Coniferous and deciduous trees are the major fibre source for pulp and paper. Secondary sources include straws from wheat, rye, and rice; canes, such as bagasse; woody stalks from bamboo, flax and hemp; and seed, leaf fibres, such as cotton, abaca and sisal.

Pulp is commercially fibrous material obtained from bamboo, wood, and bagasse( sugarcane fibres) by mechanical and chemical method.

Paper is the aqueous deposits of any vegetable fibre in sheet form.

i) sulfate process is an alkaline process whereas the sulfite process is an acidic process.

ii) The pulp must be bleached more in the sulfate process as compared to the sulfite process.

Main byproducts of the kraft process are turpentine, rosin, and tall of oil soap.

The purpose of pulping is to separate cellulose fibres from the other components of the fibre source. In the case of wood, these include hemicellulose (with 15 to 90 repeated sugar units), lignins ( highly polymerized and complex, mainly phenyl propane units; they act as the "glue " that cements the fibres together), extractives ( fats, waxes, alcohol, phenols and so on), and minerals and other Inorganics.