I. What Does Waste Paper Include?
waste paper
Waste paper generally refers to paper products that have lost their original use value during the production, distribution, and consumption processes.
Waste paper is typically classified into the following categories:
1. High-grade deinked paper: Such as newsprint, books, office paper, etc. It has good fiber quality and is suitable for producing recycled newsprint, toilet paper, etc.
2. Cardboard boxes: The most common type is corrugated cardboard boxes. It has long and high-strength fibers and is a high-quality raw material for producing recycled packaging paperboard.
3. Mixed waste paper: Its composition is complex and may contain plastics, metals, and other impurities. It is difficult to sort and is usually used as raw material for low-grade paperboard.
4. Specialty paper and contaminated paper: Such as laminated paper, waterproof paper, thermal paper (e.g., receipts), heavily contaminated food packaging boxes, etc. This type of waste paper is difficult to recycle, has low value, and may even need to be separated.
Value of Waste Paper: Recycling 1 ton of waste paper saves 3 cubic meters of wood, 1.2 tons of standard coal, and 600 kilowatt-hours of electricity, while reducing landfill space by approximately 3 cubic meters and significantly reducing wastewater and carbon dioxide emissions.
II. Paper Waste Sorting Process
Guoxin Machinery Paper Waste Sorting Solution Core Components and Equipment:
1. Pre-treatment and Bag-Breaking System: Mixed waste from residential or commercial areas first passes through a bag-breaking machine to cut and disperse the waste bags, initially separating waste paper from other waste.
Equipment: Drum bag breaker, knife-type bag breaker.
2. Coarse Separation and Screening System: Using equipment such as vibrating screens and trommel screens, materials are separated according to size. Oversized materials (large items, possibly including large sheets of cardboard, plastic bottles, etc.) and undersized materials (soil, glass shards, etc.) are removed, preparing for the intermediate fine sorting stage.
Equipment: Vibrating screen, trommel screen
3. Air Separation System
Utilizing aerodynamic principles, this system separates lightweight waste paper and plastic film from heavy materials such as metal, glass, and stones through controlled airflow.
Equipment: Horizontal and vertical air separators. This is a crucial step in separating lightweight impurities.
4. Magnetic Separation and Eddy Current Separation
Magnetic separation: Used to separate ferrous metals (such as iron cans and bottle caps).
Eddy current separation: Used to separate non-ferrous metals (such as aluminum cans and aluminum alloys).
5. Core Component: Intelligent Photoelectric Sorting
This is the core technology determining the purity and value of waste paper sorting. Its working principle is “identification-positioning-impact”.
Identification: As high-speed materials pass through the sorting platform, near-infrared (NIR) sensors or hyperspectral sensors quickly scan each material. Different materials (such as paper, PET, and HDPE) exhibit unique “spectral fingerprints” that the system uses for identification.
Positioning: Equipped with a high-speed linear camera, the system precisely locates the spatial coordinates of target materials (such as discarded plastic bottles or sorted office paper).
Impact: The system commands corresponding nozzles to spray high-pressure airflow within a very short time (milliseconds), blowing the target material into the correct collection trough.
Technical Advantages:
High Precision: Can distinguish between different types of paper (such as newsprint and cardboard) and plastics.
High Efficiency: Processing speed can reach over 10 tons per hour, far exceeding manual processing.
High Stability: The AI algorithm continuously learns and adapts to changes in materials, continuously optimizing sorting results.
6. Artificial Intelligence and Robotic Sorting
AI Vision Robot: Combining deep learning algorithms and industrial robots, the robot can recognize the shape, color, texture, and even logos of materials through a 2D/3D vision system. Like a human hand, it can flexibly grasp specific types of waste paper or remove foreign objects, making it particularly suitable for handling complex items that are difficult to process using traditional photoelectric sorting methods.
III. Recycling
After meticulous sorting, the clean waste paper is compressed and packaged, then sent to a paper mill for recycling.
1. Pulping and De-inking
2. Screening and Purification
3. Deinking (for office paper, newsprint, etc.)
4. Paper Machine Production
Recycling Directions:
High-grade waste paper (e.g., office paper, cardboard boxes): Used to produce high-grade cultural paper, packaging paperboard, cardboard boxes, etc.
Mixed waste paper: Used to produce core-layer cardboard, egg carton, industrial lining, and other low-requirement products.
Energy recovery: Impurities or low-quality waste paper that cannot be recycled after sorting can be sent to waste incineration plants for energy recovery, achieving the final disposal of “harmlessness, reduction, and resource recovery.”
We are committed to providing customers with modular design, high sorting rates, and low operating costs for complete production lines. Through our technology, we not only help customers improve economic efficiency but also contribute significantly to the nation’s “zero-waste city” and “dual-carbon” strategic goals.
Let us join hands, empower recycling with technology, make the most of every piece of waste paper, and jointly write a green chapter of sustainable development.