Improved deinking and stickies removal

Previous work had shown that a novel flotation deinking reagent using modified kaolin was able to more efficiently separate and remove ink and dirt particles from recovered paper. The mechanism for this reagent is based on the ability of the modified kaolin to act as a collector for the fine ink, dirt, and contaminant particles. Deinking mills using this reagent experienced deinked pulp with an increase in brightness and lower dirt count values. Further work has been carried out to determine whether this mechanism can be used to improve the removal of stickies in recovered pulp. Test results showed that use of this modified kaolin together with a reagent capable of effectively separating the sticky contaminants from the fiber improved the removal of stickies. The synergy of this reagent with the modified kaolin further improved ink and dirt removal.