Skip to main content

Day 10 – Tranlin Mill in Gaotang

May 24th 2017

Today we visited Tranlin in Gaotang.  We started the day by learning about higher education in China from our tour guide, Steve. While we were on the bus, he told us that there are 1200 Universities in China and all high school students must take a rigorous entrance exam to determine which college they will be able to attend. Only 40% of high school graduates go to college, largely because many cannot afford it. A student can borrow money from the government to go to school, but they must pay it back within four years of graduation.

Mill and Farmland

Upon arriving at the Tranlin Mill, we were treated to lunch. The company owns farmland near their mill and prides itself on the ability to grow vegetables using the fertilizer produced in their facility; therefore, much of our lunch consisted of all organic vegetables grown at the mill. It was delicious! The company uses wheat straw and other agricultural residue as the primary fiber source. This was very exciting because it was a new experience for many of us.  We began the mill tour by seeing the continuous digesters and washers. We felt the pulp from these washers and could tell the difference between the short wheat fibers and longer wood fibers. We learned that many washers are required in this facility due to the low drainage rate of wheat straw. Next, we saw the 64 globe digesters, which many of us had never seen before. Finally, we saw their fourdrinier machine, which runs at 1000 meters/min producing 2000 tons/day. This mill also has paper machines to make 100% wheat straw tissue along with coated and uncoated freesheet. Much of the tissue made is converted into toilet paper.

Popsicles….what a treat

After completing the mill tour, Steve surprised us by getting popsicles! This was very refreshing because it was a hot day, and it made us even more excited to see the rest of Tranlin’s plant. The next stop was the converting facility, where we saw how they made tissue into toilet paper rolls. This was a neat experience because we were able to see the final product. We also toured the molding facility that produced paper plates and take-out containers. Since the products are meant for food, the facility was very clean, and everything was inspected by hand.

Mill produces fertilizers to sell

The mill uses its organic byproducts to produce fertilizers, which are bagged and sold. We visited the bagging facility to see this process. To conclude our mill tour we visited the effluent treatment center and the farm. Although the effluent smelled terrible and was almost black in color, the treated water was clean enough for fish and ducks to live in. They even had a pond where we fed the coy. On their farm they had a mulberry section, where we ate fresh mulberries from the trees. It is inspiring to see how much they care about the environment. Before taking the bus to the train station, we were treated to another meal full of organic vegetables from their farm.

Paper products made from straw

Overall, we were able to learn about many new processes, including making paper products from wheat straw, converting these products to toilet paper, molding the products into plates and take-out containers, and converting organic byproducts to fertilizer. When we left the mill, we took the bus to the train station, said goodbye to our second bus driver, and took the high speed train to our final destination, the capital city of China, Beijing.

By guest blogger Alex May & Sarah Pumphrey