SBIR-STTR Award

The objective of this project is to determine the feasibility of separating clay and short pulp fibers contained in sludges produced during the papermaking-process and to determine whether the separated clay can be reused in the process. This project offers the potential of reducing the amount of sludges that need to be further processed and/or placed in disposal sites where they could unfavorably impact quality of surface and groundwater. The proposal leading to this award was submitted in response to the NSF 88-8, Program Solicitation for Small Business Innovation Research. This research, being conducted with the cooperation of the Institute of Paper Chemistry, if successful would complement previous work that resulted in a process for removal of the long-fiber fractions of the sludge for reuse as a pulp substitute. The overall impact of these concepts if fully successful would be to convert an estimated 4 million tons per year of waste materials into useful resources and reduce the unfavorable effect alternative waste management concepts have on environmental resources

Process technology will be developed by Omni engineers to convert paper mill sludges into the following products: long-fibered pulp substitute, and papermaking clay filler orcoating pigment. Previous research by Omni engineers was successfully concluded by the development of process technology to separate paper mill sludge into a long fiber fraction and a short fiber-clay fraction. The long fiber fraction was converted into a high quality pulp substitute worth $300-$600/ton by cleaning and bleaching. The proposed research will focus on the separation of the clay from the short fiber. The clay will then be converted into a papermaking clay filler or coating pigment by cleaning and bleaching. The value of the clay product is expected to be in the range of $100-$200/ton.