One, the pulping characteristics of wood pulp: The wood fibers are generally divided into two major categories: coniferous and broadleaf. Within the same species, due to the varying growth rates of the plants at different times of the year, they are further categorized into earlywood (springwood) and latewood (autumnwood). Consequently, their respective pulping characteristics differ.

1. Pine and broadleaf wood pulps achieve similar physical strength when the beating degree of the broadleaf wood is higher than that of the pine wood. However, the fibers in broadleaf wood pulp are shorter, typically ranging from 0.8 to 1.1 millimeters. To increase the beating degree while minimizing fiber cutting, it's advisable to stop beating the broadleaf wood pulp at a lower beating pressure and higher beating consistency. The fibers in pine wood pulp are longer, usually between 2 to 3.5 millimeters. When used in cement bag paper, it's also important not to cut the fibers excessively. However, when producing thin papers like typing paper or oil seal paper, to meet the evenness requirements, the fibers need to be cut down to 0.8 to 1.5 millimeters. Therefore, the beating process conditions can be determined based on the specifications of the marked paper.

2. In wood pulp, earlywood and latewood have different ratios, and the quality of the resulting pulp varies when the beating process is stopped under the same beating conditions. Latewood fibers are longer, with thicker and harder cell walls that are more difficult to rupture. During beating, these fibers are more prone to being cut, and it's challenging for them to absorb water, swell, and become finely fibrillated. Therefore, for pulp with a higher proportion of latewood, especially during medium to thick beating, it is advisable to stop the beating process using lower pressure, higher concentration, and methods such as gradual reduction of pressure or decreasing the blade spacing incrementally. Earlywood fibers have thinner walls and are softer, making it easier to separate them into individual fibers during beating, and the process is generally more straightforward.

The cotton or linen pulp characteristics for papermaking include rags, cotton linter, and various types of linen. Some require degreasing treatment, while most are directly pulped. Cotton pulp fibers have fine fibers in the cell walls at a 45-degree angle to the fiber axis, with a high α-cellulose content, making them less prone to swelling and longitudinal bonding during pulping. Due to the longer length of cotton pulp fibers, typically around 20-25 mm, it is advisable to use a free pulp method for papermaking to cut them to the appropriate size. Otherwise, the long fibers may clump together during paper formation on the paper machine, affecting the uniformity of the paper. In the pulping of rags used for ink-absorbing paper or filter paper, it is common to first use a light blade to disentangle the fibers during the early stages of pulping, then quickly cut them short with a heavy blade. When producing toilet paper, general writing paper, or label paper containing rag pulp, the rags are often disentangled and cut in a semi-pulp machine before being further processed into finished pulp in a pulp machine or other pulping equipment. Linen pulp has similar properties and fiber lengths to cotton pulp, so it can be pulped in a manner similar to cotton pulp.