The Effects of Multiple Recycling on Deinkability, Optical and Physical Properties of Recycled Paper

This study examined the effects of multiple recycling on deinkability and properties of recycled paper from laser computer printout(LCPO). First, alkaline paper with a 20% printed area was disintegrated by TAPPI standard disintegrator. After dewatering , the pulp was followed by flotation, handsheet making, and drying at room temperature, in order. A sequence of printing , disintegrating, flotating , handsheet making and drying was one recycling cycle and this cyclic treatment was repeateed from zero to five times. The residual ink content in recycled handsheets by SEM-EDXA and Py-GC analyseswas increased slightly as recycling number increase. After five cycles of recycling the ISO brightness of recycled handsheets dropped to about 90% of the original brightness. However, it had a gain of 10% in opacity. The most of physical properties of recycled handsheets were decreased as recycling numbers increase except of for tear strength.