Application of mineral processing techniques to the recycling of wastepaper

CIM Bulletin, Vol. 92, No. 1031, 1999

C.A. Hardie, G.F. Leichtle, J.A. Watson, J.A. Finch and C.O. Gomez, McGill University, Department of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, Montréal, Québec

The recycling of wastepaper has become an important and common process worldwide. Techniques similar to those used in the mineral processing industry are used to produce high quality recycled fibres for use in newsprint. The mineral processing group at McGill University, in conjunction with the Pulp and Paper industry (Mechanical and Chemi-mechanical Wood Pulp Network), has adapted one of these techniques, column flotation, for the purpose of deinking wastepaper. This article describes the typical process of recycling wastepaper from a mineral processing point of view. It also presents results from McGill UniversityÕs flotation column test work at a QuŽbec wastepaper recycling facility.

Mots Clés: Mineral processing, Recycling, Wastepaper, Deinking.