INDUSTRIAL MATERIALS — Source identification. Question: Wood is the main raw material for the manufacture of which of the following products at industrial scale?

Introduction / Context:
Many everyday materials trace back to natural resources. Understanding these value chains helps in environmental awareness and industry basics. Wood, specifically from sustainably managed forests, is a critical feedstock for one major product used globally: paper.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Wood comprises cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin.
• Pulping processes free cellulose fibers for papermaking.
• Other listed products use different primary feedstocks.

Concept / Approach:
Pulp and paper mills convert logs or wood chips into pulp via mechanical, chemical (kraft/sulfite), or semi-chemical processes. The cellulose fibers are then processed into a vast range of paper and board grades. Paints rely primarily on resins, pigments, and solvents; inks on pigments/dyes and vehicles; traditional gunpowder uses charcoal (which originates from wood) plus sulfur and potassium nitrate, but the principal bulk raw material for papermaking is unambiguously wood.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Identify the industry that consumes vast quantities of wood → pulp & paper.Recall that paper is formed from cellulose fibers derived from wood pulp.Eliminate alternatives that depend on other primary inputs (resins, minerals, petrochemicals).

Verification / Alternative check:
Industry statistics show wood pulp as the dominant raw material in paper manufacture, with increasing recycled fiber content augmenting but not replacing virgin wood in many grades.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
A) Paint uses binders and pigments; wood is not its main raw material.C) Ink compositions center on vehicles and pigments, not wood.D) Gunpowder includes charcoal (from wood) but also sulfur and nitrate; the question asks for the main industrial product with wood as the core bulk feedstock, which is paper.E) Glass is made from silica, soda ash, and limestone.

Common Pitfalls:
Equating “contains some wood derivative” with “main raw material.” Only paper manufacturing directly depends on large-scale wood fiber.

Final Answer:
paper