Process of Making Recycled Paper
- Recycled paper is a general term used to describe materials that are processed and reused as paper products. These materials can range from paper and cardboard that has been thrown away to de-inked material, like newspapers, that have had the ink and fillings drained away chemically so they can be reconfigured into different types of paper. Leftover material from paper mills and wood fibers also can be recycled.
In the normal recycling process, paper is first compacted into tight bundles and taken to a warehouse. From there, it will be sent to a recycling plant. The paper material to be recycled is generally divided into different grades, based on the material and its thickness, then re-pulped as needed. Re-pulping is the breaking down of paper products in a chemical solution. The paper is ripped apart mechanically and heated so that it disintegrates even more. The goal is to break down the paper to its original form: small plant fibers. These fibers--the pulp--are then carefully filtered to remove anything that is still left, such as glue or plastic. - Next, the paper is cleaned and de-inked. De-inking can be done in two ways, but sometimes both methods are combined to remove as much ink as possible. The first method involves simple washing. A chemical solution is used to break the bond between ink and paper and wash the ink out. For more stubborn inks, a flotation process is used. This involves a slightly different solution that is injected into the pulp, forming many small air bubbles. During the process, the ink loses its connection to the pulp and gravitates to the bubbles, which are carried to the surface of the solution and the ink is skimmed off.
Next, the pulp is refined and colored. Often, any pulp that has reached this stage is too raw to immediately turn it back into paper, so it is beaten to thicken it and make it more ideal for paper-making. Once beaten and prepared, the pulp is then colored and used in specific types of paper-making. If common white paper is being created, it is then bleached; traditional cardboard or packaging paper pulp is left in its natural state. - To make the paper itself, the pulp is combined with lots water and sprayed on customized wire screens. This creates a very light layer of pulp on the screens. The water is then allowed to drain and is pressed out even more, flattening the pulp and forcing it to bond together. This layer is then carefully heated and pressed further--until a sheet of paper results. The paper is then treated, cut and packaged.
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