Developing Alternative, High-Absorbency Brown Fibers: Tissue Paper from Upcycled Corrugated Packaging Waste to Meet New Consumer Trends

Abstract

Consumers' rising interest in brown tissue papers, perceived as sustainable, has increased the market share and selling prices of such products despite their limited performance. Meanwhile, the current excess of packaging waste in the US has created an opportunity for using old corrugated containerboard (OCC) as an alternative source of brown pulp, despite its inferior tissue-making characteristics relative to bleached fibers. Strength, water absorption capacity, and absorption rate are among the crucial properties of absorbent tissue products. Herein, we studied the feasibility of total chlorine-free treatments, namely, oxygen delignification, alkaline hydrogen peroxide, and ozonation, to improve the tissue-making quality of OCC pulp. The processes evaluated reduced the lignin content (kappa number from 89 to values as low as 55) and generated brightness gains as high as 8.8% ISO units. The strength of the sheets also improved due to the delignification and increase in fiber swelling. Chemically treated OCC resulted in sheets with higher water absorption capacity and absorption rate and fiber slurries with higher freeness compared to sheets and slurries from mechanically refined OCC. Therefore, we demonstrate the application of treatments with low environmental impact to upcycle OCC into a high-quality brown pulp suitable for manufacturing high-performance tissue paper.

A Multi-Criteria Approach for Quantifying the Impact of Global Megatrends on the Pulp and Paper Industry: Insights into Digitalization, Social Behavior Change, and Sustainability

“…The hygiene tissue industry has experience significant changes over the years in response to consumer trends [13]. To align with shifting preferences, the industry has transitioned from items created through the use of harsh bleaching processes towards products that are multi-layered, bulkier, softer, and, depending on the product category, more absorbent [29,31,67,68]. Currently, the industry faces new challenges brought about by current megatrends such as digitalization, changes in social behavior, and sustainability [69].…”

“…In 2021, nearly 39 million tons of old corrugated containers (OCCs) were produced in the United States, with 91% of this amount being recycled [79]. OCCs, sourced from industrial and consumer packaging, have been considered as a potential substitute for recycled paper in the manufacture of hygiene tissue products [31]. Given their high production and level of recyclability, OCC fibers are considered to be a viable alternative that could be utilized over an extended period of time.…”

“…As another reference, RCP constitutes around 93% of the raw material for the hygiene tissue industry in Mexico. Consequently, digitalization is causing a significant decrease in the generation of traditionally used recycled fibers, resulting in a shortage in the supply of these raw materials for hygiene tissue production [30,31].…”

Redesigning the appearance of recycled containers for packaging applications: The effect of paper waste physicochemical properties on the performance of paperboards with obvious recycled content

“…The exacerbated ecological crises and the spread of the COVID‐19 pandemic have profoundly marked the consumers' responses to packaging design and engineering 1,2 . Consumer perception has become an important driver for making effective environmental decisions.…”

“…The exacerbated ecological crises and the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic have profoundly marked the consumers' responses to packaging design and engineering. 1,2 Consumer perception has become an important driver for making effective environmental decisions. Hence, understanding the attributes consumers use to identify sustainable packaging becomes essential to improving marketing strategies, promoting sustainability, and lowering packaging's environmental impact on the planet and society.…”