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Electric treatment for hydrophilic ink deinking
Xiaotang Du1, Jeffery S Hsieh1
1Pulp and Paper Engineering, School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30308-100 USA
Summary
Electric treatment enhances hydrophilic ink removal in papermaking. This method, particularly using graphite anodes, significantly reduces effective residual ink concentration (ERIC) and improves deinking efficiency.
Area of Science:
- Recycling and Waste Management
- Surface Chemistry
- Electrochemistry
Background:
- Hydrophilic inks pose challenges in paper recycling due to their small size, negative charge, and wettability.
- Traditional deinking methods struggle with efficient removal of these problematic ink particles.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effectiveness of electric treatment in enhancing hydrophilic ink removal.
- To compare different anode materials (graphite and stainless steel) for electric treatment in deinking.
- To evaluate a combined electric pretreatment-flotation-hyperwashing process for industrial paper recycling.
Main Methods:
- Electrocoagulation and electrophoresis to increase ink particle size.
- Electroflotation and electrophoresis using graphite and stainless steel anodes.
- Comparison of electric treatment-assisted flotation with traditional flotation.
- Implementation of an electric pretreatment-flotation-hyperwashing process.
Main Results:
- Electric treatment increased ink particle size from 60 nm to 700 nm.
- Electric treatment-assisted flotation reduced effective residual ink concentration (ERIC) by 90 ppm, versus 20 ppm for traditional flotation.
- Graphite anodes outperformed stainless steel, reducing ERIC by an additional 100 ppm and lowering yield loss by 17%.
- The integrated process reduced ERIC from 950 ppm to under 400 ppm.
Conclusions:
- Electric treatment is a viable method for improving hydrophilic ink separation.
- Graphite is a superior anode material for electric treatment in deinking applications.
- The combined electric pretreatment-flotation-hyperwashing process shows significant potential for industrial paper recycling.
