[eli5] Why does the lignum has to be removed from wood in the process of paper making?
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The primary constituents of wood fibers are cellulose, lignin, and hemicellulose. As has been said in one of the comments lignin is essentially what allows wood fibers to maintain its rigidity while still part of a tree. Paper derives it’s strength (and many other favorable properties ) largely from cellulose, while lignin contributes to several unfavorable paper properties (discoloration) and the abundance of lignin in paper product means you have less cellulose i.e. less abundance of good stuff. The “strength” of wood fibers is not analogous to the strength of paper, as the latter relates to bonds made between fibers during the papermaking process and length of fiber
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