Energy-Efficient Paper Recycling
RWTH research project EnEWA receives European Paper Recycling Award.
The Chair of Anthropogenic Material Cycles at RWTH Aachen University is collaborating with the Chair of International Production Engineering and Management at the University of Siegen and the industrial partners STADLER Anlagenbau GmbH, PROPAKMA GmbH, LEIPA Group GmbH, and Tomra Sorting GmbH to find a solution for recycling waste paper from mixed waste streams.
The award ceremony took place on June 29, 2022, in Brussels and was integrated into “Paper Packaging Day,” an event organized by several associations of the paper, packaging, and recovered paper industry. Anna-Michelle Asimakopoulou, MEP and Vice Chair of the Committee on International Trade, presented the award to Alena Spies from ANTS at RWTH and René Sauer from the University of Siegen’s IPEM on behalf of the entire consortium.
The utilization of recovered paper has become increasingly important in paper production. As opposed to using all virgin fiber, also using recovered paper saves energy, water, and primary raw materials. Nevertheless, around 20 percent of the paper produced in Germany is currently not returned to the recycling loop.
To recover and recycle this type of paper as well, EnEWA – the research project’s name translating loosely to “(Achieving) energy savings in paper production by tapping the value chains of recovered paper from lightweight packaging, residual waste, and commercial waste” – is developing a highly complex treatment process that uses dry-mechanical sorting, defibration, and disinfection protocols to allow for its use in the production of new paper. Such a process would allow paper from lightweight packaging and residual and commercial waste to be recycled and integrated into the sustainable circular economy.
Enormous Potential for Saving Resources
Initial analyses conducted as part of the research project show that 50 percent of the paper from the mixed waste streams investigated so far could also have been disposed of through the regular waste paper collection program, thus offering enormous potential for more resource-efficient handling. The results generated are currently being incorporated into the development of a sorting process for paper products from mixed waste streams to be able to filter out the recyclable paper for reprocessing. Also considered are types and qualities of paper that have not been suitable for disposal via waste paper collection as of yet but for which there is an equally high potential for material recovery through recycling.
In further steps, the research project’s findings will be incorporated into improving the minimum standards for packaging recycling, also including work on the upcoming 36th amendment to the Recommendations on “paper, cartons, and cardboard for use in food contact applications” published by the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR). So far, the regulations have restricted the use of paper from these particular waste streams. But by introducing technical threshold values or prescribing a disinfection process, technical solutions could be put into practice in industrial settings. Recovered paper from these three waste streams could then be used as a raw material in the production of new paper, resulting in significant savings in both energy and water.
– EnEWA Consortium
