Abstract
White ledger usually includes white office paper, computer paper, and copy machine paper. Because these grades need high optical properties, fluorescent whitening agents (FWAs) are widely used in the papermaking process. FWAs are the most powerful and effective chemical used to obtain high CIE whiteness and ISO brightness in papers. The rising demand for white or ultra-white papers has increased the use of FWAs. However, FWAs used in white ledger can restrict its use, even though white ledger is widely used as a raw material in paperboard mills. Therefore, it is necessary to develop methods to control FWAs from white ledger to increase its use in paperboard mills. In this study, the behaviors of disulpho fluorescent whitening agent (D-FWA), tetrasulpo fluorescent whitening agent (T-FWA), and hexasulpho fluorescent whitening agent (H-FWA) during the recycling process were identified as a first step to remove FWAs from white ledger. We prepared four types of papers (dyed with D-FWA, T-FWA, and H-FWA), disintegrated these papers, and made handsheets. This recycling process was carried out three times in a laboratory. After each round of recycling, the hand-sheets' CIE whiteness and fluorescence index were measured, and the distribution of FWAs in the Z-direction was observed using CLSM images. FWA reductions in the model papers were calculated using fluorescence indices as a function of the number of recycling. FWAs in handsheets containing T-FWA and H-FWA decreased linearly as a function of the number of recycling, but D-FWA did not show a significant reduction in the fluorescence index after recycling. T-FWA and H-FWA showed similar distributions of D-FWA after recycling. Therefore, as much T-FWA and H-FWA as possible must be detached in the early processes of papermaking at paperboard mills.
