Development and utilization of lime‐mud waste as filler for production of green paper

In this article, the lime‐mud (LM) as a waste generated in the Kraft pulping process was treated to improve its quality to be utilized again as filler. The final treated LM was characterized by different techniques and compared with the currently used calcium carbonate filler. The laboratory hand sheets were prepared from treated LM and the filler used in the factory with the target filler loads lying in the range 0–10 ash. The effect of filler loads on the physical, optical and mechanical properties of paper sheets was studied and compared with the used filler. The results revealed that the optical properties of paper sheets were greatly improved whereas the mechanical properties decreased. In addition, the best mixture composed of the treated LM and calcium carbonate filler used in Quena paper plant was selected and investigated. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 38:e13022, 2019