ENVIRONMENTAL

POLLUTION

Environmental Pollution 103 (1998) 229±237

Reuse of e‚uent from a wastepaper wash-deinking process

D.G. Economides, A.G. Vlyssides*, S.I. Simonetis, Th. L. Philippakopoulou
National Technical University of Athens, Department of Chemical Engineering 9, Heroon Polytechniou Street, Zographou 15700 Athens, Greece

Received 12 February 1998; accepted 6 June 1998

Abstract
Prerequisite for success of any wastepaper recycling technology based on a wash-deinking process is the reuse of e‚uents.
Characteristics of e‚uent from a laboratory scale newsprint wash-deinking plant, are presented in relation to the recycling ratio of
the e‚uent after clari®cation by chemical treatment and sedimentation. The recycling ratios used varied from 0 to 95%. The
deinking process operating under any recycling ratio was stabilized after a short time from the start and the parameters BOD5,
COD, Total Solids (TS), conductivity, hardness and sludge yield reached steady state conditions values following ®rst order kinet-
ics. It was found that the increase of the recycling ratio from 0 to 95% increased the BOD of the e‚uent from 17 to 206 mg/L, the
COD from 41 to 670 mg/L, the Total Solids from 620 to 1294 mg/L and the Conductivity from 185 to 1315 mS/cm, while it
decreased the hardness (expressed as calcium carbonate) from 413 to 303 mg/L and the sludge yield from 28.2% to 23.8%. The
total recycling (95%) of the treated deinking e‚uent was shown to increase the yield of the deinked pulp by 5% and to have no
detrimental e€ects on the brightness of deinked pulp. # 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Wastepaper; Wash-deinking; E‚uent; Characteristics; Wastewater reuse

1. Introduction of paper, if the deinking technology is suciently

The use of recycled wastepaper can have numerous
environmental and operating bene®ts compared with
the various virgin pulp production methods. It has been
estimated that every ton of paper, if made from 100%
recycled wastepaper, saves 24 trees. One ton of pulp
made from deinked and bleached wastepaper requires
60% less energy to manufacture than does a ton of
bleached virgin kraft pulp (Thompson, 1992). Other
bene®ts of wastepaper recycling are correlated with
reduced capital and operating costs, reduced cost of pur-
chase of raw material, reduced costs of energy and che-
micals used, with the decrease in BOD5 load of the
e‚uent, decrease of e‚uent volume, decrease of odor and
carbon dioxide emissions, extension of municipal land®ll
life, reduction of land®ll disposal fees and the ¯exibility
of the mills to sell to customers who prefer or need
recycled paper (Davis and Kinsela, 1990; Carroll and
Gajda, 1991; Garcia, 1991; Thompson, 1992; Alig, 1993).
In the near future, it is expected that a signi®cant amount
of wastepaper recovered from municipal solid wastes
will be used for this purpose, while printed wastepaper will
increase in value as a raw material for better grades
* Corresponding author. Fax: +30-17723163.
developed.
The wastepaper recycling process includes the fol-
lowing four basic stages (Crow and Secor, 1990): (1)
pulping of the wastepaper, which includes the de®bering
and dispersion of the inks and other contaminants, (2)
deinking of the pulp by separation and removal of dis-
persed ink particles from the pulp, (3) bleaching of
deinked pulp and (4) treatment of the e‚uents and
reuse.
Two principal deinking systems have been adopted by
the paper industry: (1) ¯otation deinking, extracting ink
by foam generated in a dispersed air ¯otation cellÐ
mineral ®llers and paper ®nes are not removed from the
pulp, therefore the yield is high but the physical strength
of the deinked stock is poor, and (2) wash deinking,
where ink, mineral ®llers and ®ber ®nes are washed out
at high dilution and papermaking ®ber of good quality
is obtained at the expense of a lower yield. In many
cases the deinking mills use various combinations of
both systems (Horacek and Forester, 1993).
Modern wash deinking technology consists of a
careful matching of deinking equipment and chemistry.
The performance of wash deinking systems is greatly
depended upon the type and concentration of the
deinking chemicals (Woodward, 1990; Renders, 1993).

0269-7491/98/$Ðsee front matter # 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S0269 -7 491(98)00117 -1
230 D.G. Economides et al./Environmental Pollution 103 (1998) 229±237
The chemistry plays a great role in the following: swelling
of the ®bers, ink removal, wetting, dispersion, avoiding
the redeposition of the inks upon the ®bers, coagulation/
sedimentation, ¯occulation etc. (Woodward, 1990;
Ferguson, 1991, 1992, 1992b). The corresponding dosa-
ges of the chemicals usually used in wash deinking pro-
cesses (added during pulping prior to washing as weight
% on the oven dry ®ber stock) and their function on the
process are the following (Woodward, 1986, 1992): sodium
hydroxide (0±5%) for ®ber swelling, ink breakup, saponi-
®cation and ink dispersion; hydrogen peroxide (0±3%)
for bleaching; sodium silicate (0±6%) for wetting, pep-
tization, ink dispersion, bu€ering and peroxide stabili-
zation; sodium or potassium phosphates (0±1%) for
metal ion sequestration, ink dispersion, bu€ering and
peptization; sodium carbonate (0±5%) for bu€ering and
water softening; chelating agents such as DTPA or
EDTA for metal ion sequestration; surfactants (0.2±
1%) for ink removal, dispersion, wetting, emulsi®cation
and solubilization; solvents (0±2%) such as C9±C14 ali-
phatic saturated hydrocarbons for ink softening and
solvation; hydrophilic polymers (0±0.5%) or bentonite
clays (0±3%) for ink dispersion and hindrance of ink
redeposition.
The wash-deinking e‚uent contains the chemicals
used in washing, as well as the dispersed inks, the ®llers
and the ®ber ®nes. For each ton of deinked pulp pro-
duced, for example, from waste newspapers the follow-
ing quantities of wastes are approximately produced:
165 m3 of wastewater, 20 kg of soluble BOD5, 54 kg of
soluble COD and 280 kg of sludge (Kleinau et al., 1987;
Carroll and Gajda, 1991; Miner et al., 1993; Vlyssides
and Economides, 1997). The high amount of water
needed in the deinking process as well as the environ-
mental impact of the e‚uent have necessitated its treat-
ment and recycling. Nowadays the reuse of wastewater
is an integral part of the deinking process. Water recy-
cling in a paper mill can have bene®cial e€ects to the
environment protection e€orts, the fresh water con-
sumption minimization and the chemical additives and
energy cost decrease (Crow and Secor, 1990; Horacek,
1992; Kuhn et al., 1996).
The wash-deinking e‚uent after its clari®cation is
ready to be recycled back to the process. The clari®ed
e‚uent may also be biologically treated prior to its
recycle. Theoretically the recycling ratio of suciently
treated e‚uents can reach 100%, but in fact there is an
upper limit, because of the necessary bleed, the high
moisture of the deinked stock and the wastewater losses
associated with the sludge removal (Krofta and Wang,
1989; Crow and Secor, 1990; Horacek, 1992).
Clari®cation is assisted by coagulation and ¯occula-
tion caused by the treatment of the e‚uent with poly-
mers and sometimes with alum and lime. Bentonite clay
used in conjunction with either polymers or alum has
been suggested as an e€ective ¯oculant for such a treat-
ment (Horacek, 1992; Mahony, 1993; Vlyssides and
Economides, 1997). There are two di€erent processes
that can be used for the clari®cation of the chemically
treated deinking e‚uent: Dissolved Air Flotation
(DAF) and Sedimentation by gravity (Kleinau et al.,
1987; Horacek, 1992). The consistency of the sludge
produced by the ®rst process varies from 2 to 5% while
that produced by the later varies from 0.4 to 3%,
depending on the chemical additives used either in the
deinking process or in the chemical treatment stage of
the e‚uent (Horacek, 1992; Mahony, 1993; McBride,
1993; Mourafeti, 1994).
The feasibility of the biological treatment of the clar-
i®ed e‚uent is challenged by its high COD:BOD5 ratio
which diminishes its suitability for such a treatment.
The carbon dioxide produced during the biological
treatment neutralizes part of the sodium hydroxide
needed in wash-deinking stage. In addition the applica-
tion of this treatment degrades most of the organic
additives used in deinking and clari®cation. Compared
to clari®cation the biological treatment is much longer
and the heat contained in the e‚uent is lost. For these
reasons the possibilities to save chemicals and energy by
the recycling of the e‚uent are reduced. Finally the
clari®ed e‚uent contains some substances which act as
biological inhibitors. So the rate of the biological treat-
ment is low and consequently the ®xed and operational
costs of this treatment are increased. Due to these rea-
sons the degree of BOD5 decrease during clari®cation is
of great importance while the application of a biological
treatment may not be justi®able, as the industrial prac-
tice has already shown. (Horacek and Kronlund, 1980;
Krofta and Wang, 1989; Carroll and Gajda, 1991;
Evans, 1991; Kuhn et al., 1996).
The e‚uent and sludge characteristics when the e‚u-
ent is not recycled depend mainly on the raw material
(wastepaper), and to a lesser extent on the deinking and
the clari®cation process. In the case of the e‚uent recy-
cling the characteristics of the e‚uent depend mainly on
its clari®cation process and on the recycling ratio of the
clari®ed e‚uent (Woodward, 1986; Mourafeti, 1994).
In this work the e€ect of recycling ratio of the clar-
i®ed but not biologically treated deinking e‚uent on the
characteristics of the e‚uent, the sludge yield and the
brightness of the deinked pulp was experimentally stu-
died using a laboratory scale newsprint wash-deinking
plant. Sedimentation by gravity assisted by the addition
of chemicals was used as the clari®cation process.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. The laboratory pilot plant
Fig. 1 is a simpli®ed ¯ow sheet illustrating the steps of
the wash-deinking process that was followed in our
 D.G. Economides et al./Environmental Pollution 103 (1998) 229±237
Fig. 1. Washing, deinking and sludge removal laboratory scale plant.
laboratory scale plant. The chemicals added as well as
the deinking and the e‚uent clari®cation processes that
are described later were optimized according to previous
investigations (Mourafeti, 1994; Benetos et al., 1996).
The deinking chemicals and the optimum amount of
water were added to a mixture of newspapers. The che-
micals used and their corresponding concentrations
were the following: sodium hydroxide (1.2% w/w on dry
newspaper), hydrogen peroxide (1% w/w), sodium sili-
cate (2.5% w/w), dispersant (0.8% w/w), and bentonite
(2% w/w). The amount of water added was such that
the concentration of the dry ®bers in the mixture after
the addition of the wastepaper and the chemicals was
15% w/w. The dispersant was DOWFAX 9N9, a non-
ionic alkylphenol ethoxylate surfactant produced by
DOW Chemicals. The bentonite clay had the trade
name Zenith and was supplied by Silver & Baryte Ores
Mining Co. S.A., Greece. The mixture was transferred
to a water bath and kept for 15 min at 35±38 C for
impregnation of the wastepaper. This impregnation is
rarely applied but has bene®cial e€ects on deinking
(Ferguson, 1995). In our case it eliminated the high
forces exerted on the shaft of the laboratory pulper.
Warm water was added to the mixture so that the con-
centration of the dry ®bers in the mixture was decreased
231
to 4.35% w/w and its temperature stabilized at 33±35 C.
The diluted mixture was transferred to a Maelstrom
pulper, where pulping took place for 30 min. The pulp
slurry was then transferred to the wash-deinking cell
which was constructed according to the description
given by Helmling et al. (1986). The ¯ow rate of the
washing water was adjusted at 1.0 l/min and the con-
tents of the cell were under intense agitation (1700 rpm).
The washing lasted for 30 min and the concentration of
the ®bers inside the cell was about 1.5% w/w. The
washed product was separated by ®ltration. The total
e‚uent of the deinking process included the e‚uents of
the washing process, the water that remained inside the
cell after washing and the ®ltrate.
The combined e‚uent was subsequently treated with
alum (1% w Al /w suspended solids) followed by lime
for pH adjustment at 8.5 and by Praestol-2540 (0.05%
w/w). Praestol-2540 is a mildly anionic polyelectrolyte
of the polyacrylamide type. It is a product of Chemische
Fabrik Stockhausen & Cie, Germany. The chemically
treated e‚uent was transferred to a settling tank for
sedimentation. After 1 h the separated sludge was
removed by pumping it from the bottom of the settling
tank and the supernatant liquid was divided into two
portions: one portion was removed (in order to adjust
232 D.G. Economides et al./Environmental Pollution 103 (1998) 229±237
the recycling ratio and to make the necessary chemical
determinations) and the other was recycled after making
up and mixing with fresh water.
2.2. Methodology
The aim of each experiment was to determine the
relation of the applied e‚uent recycling ratio to the
characteristics of the discharged e‚uent as well as the
yield of the separated sludge and the brightness of the
deinked pulp.
The recycling ratio of the e‚uent was de®ned as
follows:
Qr
rˆ  100 …1†
Qr ‡ Qin
where:
r = percentage recycling ratio,
Qr = amount of e‚uent recycled per each trial, [Lt]
and
Qin = amount of fresh water added per each trial, [Lt]
The process applied includes four separate stages:
deinking, chemical treatment of the deinking e‚uent,
clari®cation and recycling of a suitable portion of the
clari®ed e‚uent to the deinking stage. Each stage was
applied to a separate batch laboratory scale pilot plant.
In order to estimate the results for a continuous process
by the use of our ®ndings from the application of these
batch-wise separate stages, a sequence of trials for each
e‚uent recycling ratio was performed under the same
operational conditions. Every trial was comprised of the
wash-deinking stage where a clari®ed e‚uent portion
produced from the previous trial combined with fresh
water was fed, of the chemical treatment of the e‚uent
produced, of the clari®cation of the treated e‚uent and
of the separation of the clari®ed e‚uent in two por-
tions, one for recycle to the next trial and the remaining
for chemical analysis or disposal. Every sequence of
trials was continued until there was no change of the
e‚uent characteristics, the sludge yield and the deinked
pulp brightness between two subsequent trials. In such a
case the trials for the given recycling ratio had attained
steady state conditions.
The results for a continuously operating system could
be theoretically estimated by an in®nite number of trials
(recyclings) using the batch stages mentioned earlier. In
practice the necessary number of trials is quite less
depending on the recycling ratio. As our preliminary
investigations have shown, the rate of approach of the
steady state conditions value for any measured param-
eter (BOD5, COD, etc.) may be expressed by a ®rst
order kinetic behavior according to the following
equation:
d…Li † ÿ

ˆ ki L1;i ÿ Li …2†
dt
where:
Li = the value of the i parameter after t experiments
L1,i = the value of the i parameter after an in®nite
number of experiments
t = the number of experiments
ki = speci®c rate of approach of the i parameter to
L1,i [experimentsÿ1]
I = measured parameter (BOD5, COD etc.)
An experiment scheduled for a given recycling ratio
will consist of a sequence of trials which always attain
steady state conditions at the end. So for every experi-
ment each measured parameter is identi®ed by a limit-
ing value L1, which will be attained under steady state
conditions, and a speci®c rate k for the approach of this
value. These values (L1, k) can be estimated by a ®tting
of the experimental data according to a described
method (Vlyssides et al., 1996).
Eleven experiments of 15 trials, each at recycling
ratios 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 and 95% were
respectively run. For each trial the following measure-
ments were made: BOD5, COD, total solids (TS) and
hardness of the discharged e‚uent, sludge yield as well
as yield and brightness (Rz%) of the deinked pulp.
2.3. Methods of analysis
COD, BOD5, TS and hardness measurements of
discharged e‚uent were carried out according to the
Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and
Wastewater (APHA et al., 1989). Conductivity was mea-
sured using a Consort Conductometer (Model K511). The
sludge yield for each trial was determined by ®ltration,
drying and weighting the amount of sludge produced by
the clari®cation stage. In a similar way, the pulp yield
from each trial was determined by drying and weighting
the pulp produced after ®ltration from the deinking
stage (Fig. 1). Handsheets were prepared from the
deinked pulp using a Lorenzen & Wettre Sheet Former
model SCA and a Laboratory Sheet Press according to
the SCAN-C 26±76 and SCAN-C M5±76 methods. The
pH of the sample suspension during handsheets forma-
tion was 8.0±8.2. The samples were not acidi®ed prior to
handsheet formation. The handsheets were dried for 24
h at room temperature and their Brightness (Rz%) was
measured according to ISO 2469 and ISO 2470, using a
Dr Lange Micro Color colorimeter. It is a tristimulus
colorimeter with optical structure in accordance with
DIN 5033. The measuring geometry of the micro-
colorimeter, the normal observer angle and the standard
illuminantant were d/8 , 10 and D65 respectively. Six
di€erent handsheets were used for every brightness
measurement. Brightness measurements were taken on
 D.G. Economides et al./Environmental Pollution 103 (1998) 229±237 233

both sides of the sheets and the reported brightness
value is the average of the 12 measurements.
The statistical analysis of the results was carried out
utilizing the techniques given by Taylor (1990).
3. Results and discussion
In Figs. 2±4 the BOD5, COD and TS values are plot-
ted respectively against the number of trials and the
recycling ratio. The L1 values for BOD5, COD, TS, pH
and sludge yield in relation to recycling ratio are
estimated by ®tting the data on the mathematical model
[2] using the procedure described by Vlyssides et al.
(1996). Correlation coecients of the ®tting presented
in Table 1 prove that the model [2] describes with su-
cient accuracy the results of the trial by trial approach
to the steady state conditions of a continuous process.
From the same table it is shown that when the recycling
ratio is increased the model ®ttings are better.
The estimated limiting values of the measured para-
meters in relation to recycling ratio are presented in
Figs. 5±12.

3.1. BOD5

As shown in Fig. 2, for all recycling ratios the BOD5

Fig. 2. BOD5 concentration of the discharged e‚uents in relation to
the number of trials and the recycling ratio.
values of the e‚uent are increased when the number of
trials is increased. This is an expected situation because
of the addition of organic pollutants in every recycle,
but every new addition during a recycle is less than the
previous, indicating that when the soluble organics
concentration is higher, either the precipitation is more
e€ective or the solubilization of the organic matter of
the ®bers during the wash-deinking process is lower. In
the low recycling ratios from 20 to 70% the steady state
conditions were reached after 7 trials, while for 80%

Fig. 3. COD concentration of the discharged e‚uents in relation to Fig. 4. Total solids concentration of the discharged e‚uents in rela-
the number of trials and the recycling ratio. tion to the number of trials and the recycling ratio.

Table 1
Correlation coecient R2 of data ®tting on the mathematical model [2] for all parameters in relation to recycling ratio

Recycling ratio BOD5 COD TS Hardness Sludge production Brightness

20 0.495 0.934 0.5618 0.8695 0.361 0.5618

30 0.563 0.938 0.642 0.892 0.425 0.642
40 0.742 0.942 0.682 0.912 0.456 0.682
50 0.845 0.945 0.722 0.932 0.498 0.722
60 0.897 0.948 0.742 0.954 0.537 0.742
70 0.915 0.95 0.825 0.943 0.836 0.825
80 0.9355 0.958 0.826 0.947 0.836 0.826
90 0.9624 0.9563 0.898 0.9401 0.835 0.898
95 0.9717 0.9592 0.949 0.950 0.905 0.949
234 D.G. Economides et al./Environmental Pollution 103 (1998) 229±237
Fig. 5. Estimated BOD5 concentration of the discharged e‚uents in
relation to the recycling ratio for steady state conditions.
Fig. 6. Estimated COD concentration of the discharged e‚uents in
relation to the recycling ratio for steady state conditions.
Fig. 7. Estimated COD/BOD ratio of the discharged e‚uents in rela-
tion to the recycling ratio for steady state conditions.
and 90% recycling ratios 8 and 15 trials were needed. As
shown from Fig. 5, the BOD5 of the e‚uent established
under steady state conditions of the system is an expo-
nential function of the recycling ratio. Its lower value is
about 17 mg/L with the addition of fresh water
(r=0%), while its highest value is about 206 mg/L at
Fig. 8. Estimated total solids concentration of the discharged e‚uents
in relation to the recycling ratio for steady state conditions.
Fig. 9. Estimated hardness of the discharged e‚uents in relation to
the recycling ratio for steady state conditions.
Fig. 10. Estimated conductivity values of the discharged e‚uents in
relation to the recycling ratio for steady state conditions.
r=95%.
3.2. COD
From Fig. 3 the same deductions can be made about
the COD limiting values as those already mentioned
about the BOD5 limiting values. The only di€erence
here is that the system reached steady state conditions
after more trials. For the recycling ratios 20%, 60% and
95% the steady state was established after 7, 11 and 15
 D.G. Economides et al./Environmental Pollution 103 (1998) 229±237 235

recycles respectively. As shown from Fig. 6, the
estimated COD limiting value in relation to recycling
ratio follows an exponential function (for fresh water
and 95% the COD limiting values are 41 mg/L and 670
mg/L respectively).
3.3. COD/BOD5 ratio
As the recycling ratio increased the COD/BOD ratio
limiting value increased almost linearly as shown in
Fig. 7. It started with a limiting value of 2.39 with the
addition of fresh water only and it reached a value of
3.3 at r=95%. The high value of COD/BOD5 ratio
underlines the poorly biodegradable nature of the resi-
dual COD. The increase of this value when the recycling
ratio was increased indicates that the e‚uent became
more toxic as substrate for environmental microorgan-
isms, reducing the eciency of any biological treatment.
This behavior, on the other hand turns out to be an
advantage for the wash-deinking process because it
hinders the biological attack on the pulp during the
deinking procedure and so increases the yield and qual-
ity of the produced deinked pulp.
3.4. Total solids (TS)
As shown in Fig. 4 the TS concentration was
increased as the number of trials or the recycling ratio
was increased, due to the accumulation of solids in the
system. Steady state conditions for the system were
established after 7 trials for low recycling ratios, while
for higher recycling ratios (80±95%) 11 trials were
needed. The function between TS limiting concentrations
and recycling ratios is almost linear as shown in Fig. 8.
The TS limiting concentration with the addition of fresh
water only was 626 mg/L while at 95% it was 1294 mg/L.
3.5. Hardness
The hardness limiting value is related with an expo-
nential function to the recycling ratio (Fig. 9), beginning
with a concentration of 413 mg/L (as CaCO3) at r=0%,
while at r=95% the limiting value of this parameter
decreases to 303 mg/L. This behavior is an advantage
for the deinking process because the hardness of the
water used during deinking plays an important role for
the whole process; high values of hardness have undesir-
able e€ects because of the accumulation of salts on the
machinery used (Crow and Secor 1990; Horacek, 1992).
3.6. Conductivity
As shown in Fig. 10 the conductivity limiting value
was increased as the recycling ratio was increased, from
185 mS/cm at r=0%, to 1315 mS/cm at r=95%. This

Fig. 11. Estimated sludge yield in relation to the recycling ratio for Fig. 12. Estimated brightness of the deinked pulp produced in relation
steady state conditions. to the recycling ratio for steady state conditions.
Table 2
Production of pollutants in relation to the e‚uent recycling ratio

Recycling ratio % Wastewater m3/ton WPa BOD5 kg/ton WPa COD kg/ton WPa TS kg/ton WPa Sludge kg/ton WPa

0 690 11.8 28.3 432 395

10 621 13.4 34.1 419 364
20 550 15.8 41.3 413 326
30 483 16.4 47.2 280 321
40 414 17.6 53.9 351 314
50 345 18.4 52.9 316 308
60 276 24.0 64.6 252 321
70 207 20.8 61.4 229 315
80 138 18.7 53.3 155 308
90 69 12.2 39.1 89 301
95 34.5 7.1 23.1 44 298
a
Wastepaper.
236 D.G. Economides et al./Environmental Pollution 103 (1998) 229±237
increase of conductivity was expected because of the
accumulation of electrolytes caused by the progressive
closure of the system.
3.7. Sludge yield
The quantity of sludge produced per kg of wastepa-
per used (w/w) in relation to the recycling ratio for
steady state conditions is presented in Fig. 11. This ®g-
ure shows that the sludge yield limiting value decreases
almost linearly while the recycling ratio is increased. At
a recycling ratio of 0% and for steady state conditions
the sludge yield was 28.2%, while at r=95% the sludge
yield was 23.8%. This decrease of sludge production
leads to an increase of the deinked pulp yield by 6%.
3.8. Brightness
The brightness of the deinked pulp is an indication of
its optical quality. As shown in Fig. 12, the brightness of
the deinked pulp produced under steady state condi-
tions showed no signi®cant change while the recycling
ratio of the e‚uent was increased from 0% to 95%.
This result could be explained by the eciency of the
deinking and clari®cation process applied. Brightness is
one of the most crucial properties of the deinked was-
tepaper because it a€ects its applications. For this rea-
son this ®nding is very interesting.
The estimated pollutants release caused during the
treatment of one ton of wastepaper in relation to the
e‚uent's recycling ratio are presented in Table 2. When
the e‚uent recycling ratio is rising, the discharged was-
tewater ¯ow rate and total amount of discharged solids
(TS and sludge) are reduced continuously, but the dis-
charged amount of BOD5 and COD increase until
r=60% and then they decrease sharply. For r=95%
the total environmental pollution is less than for r=0%.
4. Conclusions
The e‚uent from a wastepaper wash deinking process
is partially recycled after sludge removal which is e€ected
by chemical treatment and sedimentation by gravity. The
gradual increase of the recycled portion of the clari®ed
e‚uent has the following e€ects on the total process:
1. The brightness of the deinked pulp remains
unchanged.
2. The yield of the deinked pulp is slightly increased.
3. The sludge yield is reduced.
Additionally if the recycling ratio is more than 90%
then the environmental impact, by means of BOD5,
COD and TS discharge, is reduced.
When the described totally open wastepaper wash
deinking process (absence of any recycle) is changed to
a closed one (the 95% of the e‚uent is recycled), the
deinked pulp brightness remains constant, the deinked
pulp yield is increased by 6% and the sludge yield is
reduced by 15% and there is a fresh water saving of
about 650 m3/ton of wastepaper used.
Acknowledgements
This project was funded by the NATO and the Greek
Ministry of Research and Industry aiming at the coop-
eration between Thrace Paper Mill S.A. and the Tech-
nical University of Athens (NTUA). It was part of the
programme Science for Stability of NATO titled
``Development of non-chlorine bleaching process for use
of deinked newsprint and magazines in high brightness
tissue paper''.
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