Abstract
MOW (Mixed Office Waste) mainly consisted of photocopied paper is being recycled to produce tissue or fine paper products. Toner particles that are fused and set on paper surface in photocopying process turns into large and plate-shaped particles after repulping which prevents them to be removed effectively in flotation deinking. The immediate purpose of this study is to find the effective deinking technology that increases the recycling potential of photocopied papers for manufacturing tissue and fine paper products. In this study the effects of pulping temperature and the type of hydrophobic groups of nonionic surfactants on the deinking efficiency of photocopied paper has been investigated. Particle size distribution of the toner particles after pulping and flotation, brightness, yield and ash removal were investigated. The size of toner particles after pulping increased as the pulping temperature was increased. When pulping at the low temperature finer toner particles were generated, however, greater amount of toner particles was found to attach to the fiber. When the pulping temperature was greater than Tg of the toner, the amount of coarse hairy particles increased. When nonionic surfactants with a double bond in hydrophobic groups were used, toner removal efficiency, brightness and ash removal were increased. As the addition level of surfactant was increased, yield decreased rather sharply without improving brightness.