Repulping of wet strength paper towel with potassium monopersulfate

摘要

Potassium monopersulfate (KMPS) was used in repulping of polyamide-epichlorohydrin (PAE)- containing paper towel. The effectiveness of the repulping aid was compared with that of sodium hypochlorite. Addition of a 2.4% KMPS repulping aid achieved complete repulping of the paper towel, resulting in 88% screen yield and about 5% rejects. To reach a similar pulping result, two times the oxidative equivalent amount of sodium hypochlorite had to be used. Compared to the pulp fibers obtained from sodium hypochlorite repulping, those obtained from KMPS repulping had higher physical strength, longer fiber length, and lower fines content. This study demonstrated that KMPS was superior to sodium hypochlorite in repulping of PAE-containing paper towel in terms of effectiveness and pulp quality. Application: This article is about the repulping of wet strength-containing paper towel with the help of potassi- um monopersulfate. Because the reagent is a non-chlorine compound, it is considered to be an environmentally friendly additive. Furthermore, the reagent has relatively low redox potential, thus causing less damage to the recy- cled fibers.