EFFECTS OF CONCENTRATION, pH, AND TEMPERATURE ON INK REMOVAL FROM PRINTED HIGH DENSITY POLYETHYLENE SHEETS BY ALKYL-TRIMETHYLAMMONIUM BROMIDES

摘要

Ink removal from printed high density polyethylene surface was performed using three different cationic surfactants: dodecyl-, tetradecyl-, and cetyl-trimethylammonium bromide (i.e., DTAB, TTAB, and CTAB, respectively). These surfactants are chemically different in the number of carbon atoms of the alkyl tail group (i.e., 12, 14, and 16, respectively, for DTAB, TTAB, and CTAB). It was found that increasing the carbon chain length of cationic surfactant increased the deinkin efficiency. It was also found that an increase in pH level and concentration of surfactant helped promote the deinking efficiency, while an increase in the solution temperature from 30 to 45℃ either increased or decreased the ink removal.