sustainability
Article Which Wastepaper Should Not Be Processed? Edyta Małachowska 1,2, *, Aneta Lipkiewicz 1 , Marcin Dubowik 1 and Piotr Przybysz 1,2
1 Natural Fibers Advanced Technologies, 42A Blekitna Str., 93-322 Lodz, Poland 2 Institute of Wood Sciences and Furniture, Warsaw University of Life Sciences-SGGW, 159 Nowoursynowska Str., 02-787 Warsaw, Poland * Correspondence: edyta_malachowska@sggw.edu.pl; Tel.: +48-22-59-385-45 Abstract: In the 21st century, numerous economic and environmental initiatives have significantly increased paper recycling, which continues to expand due to environmental awareness. With in- creasing recycling rate, low-quality paper fractions may be included in the process, leading to the overproduction of very low-value papers that cannot be reprocessed. Moreover, the production of paper from poor-quality wastepaper can result in the introduction of chemicals from the recycled paper into the recycling loop and unintended spread of chemical substances. Therefore, reliable and conscious selection of recycled pulp is imperative. To this end, the present study verified the properties of recycled pulp critical for the assessment of its papermaking ability for the production of high-quality sanitary paper. Following an examination of samples, it was found that the key parameters that influence the papermaking ability of wastepaper include presence of impurities, content of extractive substances, freeness, and length of fiber. On this basis, types of wastepaper that, at the very beginning, did not portend well for obtaining paper products with high potential for utility were eliminated.
Keywords: wastepaper; recycling; papermaking ability; waste management
1. Introduction Recovered fibrous raw materials from paper products have long been used for sec- ondary pulp production [1–4]. For several centuries, products of inadequate quality, unsuit- able for further use or with dry breaks, have been used as input materials. With growing demand for paper, however, the processing of used paper products, called wastepaper, has become increasingly significant for obtaining fibrous raw materials. Currently, the pulp and paper industry uses secondary pulp as an indispensable production input. The global paper recycling rate stands at approximately 58% [5–8]. In some of the more developed countries, the recycling rate of wastepaper has reached as high as 70–75% of the total amount of wastepaper generated at the national scale [9]. In particular, Europe stands out with the highest paper recycling rate in the world (72%), followed by North America, whereas Asia, Latin America, and Africa have the lowest recycling rates [10]. Many countries have unceasingly sought to increase this rate by implementing measures to optimize activities from the beginning of paper production until its use, collection, and recycling. Paper and its waste are easily degradable, and the resulting cellulose fibers can be recycled up to seven times [11,12]. Therefore, useful paper waste must be recycled. Efficient wastepaper recycling plays a significant role in building a sustainable environment, offering several benefits over the paper life cycle [13,14]. Sensible paper recycling saves energy, water, and landfill areas. Moreover, wastepaper recycling saves virgin fiber input during paper production. As opposed to chemical pulping of wood from virgin pulp, wastepaper pulping generates no wood waste or dissolved chemicals for energy generation [15]. More- over, paper recycling reduces the emissions of CO 2 ,NO 2 , andSO 2 in the air and decreases water pollution caused by chlorine compounds from bleaching and chemicals [16]. In
Citation: Małachowska, E.; Lipkiewicz, A.; Dubowik, M.; Przybysz, P. Which Wastepaper Should Not Be Processed? Sustainability 2023 , 15 , 2850. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15042850
Academic Editors: Jianxin Jiang, Jun Hu and Hailong Yu
Received: 26 November 2022 Revised: 13 January 2023 Accepted: 2 February 2023 Published: 4 February 2023
Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).
Sustainability 2023 , 15 , 2850. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15042850
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability
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