Study on the detachment of fluorescent whitening agents from white waster papers

Abstract

White waste papers are very important resources in the paper industry, but their use is limited because of the residual of fluorescent whitening agent (FWA). So the removal of FWAs from waste paper is an important task in the recycling process to improve the use of recycled resources. In this study, we focused on the FWAs used for surface treatments and carried out physical and chemical treatments to remove them from white waste papers. The white waste papers were disintegrated with a surfactant in different pH and temperature conditions, and then handsheets were made for the measurement of the fluorescence index, which is proportional to the amount of FWAs on papers. The effect of the flotation process on the removal of FWAs after disintegration was also investigated. The fluorescence index decreased as the disintegration time increased, but over a relatively long time, the fluorescence index increased again, which indicated the readsorption of the FWAs detached from the cellulosic fibers of the white waste papers. The lowest fluorescence index was shown when the waste papers were disintegrated with a 0.3% surfactant addition at pH 10 and at 45°C. However, the flotation treatment was not effective, because the flotation induced contact between the detached FWAs and the cellulosic fibers, and re-adsorption occurred. ? 2016, Korean Technical Assoc. of the Pulp and Paper Industry. All rights reserved.