Determination of Microstickies in Recycled White Water by Headspace Gas Chromatography, 2007 TAPPI 8th Research Forum on Recycling

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This study proposed a novel headspace gas chromatographic (HS-GC) method for determination of adhesive contaminants (microstickies) in recycled whitewater, a fiber-containing process stream in the paper mill. The method is based on the adsorption behavior of toluene (as a tracer) on the hydrophobic surface of microstickies, which affects the apparent vapor-liquid equilibration partitioning of toluene. It was found that the equilibrium concentration of toluene in the vapor phase is inversely proportional to the apparent effective surface area of microstickies that remain in the corresponding solution. Thus, the amount of microsticky materials in the recycled whitewater can be quantified by HS-GC via indirect measurement of the toluene content in the vapor phase of the sample without any pretreatment. The presented method is simple, rapid, and automated.