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Production of recycled paper using harmless municipal sludge as a new biomass filler

  • Hao Sun , Xiyu Chen , Lingjun Wei EMAIL logo , Jieyu Cui , Wanlu Zhang and Longfei Liu
Published/Copyright: April 16, 2024
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Nordic Pulp & Paper Research Journal
From the journal Nordic Pulp & Paper Research Journal Volume 39 Issue 2

Abstract

Due to a shortage of resources, exploring new biomass fillers has become critical for paper making. In this study, we reported an eco-friendly strategy for fabricating low-cost and efficient recycled paper with high mechanical properties using corrugated cardboard waste paper and harmless municipal sludge (HMS). First, the characteristics of HMS, including the particle size, pH, specific surface area, organic functional groups and organic component content, were analyzed. Then, the influence of the amount of HMS on the properties of the recycled paper was studied. Finally, the strengthening mechanism of biomass filling recycled paper was discussed. The results showed that HMS, a biomass filler for recycled paper preparation, exhibited excellent physical and chemical properties, with a median particle size of 6.395 μm, a surface area of 39.974 m2 g−1 and organic functional groups. The tensile index of the recycled paper with 30 % HMS was 13.10 Nm/g, which was 16.4 % greater than that of the unfilled paper and showed better thermal stability. This excellent performance could be attributed to the uniform distribution of HMS on the fiber surface, which improved the accessibility of hydrogen bond formation between fibers. Thus, this study proved that HMS was an excellent biomass filler for producing recycled paper.

Keywords: harmless municipal sludge; waste paper; biomass fillers; filtration molding; mechanical properties
Corresponding author: Lingjun Wei, School of Mechanical Engineering, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Food Manufacturing Equipment & Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China, E-mail:

Funding source: Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Food Advanced Manufacturing Equipment Technology

Award Identifier / Grant number: FMZ201905

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Food Advanced Manufacturing Equipment Technology (FMZ201905).

  1. Research ethics: Not applicable.

  2. Author contributions: Hao Sun: supervision, writing – review & editing, visualization, funding acquisition. Xiyu Chen: conceptualization, methodology, writing – original draft software, data curation. Lingjun Wei: supervision, project administration, investigation, writing – review & editing. Jieyu Cui: investigation, methodology, data curation. Wanglu Zhang: software, investigation. Longfei Liu: investigation, visualization. Chen Haiyinga: investigation, visualization.

  3. Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

  4. Research funding: The Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Food Advanced Manufacturing Equipment Technology (FMZ201905).

  5. Data availability: The raw data can be obtained on request from the corresponding author.

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Received: 2024-02-06
Accepted: 2024-04-04
Published Online: 2024-04-16
Published in Print: 2024-06-25

© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Biorefining
  3. Advances and prospects for adsorption-driven valorization of newspapers using activated carbon: a short review
  4. Influence of spent liquor obtained from SO2–ethanol–water (SEW) fractionation of Eucalyptus on drifting sands stabilization
  5. Paper Technology
  6. Drying characteristics and thin layer drying model of semi-mature rice paper
  7. Monitoring solids content development in pilot-scale through air drying of tissue paper
  8. Strength and thermal insulation properties of foam-formed ceramic fiber paper with different reinforcement methods
  9. Paper Physics
  10. Heterogeneity characterization of commercial structural papers
  11. Paper Chemistry
  12. Production of recycled paper using harmless municipal sludge as a new biomass filler
  13. Environmental Impact
  14. Preparation and characterization of nanocellulose acetate and acrylate polymer composite membrane
  15. Fabrication of modified lignin-based liquid mulching film and its potential application
  16. Modification of polyvinyl alcohol with 2-hydroxypropionic acid and cross-linking with glutaraldehyde for the preparation of biodegradable mulch paper and its properties
  17. Recycling
  18. Research on the brightening effect of miscible wetting additives on fly ash coatings
  19. Nanotechnology
  20. Nanofibrillated pulps from Amazonian species as a potential raw material for ecological packaging
  21. Chemical Technology/Modifications
  22. Effect of in-situ mineralization of calcium carbonate on the aging resistance of Wikstroemia bast fiber
  23. Miscellaneous
  24. Utilization of rice straw for parallel production of sugars rich extract and paper
https://doi.org/10.1515/npprj-2024-0007
Keywords for this article
harmless municipal sludge; waste paper; biomass fillers; filtration molding; mechanical properties

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Biorefining
  3. Advances and prospects for adsorption-driven valorization of newspapers using activated carbon: a short review
  4. Influence of spent liquor obtained from SO2–ethanol–water (SEW) fractionation of Eucalyptus on drifting sands stabilization
  5. Paper Technology
  6. Drying characteristics and thin layer drying model of semi-mature rice paper
  7. Monitoring solids content development in pilot-scale through air drying of tissue paper
  8. Strength and thermal insulation properties of foam-formed ceramic fiber paper with different reinforcement methods
  9. Paper Physics
  10. Heterogeneity characterization of commercial structural papers
  11. Paper Chemistry
  12. Production of recycled paper using harmless municipal sludge as a new biomass filler
  13. Environmental Impact
  14. Preparation and characterization of nanocellulose acetate and acrylate polymer composite membrane
  15. Fabrication of modified lignin-based liquid mulching film and its potential application
  16. Modification of polyvinyl alcohol with 2-hydroxypropionic acid and cross-linking with glutaraldehyde for the preparation of biodegradable mulch paper and its properties
  17. Recycling
  18. Research on the brightening effect of miscible wetting additives on fly ash coatings
  19. Nanotechnology
  20. Nanofibrillated pulps from Amazonian species as a potential raw material for ecological packaging
  21. Chemical Technology/Modifications
  22. Effect of in-situ mineralization of calcium carbonate on the aging resistance of Wikstroemia bast fiber
  23. Miscellaneous
  24. Utilization of rice straw for parallel production of sugars rich extract and paper
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