Laboratory and Mill Repulping Studies: Single Component and Multicomponent Wastepaper Supplies, 1998 Recycling Symposium Proceedings

Stickies are a well known and pervasive contaminant in the processing of waste fiber for fine paper applications. Excessive stickies contribute significantly to operational, product quality and product variability problems. Stickies removal efficiencies are compromised by non-uniform shapes, neutral buoyancies and visco-elastic properties. Laboratory repulping simulation methods have been developed and the key factors that influence stickies formation in a secondary fiber medium consistency batch pulper have been identified. The physical properties of pressure sensitive adhesive predominantly control stickies size and counts. Toner content and energy input also prove significant in stickies size, count and effective black area. The method has also been employed to assess variability in stickies content within wastepaper bales. The relative error of wastepaper composite samples within a common bale proves far greater than the relative error of the methodology.