fibres, making sheets almost entirely from rags. These sheets were subsequently coated with starch paste to improve writing properties and appearance (p. 369). Samples CRP (1620), HSC (1697), NOP (1708), AJC (1776), PRC (1786), and PRO (1794) represent this technology in Portuguese collections (p. 370).

Evidence

"A detailed analysis of Tables 2 and 3 evidenced the presence of two isopropylic esters: isopropyl tetradecanoate and isopropyl hexadecanoate in the profiles of cotton/linen-derived paper books, absent in the profiles of wood pulp-derived books (Figs. 8 and 9)."

Remarks

The VOC profile of these papers is characterized by the presence of isopropyl tetradecanoate (myristate) and isopropyl hexadecanoate (palmitate), which were confirmed by coinjection with standards and comparison of retention times and mass spectra (p. 370, 379). These esters are considered potential markers for cotton-derived cellulose (p. 379). The methodology utilizes contact SPME, where a fibre is placed in direct contact with the paper inside a closed zip bag for 240 minutes at 23°C to collect volatile emissions non-destructively (p. 371).