An analysis of paper made from the dung of elephant, rhinoceros and other wild herbivores to develop conservation guidelines

Abstract

Paper has been around from the 3rd century BC. From then on different kinds of paper were made but the original recipe remained the back bone of how paper is made today. In this study the different components of paper were discussed to understand what paper is, namely: Cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. The food preferences of elephants and how their food is broken down in the gastrointestinal process showed why the artist could use elephant dung for paper making as shortcut in the papermaking process. The chemical processes to prepare the dung explained the bonding processes of the different components of paper to achieve good quality paper. Paper made from elephant, rhinoceros and other herbivores’ dung were analysed to find out what the components of the paper are and if it will lead to deterioration of the paper. Experiments such as UV light exposure, pH, lignin test, hygroscopic test and tear resistance were carried out on eight different paper samples. The samples were of unsized rhinoceros dung fibre paper, sized rhinoceros dung paper, rhinoceros dung mixed with Sappi paper, only Sappi paper, Kruger elephant dung paper, white rhinoceros dung paper, Chinese artist paper, and newsprint paper. The results showed that because of the low lignin content of the paper, lignin might not have any detrimental effect on the paper. Discolouring of the paper under UV light exposure where possibly because of oxidation where bonds between hemicellulose and cellulose degraded. The alkaline pH of all the paper samples except the newsprint paper, indicated the possible good quality and high durability of the paper. To conserve handmade paper, the guidelines of all the conservational institutions are an essential tool. The main degradation cause of paper is its inherent instability that will increase under heat and fluctuation of relative humidity. It is therefore essential to keep to the conservational guidelines to prolong the lifespan of paper.