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Alternative Filler Recovery from Paper Waste Stream

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Abstract

The study is a first investigation of the feasibility to preserve recycled fillers (e.g. calcium carbonate, kaolin) from deinking paper sludge for newspaper production using an alternative approach respect to the actual methods. Deinking paper sludge was incinerated at 575 °C. The thermal stability of the incinerated sludge (ash) was evaluated by infrared analysis. Subsequently, the resulting ash was bleached by sodium dithionite. The particle size of the ashes was analysed by laser diffraction. The effect of recycled fillers on recycled paper pulp, after blending, was evaluated by the analysis of the physical and optical properties of the obtained paper sheets. Analysis showed the conservation of the calcium carbonate and other fillers’ molecular structure, both after incineration of the sludge and after bleaching. The dithionite treatment of the ashes resulted in ISO brightness levels of more than 70. The brightness was stable over one month. Paper sheets made by blending the bleached ashes with recycled paper showed an improvement of brightness and opacity but a decrease in terms of porosity and breaking length compared to paper sheets made without any filler. The proposed method still requires further studies to evaluate the economical application but offers an opportunity for the recycling of inorganic materials and valorisation of the sludge.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by research funding from Flanders Innovation & Entrepreneurship (VLAIO, project number IWT.155050) and University of Antwerp.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. iPRACS – Intelligence in Processes, Advanced Catalysts and Solvents, Faculty of Applied Engineering, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium

    G. Tofani, J. de Nys & S. Tavernier

  2. BioWaVE – Biochemical Wastewater Valorisation and Engineering, Faculty of Applied Engineering, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium

    I. Cornet

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  1. G. Tofani
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Tofani, G., de Nys, J., Cornet, I. et al. Alternative Filler Recovery from Paper Waste Stream. Waste Biomass Valor 12, 503–514 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-020-01011-7

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