What are the cellulose fibers on paper towels?
If you have ever spilled water or any other type of liquid all over the surface and wondered how paper towels absorb the mess so quickly, the answer is cellulose fibers. These cellulose fibers are found on all paper towels, and are responsible for helping to absorb water more effectively than other types of paper, such as napkins or paper plates.
About the Cellulose fibers in paper towels are actually sugar molecules. These small molecules connect to much larger cellulose molecules. Although they are made of sugar, humans do not have the ability to digest, but a cow or goat can. Cellulose has a similar effect to fiber in humans, to help food to move through the digestive system.
enMotion 10” Paper Towel Roll by GP PRO (Georgia-Pacific), White, 89460, 800 Feet Per Roll, 6 Rolls Per Case
Composition
Most paper towels are made of trees, and cellulose is the carbohydrate that most plants make up. Cellulose is made up of polymers, which are large molecules. The attraction between monomers, the individual sugar molecules in the polymer chain, and the water molecules are what creates the absorption in paper towels.
How it works
Capillary action is the term used to describe the water absorption process in a paper towel. This is comparable to the way a plant absorbs water. Instead of being attracted to each other, the cellulose molecules are attracted by water, so that the empty spaces between the cellulose fibers are filled.
Most absorbent paper towels
No matter what brand of paper towels you buy, there is no way to guarantee that each roll will contain the same level of absorption capacity. This is because the natural fibers are composed of not being strong enough to connect the same way each time. Therefore, even if paper towels are made from the same manufacturer, their absorption capacity level may vary.