<p><strong>About 12 million BTU, or 3.5 MWh.</strong></p>

<p>I searched for <a href="https://www.google.ca/search?q=paper+btu&amp;oq=paper+btu&amp;aqs=chrome.0.69i59j69i60.982j0j1&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;es_sm=91&amp;ie=UTF-8" rel="nofollow"><em>paper btu</em></a> and got <a href="http://www.balboa-pacific.com/WasteToEnergy/BTU_Values.pdf" rel="nofollow">loads</a>... <a href="http://infohouse.p2ric.org/ref/11/10059.pdf" rel="nofollow">of</a>... <a href="http://msw.cecs.ucf.edu/EnergyProblem.pdf" rel="nofollow">hits</a>.</p>

<p>Seems like 7000 BTU/lb is a decent starting point, or $1.6 \times 10^7\ \mathrm{J/kg}$. If we say a ream of letter-size paper weighs about 5 lb, then we can calculate that paper yields about <a href="http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=2.25+kg+*+%281+m%5E3+%2F+%288.5+in+*+11+in+*+2+in%29%29+*+1.7*10%5E7+J%2Fkg" rel="nofollow">$1.2 \times 10^{10}\ \mathrm{J/m^3}$</a> when burned — enough to heat the average US house for 15 weeks.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-02T01:03:10.640Z
2015-12-02T12:36:37.817Z
2015-12-02T12:36:37.817Z
Matt Hall
<p>7,000 btu's per pound x 5 pounds is 35,000 BTUs. A far cry from 12 million BTU (12,000,000 / 35,000 = 342 reams of paper = 34 cases of paper.  and 1 gallon of gas contains 119800 BTU heat.  Realize that 1 BTU is the amount of heat needed to raise 1 pound of water 1 degree F.  So the heat in 1 ream of paper is equivalent to .29 gallons of gas.  In stead of heating a US house for 15 weeks, 1 ream of paper can heat a house for (15 weeks * 7 days * 24 Hours = 2520 hours).  Divide by 342 reams of paper...and 1 ream of paper can heat the house for 7 hours.  Check out this conversion calculator.  <a href="https://mhi-inc.com/Converter/energy-converter.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://mhi-inc.com/Converter/energy-converter.html</a>.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-07-31T13:13:26.863Z
The question -- and my answer -- was about 1 cubic metre of paper, not one ream. As I said in my answer, 7000 BTU/lb was the starting point for this approximation. The result was 12 gigajoules, which is a bit more than 12 million BTU.
Matt Hall
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-07-30T12:28:27.550Z
2024-07-30T12:28:27.550Z
The Human Oracle
<p>I am brewing on an idea where instead of cursing and throwing all our physical junk mail in the paper recycling bin, we process it into pellets to be burned in our fireplace as free fuel.</p>

<p>Before I start I would like to run the numbers but I am having a hard time finding the actual effect of burning said paper.</p>

<p>According to <a href="https://chimneysweeponline.com/howood.htm" rel="nofollow">this</a> page regular birch firewood will burn at 14 million BTU per cubic meter (20 per chord). What is the comparable amount for waste paper?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-02T05:56:41.867Z
I believe Japan does this with a significant amount of their trash.
Kyranstar
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-02T07:55:56.690Z
Is this question on-topic here? A better place would be [Sustainable living](http://sustainability.stackexchange.com/)
Jan Doggen
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-02T07:57:10.793Z
You should also investigate what's in the ink and where that goes when recycling or burning.
Jan Doggen
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-03T07:55:03.893Z
Note that your stoveis likely designed for wood (paper is hotter), that paper has a far higher ash content, high gloss paper contains boron as a flame suppressor, ink may be an emission problem and some jurisdictions outright forbid domestic paper incineration.
mart
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-21T01:02:40.823Z
^ "a ream of paper is enough to heat the average US house for 15 weeks." lol - there's something way off about the math on this one. 500 sheets of paper heating a house for months is idiotic.
user183896
<environmental-protection><resources>
How many BTU per cubic meter does typical paper waste yield when burned in a modern domestic fireplace
Mr. Developerdude
# How many BTU per cubic meter does typical paper waste yield when burned in a modern domestic fireplace

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-12-01)

I am brewing on an idea where instead of cursing and throwing all our physical junk mail in the paper recycling bin, we process it into pellets to be burned in our fireplace as free fuel.

Before I start I would like to run the numbers but I am having a hard time finding the actual effect of burning said paper.

According to [this](https://chimneysweeponline.com/howood.htm) page regular birch firewood will burn at 14 million BTU per cubic meter (20 per chord). What is the comparable amount for waste paper?

**Tags:** environmental-protection, resources

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I believe Japan does this with a significant amount of their trash.  
> **username_2**: Is this question on-topic here? A better place would be [Sustainable living](http://sustainability.stackexchange.com/)  
> **username_2**: You should also investigate what's in the ink and where that goes when recycling or burning.  
> **username_3**: Note that your stoveis likely designed for wood (paper is hotter), that paper has a far higher ash content, high gloss paper contains boron as a flame suppressor, ink may be an emission problem and some jurisdictions outright forbid domestic paper incineration.  
> **username_4**: ^ "a ream of paper is enough to heat the average US house for 15 weeks." lol - there's something way off about the math on this one. 500 sheets of paper heating a house for months is idiotic.  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2015-12-02. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

**About 12 million BTU, or 3.5 MWh.**

I searched for [*paper btu*](https://www.google.ca/search?q=paper+btu&oq=paper+btu&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j69i60.982j0j1&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=91&ie=UTF-8) and got [loads](http://www.balboa-pacific.com/WasteToEnergy/BTU_Values.pdf)... [of](http://infohouse.p2ric.org/ref/11/10059.pdf)... [hits](http://msw.cecs.ucf.edu/EnergyProblem.pdf).

Seems like 7000 BTU/lb is a decent starting point, or $1.6 \times 10^7\ \mathrm{J/kg}$. If we say a ream of letter-size paper weighs about 5 lb, then we can calculate that paper yields about [$1.2 \times 10^{10}\ \mathrm{J/m^3}$](http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=2.25+kg+*+%281+m%5E3+%2F+%288.5+in+*+11+in+*+2+in%29%29+*+1.7*10%5E7+J%2Fkg) when burned — enough to heat the average US house for 15 weeks.


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### Answer by username_6 on 2024-07-30. Score: -2

7,000 btu's per pound x 5 pounds is 35,000 BTUs. A far cry from 12 million BTU (12,000,000 / 35,000 = 342 reams of paper = 34 cases of paper. and 1 gallon of gas contains 119800 BTU heat. Realize that 1 BTU is the amount of heat needed to raise 1 pound of water 1 degree F. So the heat in 1 ream of paper is equivalent to .29 gallons of gas. In stead of heating a US house for 15 weeks, 1 ream of paper can heat a house for (15 weeks \* 7 days \* 24 Hours = 2520 hours). Divide by 342 reams of paper...and 1 ream of paper can heat the house for 7 hours. Check out this conversion calculator. <https://mhi-inc.com/Converter/energy-converter.html>.

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: The question -- and my answer -- was about 1 cubic metre of paper, not one ream. As I said in my answer, 7000 BTU/lb was the starting point for this approximation. The result was 12 gigajoules, which is a bit more than 12 million BTU.  

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