What is a Banknote made of?
What is a Banknote made of?
Cotton and linen rag paper, or polymer film — never wood pulp, which is why notes survive the wash.
The single most useful fact about banknotes is that they are not paper in the everyday sense: there is no wood pulp in them, which is why a note that goes through a washing machine comes out intact while a receipt disintegrates. Polymer notes, pioneered in Australia in 1988 and now used across the UK, Canada and dozens of other countries, go further — they shrug off water entirely but deform permanently above about 120 °C, so an iron or a tumble dryer destroys them. Cotton for banknote paper is often linter, the short fibre left on the seed after ginning, which is a by-product rather than a competing use of the crop.
Component by component
| Part | Material | Why that material |
|---|---|---|
| substrate (paper notes) | cotton fibre with linen or flax; US notes are 75% cotton and 25% linen | Rag fibres are long and strong and, unlike wood pulp, contain no lignin to yellow and embrittle — a note survives folding and a wash cycle. |
| substrate (polymer notes) | biaxially oriented polypropylene film with opacifying layers | It is far more durable and dirt-resistant, lasts two to five times longer, and allows a genuinely clear window that paper cannot. |
| security thread | a metallised or demetallised polyester thread woven into or windowed through the substrate | It has to be inside the substrate rather than printed on it, which is a step a copier or printer cannot reproduce at all. |
| watermark | variation in fibre thickness formed on the papermaking cylinder | It is created while the sheet is still a wet slurry, so it cannot be added afterwards. |
| fluorescent fibres and planchettes | fibres visible only under ultraviolet light | Ordinary paper glows under UV because of optical brighteners; banknote paper deliberately does not, so a glowing note is a bad sign. |
Other around the house objects
- Lego brick ABS plastic moulded to a tolerance of about ten micrometres — the tightness of the fit is the whole product.
- Soap Fats reacted with lye to make fatty acid salts — and most modern "beauty bars" are not soap at all.
- Toothpaste Mostly abrasive and humectant, with a detergent for foam — the active ingredient is about 0.15% fluoride.
- Coin Base-metal alloys chosen for wear and cost — most modern "silver" coins are copper-nickel and most "copper" ones are plated steel or zinc.
- Sunscreen UV filters — mineral, chemical or both — suspended in an emulsion whose job is to hold them in an even film.
- Credit card Laminated PVC sheets 0.76 mm thick, carrying a silicon chip in epoxy and a copper antenna coil.
- Candle Wax that is really a fuel, and a braided cotton wick that acts as a pump rather than as the thing burning.
- Lipstick Castor oil carrying pigment, set into a stick with waxes — the oil is the workhorse, not the colour.
- Shampoo Three-quarters water, a primary detergent, a milder secondary one, salt to thicken, and silicone to make hair feel smooth.
- Balloon Party balloons are dipped natural rubber latex; foil balloons are metallised plastic film and are not rubber at all.
- Deodorant Deodorant kills the bacteria that cause the smell; antiperspirant uses aluminium salts to plug the sweat duct. Different products.
- Toothbrush Nylon filaments stapled into a polypropylene handle with a wire — three plastics that cannot be separated for recycling.
Common questions
- What is a Banknote made of?
- Cotton and linen rag paper, or polymer film — never wood pulp, which is why notes survive the wash.
- What is the substrate (paper notes) of a Banknote made of?
- Cotton fibre with linen or flax; US notes are 75% cotton and 25% linen. Rag fibres are long and strong and, unlike wood pulp, contain no lignin to yellow and embrittle — a note survives folding and a wash cycle.
- What is the substrate (polymer notes) of a Banknote made of?
- Biaxially oriented polypropylene film with opacifying layers. It is far more durable and dirt-resistant, lasts two to five times longer, and allows a genuinely clear window that paper cannot.
Related pages
- Lego brick ABS plastic moulded to a tolerance of about ten micrometres — the tightness of the fit is the whole product.
- Soap Fats reacted with lye to make fatty acid salts — and most modern "beauty bars" are not soap at all.
- Toothpaste Mostly abrasive and humectant, with a detergent for foam — the active ingredient is about 0.15% fluoride.
- Coin Base-metal alloys chosen for wear and cost — most modern "silver" coins are copper-nickel and most "copper" ones are plated steel or zinc.
- Sunscreen UV filters — mineral, chemical or both — suspended in an emulsion whose job is to hold them in an even film.
- Credit card Laminated PVC sheets 0.76 mm thick, carrying a silicon chip in epoxy and a copper antenna coil.
- Candle Wax that is really a fuel, and a braided cotton wick that acts as a pump rather than as the thing burning.
- Lipstick Castor oil carrying pigment, set into a stick with waxes — the oil is the workhorse, not the colour.
- Pencil Stationery and paper
- Tennis ball Sport and games
- Golf ball Sport and games
- Paper Stationery and paper
- Glass Building materials
- Soccer ball Sport and games
Sources
- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place