Development of Screenable Pressure Sensitive Adhesives

Severtson, Steven J.

University of Minnesota (United States)

关键词: Removal;    Paper;    Adhesives;    Recycling;    32 Energy Conservation, Consumption, And Utilization;   

DOI  :  10.2172/819519
RP-ID  :  doe/id/13881
RP-ID  :  FC07-00ID13881
RP-ID  :  819519

美国|英语

来源: UNT Digital Library

【 摘 要 】

An industrial research area of high activity in recent years has been the development of pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) products that do not interfere with the processing of post-consumer waste. The problem of PSA contamination is arguably the most important technical challenge in expanding the use of recycled fiber. The presence of PSAs in recovered paper creates problems that reduce the efficiency of recycling and papermaking operations and diminish product quality. The widespread use of PSAs engineered to avoid these problems, often referred to as environmentally benign PSAs, could greatly increase the commercial viability of utilizing secondary fiber. Much of the research efforts in this area have focused on the development of PSAs that are designed for enhanced removal with cleaning equipment currently utilized by recycling plants. Most removal occurs at the pressure screens with the size and shape of residual contaminants in the process being the primary criteria for their separation. A viable approach for developing environmentally benign PSAs is their reformulation to inhibit fragmentation. The reduction of adhesives to small particles occurs almost exclusively during repulping; a process in which water and mechanical energy are used to swell and reduce paper products to their constituent fiber. Engineering PSA products to promote the formation of larger adhesive particles during repulping will greatly enhance their removal and reduce or eliminate their impact on the recycling process.