Papyrus: The Paper Plant

1. Introduction
The name "papyrus" conjures up images of ancient Egypt. of pyramids and ancient texts. We
know so much about the culture of ancient Egypt, because of the content of the papyrus
scrolls; they contained details of daily life, of religion, and of business transactions. A most
beautiful example of a papyrus scroll resides in the "Detroit Institute of Art", it is called the
"Nes-min Papyrus" [1]: a "Book of the Dead". Nes-min was a Thebian priest, and the scroll
can be dated fairly accurately to between 300 and 275BC. The text is written in an "hieratic
script", which is a cursive form of hieroglyphic writing. The scroll also contains many
beautifully rendered pen and ink drawings of everyday life in Egypt, two of which I have
redrawn as Figure 1. Today, the rediscovered techniques for the production of papyrus
writing materials have created numerous cottage industries in Egypt, which produce beautiful
images such as that shown in Figure 2.

1 2

Figure 1. Reproductions of two "registers" from the "Nes-min Papyrus" (ca. 300BC). In the top register, Nes-min is
seen plowing the field, and sowing the grain (neither of which he would have done in real-life: he was a temple
priest). In the bottom register, he harvests the grain with a curved sickle, and urges on the oxen as they thresh the
grain. (Redrawn from reference [1])

Figure 2. Modern painting, on Papyrus, of Queen Nefertiti. The horizontal and vertical strips of the papyrus plant
are readily seen.

The papyrus plant is aquatic (Figure 3), and is part of the sedge family. It grows on riverbanks in
wet regions of the Mediterranean: in Ethiopia, the Jordan River Valley, and of course, in the Nile
Valley. The Papyrus stems are roughly triangular in cross-section, and may be fifteen cm. thick
at the base: the stems can grow up to 450cm. in length (Figure 3, and ref [4]) Papyrus may also
grow in water that is up to three feet deep. The stems of the papyrus plant comprise about 60%
cellulose and 30% lignin (and see section 4).
 a) b) c)
Figure 3. The papyrus plant. a) "Pen and ink" drawing of papyrus, showing the reed-like nature of this aquatic plant.
(redrawn from reference [2]) b) Hunting scene from the tomb of Nakht (eighteenth dynasty). A papyrus thicket is in
the background. The height of the papyrus reed may be gauged by comparing the size of the plant with the female
figure in front of the thicket. c) Another papyrus thicket from the Tomb of Menna (eighteenth dynasty). It is likely
that the geese are being hunted using boomerangs (Parts b) and c) are reproduced from reference [3])

Papyrus has little economic value today, but in antiquity it had numerous uses, as the material
from which mats, baskets, sandals and primitive boats were made. There is an Egyptian tomb
painting of a boatman wearing a papyrus life-vest: the plant contained many air-ducts, which
gave buoyancy to the reed. The papyrus reed could also be used as a roofing material. However,
its major claim to fame lay in its use as “paper” [5]. Papyrus was used by the Egyptians as early
as the third millennium BC, and was later adopted by both the Greeks and the Romans, who
were still using papyrus as late as the fifth century AD.

2. Historical Perspectives
Papyrus is as old as writing itself: various claims have been made for the use of papyrus as early
as 4000BC, but the oldest known papyrus document has been dated to the reign of the Egyptian
king Assa, ca. 2600BC [6]. The importance of papyrus to the ancient Egyptians may be gauged
by the fact that it was one of the symbols of Lower Egypt.

In Egypt, the art of papyrus paper-making was both a state monopoly, and a state secret. The art
and technology of the production of papyrus paper was gradually lost, after the Arabs introduced
the processing of pulped paper to the West, sometime in the tenth century AD [7]. Thereafter, the
papyrus plant was no longer cultivated on the banks of the Nile, and by modern times the
papyrus plant no longer grew in Egypt. One of the few "documents", which describes the
processing of papyrus, is Pliny's "Natural History" [8]. He writes:

Paper is made from the papyrus plant by separating it with a needle point into very thin strips as
broad as possible. The choice quality comes from the center, and thence in the order of slicing.
The (choice) quality in former times called "hieratic" because it was devoted only to religious
books has, out of flattery, taken on the name of Augustus, and the next quality that of Liva, after
his wife, so that the "hieratic" has dropped to third rank."
In the 1960s, Dr. Hassan Ragab reintroduced the papyrus plant to Egypt, transplanting roots
(rhizomes) from the Sudan. It took Dr. Ragab another three years before he perfected the current
technique of papyrus paper making. Today, the "papyrus industry" supplies written documents
and paintings worldwide (e.g., see Figure 2).

a) b)

d)

c)

Figure 4. The production of papyrus scrolls and codices. a) Strips of the inner pith are pressed together to form
sheets with parallel fibers. b) Two sheets, with mutually orthogonal fibers are overlaid and pressed between sheets
of cotton, until dry. c) A papyrus scroll is made from up to twenty individual sheets of papyrus, using a paste to
bond adjacent sheets to each other. d) a codex can be produced by cutting and binding. (Figures adapted from ref
[9])

In the vast majority of cases, the writing on papyrus was on one side only, that with the
horizontal fibers outermost (recto), as opposed to the side with vertical fibers outermost (verso).
When the length of a document exceeded the size of a single sheet of papyrus, then multiple
sheets were glued together to produce a "scroll". A typical scroll might be 35cm wide, and up to
11m long. The scroll was "read" by unwinding it with the right hand, whilst rewinding with the
left. Eventually, the scroll was replaced by the "codex", which is similar to a modern book (and
see Figure 4).

3. The Processing of “Papyrus Paper”

The following "recipe" is patterned after the method developed by Hassan Ragab. The papyrus
stalks are harvested during the summer season and the outer skin of the stalk is discarded. The
inner, pithy regions are cut into thin, long strips and soaked in water for a few days, which
dissolves the soluble carbohydrates. The pliable strips are then squeezed with a wooden roller to
expel much of the residual sap; the strips are cut to size and placed on a cotton sheet, such that
they overlap each other, forming a parallel series of strips (Figure 4a). A second sequence of
parallel strips, but at right angles to the first set, is then overlaid on the first (Figure 4b) and
covered with a second cotton sheet. The "composite" is then pressed, with the cotton sheets
being replaced periodically, until the sheet of papyrus has dried. To form a scroll, several sheets
of papyrus are joined together using a paste. According to Pliny, there were never more than
twenty sheets in a scroll: however, longer scrolls have been found. The paste used in Pliny's time
consisted of flour dissolved in boiling water to which a sprinkle of vinegar had been added. A
"codex" could be processed by taking a papyrus scroll and slicing it into a series of "pages",
which could then be assembled into a codex, (Figures 4c, d)

A note added in proof! A recent "theory" claims that papyrus sheets could be produced by
continuously peeling the pith of the papyrus stalk all the way down to the middle. Only two or
three of these peeled strips would then be needed for a single sheet. There is also disagreement
over the use, or lack thereof, of a paste to aid in the bonding of the two orthogonal layers in
Figures 4a, b. One group of research workers argues for the use of paste, whilst others claim that
a combination of residual sap, and mechanical interlocking of the "crossed" fibers, would
produce a strong bond between the layers. All parties agree, however, that it was crucial to apply
pressure to the "composite" during drying, otherwise, the papyrus sheet would buckle and
delaminate.

4. The Structure of Papyrus

In common with most plants, the fibrous nature of papyrus is governed by the hollow, needle like
nature of its cells. These cells are elongated, with cell walls that are predominantly cellulose,
together with lignin and hemicellulose. Cellulose is a naturally occurring macromolecule
(polymer), which is based on a sugar (glucose) molecule. The cellulose molecules form a
crystalline solid, and are arranged into strands, called fibrils, which are then organized into the
cell walls of the plant. Lignin is a cross-linked polymeric material, and is "used" as the binding
agent between individual cells.
CH 2OH OH OH CH2 OH OH OH
C O C C C O C C
H H H H H H
HO C H H C OH + HO C H H C OH O C H H C O C H H C O
H H H + H H H
C C C O C C C O
a) H2O
OH OH CH2 OH b) OH OH CH 2OH

Figure 5. Schematic diagrams of the relationship between the glucose molecule, shown in a), (glucose is the
precursor to cellulose), and the cellulose macromolecule (a dimer of which is shown in b)). Two molecules of
glucose, (a)), can polymerize to create a dimer (two units) of cellulose (b)). The "polymerization" reaction involves
"condensation", which produces a molecule of water (from the species in the shaded region in a)), and creates an
"oxygen bridge", between the two monomers, as shown by the shaded region in b).
 H H
O O
CH 2 CH 2

O O O O

H CH 2 H CH 2
O O O O
CH 2 H CH 2 H

O O O O

H CH 2 H CH 2
O O O O
CH 2 H CH 2 H

O O O O

CH 2 CH 2
O O
H H

Figure 6. Three small segments of adjacent cellulose macromolecules: the segments are running horizontally. The
three chain molecules are linked by intermolecular bonds, which are hydrogen bonds: these hydrogen bonds are
shown by the thick, gray, vertical lines. The hydrogen bonds are formed between the electropositive hydrogens on
one chain, and the electronegative oxygens on the neighboring chains. The degree of hydrogen bonding is
maximized because adjacent cellulose monomers on a single chain, are rotated by 180˚, about the chain axis, with
respect to each other. The result is a relatively stiff and strong, crystalline material

The process of polymerization in a cell wall is shown in Figure 5: a cellulose dimer (Figure 5b)
is shown to form from two precursor molecules of glucose (Figure 5a). The glucose molecules
themselves are formed in the leaves, from water and carbon dioxide through photosynthesis. The
glucose molecules polymerize in growing fiber cells by a "condensation reaction", (the species
that will form a water molecule are highlighted on Figure 5a). The condensation reaction also
creates an "oxygen bridge" (highlighted on Figure 5b) between the two adjacent precursor
molecules. The water is transported away in the sap. Further polymerization, through
condensation, produces the polymer molecule. The individual macromolecules of cellulose are
hydrogen bonded to each other (Figure 6), yielding a strong, crystalline material. Recent studies
have shown that the cellulose fibrils trace a steep spiral around the cell.
Cell Cavity (Lumen)

Cellulose Fibrils in a
Secondary Walls Lignin Matrix

Cell Cavity
Primary Wall

Intercellular layer
Rectangular Cell (Lignin + Hemicellulose)

Cell Wall

a) b)
Figure 7. The microstructure of a plant, such as papyrus. a) Schematic drawing of the elongated cells, which
comprise a plant fiber. The cell walls have a complex structure, comprizing several layers, all of which consist of
cellulose fibers in a matrix of lignin and hemicellulose (Figure adapted from reference [10]). b) Scanning electron
microscope image of the cell structure in a soft wood: this structure will strongly mimic the cell structure of papyrus.
The microstructure of wood consists of a honeycomb structure of the cells, running parallel to
the axis of the plant (Figures 7a and b). The cell structure comprises the cell cavity or lumen, the
cell wall itself, and the intercellular layer, which binds adjacent cells together. Although the cell
wall structure is complex, it is comprised predominantly of a spiraling, crystalline network of
cellulose molecules: the longitudinal strength of the plant derives from this network. The
intercellular layer is comprised of lignin (a cross-linked phenol-propanol thermoset) and
hemicellulose, the latter of which is a branched, low molecular weight version of cellulose. The
matrix of lignin plus hemicellulose accounts for the transverse strength of the wood.

5. Properties of Papyrus
The mechanical properties of papyrus, indeed of all plant life, derive from the polymer molecule,
cellulose. We have already described the "structure" of cellulose (Section 4), but it is worth
emphasizing here, that the strength and rigidity of the plant kingdom is dependant on the
hydrogen bonds that form between adjacent macromolecules. The hydrogen bonding in cellulose
is maximized because adjacent glucose-related mers are rotated by 180˚ with respect to each
other, resulting in extensive hydrogen bonding, (Figure 6). Additionally, the cellulose chains are
not branched. Hence, the cellulose macromolecules are parallel to each other, and individual
cellulose molecules may have lengths well in excess of the length of a typical cellulose crystal.

It is interesting at this point, to compare the properties of animal fibers (protein) with plant fiber
(cellulose). The former is destroyed by heat, whereas the latter, which is hydrogen bonded, is
largely unaffected. Hence, you should not wash animal fibers such as wool in hot water, whereas
plant fiber (e.g. cotton) remains unaffected. Indeed, the strong hydrogen bonding in cellulose is
akin to the cross-linking in thermosets, and cellulose will not melt as would a conventional
thermoplastic: rather it will eventually degrade or char, producing carbon, carbon dioxide and
water at high enough temperatures.

Cellulosic materials also display good dimensional stability [11], i.e., these are "elastic"
materials, because of the hydrogen bonding. Most plant fiber materials will revert to their
original shape after stressing, when the stress is removed, because the hydrogen "cross-links"
keep the chain molecules together whilst being deformed. However, the hydrogen bonds may be
disrupted by water, and the material can become plastic (as opposed to elastic). Hence the need
for pressing the "papyrus paper" whilst wet; the hydrogen bonding network is disrupted, and the
"paper" will plastically deform. Once dry, the papyrus may be elastically formed into a scroll,
but will not be permanently deformed by the rolling.

The strong hydrogen bonding is also partly responsible for the relative chemical nonreactivity of
cellulosic materials: few common solvents will dissolve cellulose, and it is not processed by the
body, nutritionally it is defined as a "fiber" [12].

6. Summary
Papyrus has been part of the Egyptian consciousness for many millennia. In pre-dynastic times, it
was used as matting, for making baskets and as a roofing material. With the onset of written
language, its primary application became one of record keeping; it was used as the first “paper”.
The need for papyrus diminished in the first millennium AD, as other media were employed for
writing. The use of papyrus has now come “full-circle”, with the rediscovery of the techniques
for the production of papyrus “paper”: once more, papyrus documents are being produced in
Egypt

7. References.
[1] "The Papyrus of Nes-min". http://www.dia.org/bulletin/papyrus/
[2] http://sunsite.berkely.edu/Scriptorium/Class/MurgImgs/pplant.html
[3] "Egyptian Wall Paintings: A Mentor-Unesco Art Book". The New American Library of
World Literature, Inc., New York, NY. (1962))
[4] Ethnobotanical Leaflets”. Matt Burmeister
[5] http://www.librarypreservation.org/preservation/papyrus.htm
[6] Papyrus (5th Cent. BCE – 8th Cent. CE). http://www.earlham.edu/~seidti/iam/papyrus.html
[7] Papyrus History. http://www.geocities.com
[8] Pliny. Natural History, 13, (~ 70AD (?)) 74-82.
[9] http://condor.depaul.edu/~sbuckling/extra/codex2.jpg
[10]. "The New Science of Strong Materials, or Why you don't fall through the Floor". J. E.
Gordon. Penguin Books. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, UK. (1976)
[11] http://www.fibersource.com/f-tutor/cellulose.htm
[12] http://www.uwsp.edu/natres715/Enrolled%20Students%20Students/nres-715-iii-section-
c.htm