FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates Compositions, and wet laid articles made from the Compositions, containing cellulose fibers and cellulose ester fibers, as well as wet laid processes using the Compositions.

BACKGROUND

Many of the wet laid webs/sheets find application in paperboard, cardboard, food packaging, and single use container. While recycling efforts have met with considerable success, not all products find their way into the waste/recycle stream for re-use. Manufacturers and consumers continue to develop their awareness and understanding of the environmental impact of products and their use on the environment. There continues to exist a need and potential to develop wet laid products formed from sustainable materials while also exhibiting environmental non-persistence in product form, while satisfying or improving upon one or more properties for the application.

With the considerable success of waste/recycling efforts, the recycle mill market has grown considerably on a large industrial scale and utilizes many of the same unit processes as would a wet laid facility. Common elements include hydropulping, screening, cleaning, depositing pulp onto a moving wire, draining, and drying. Recycle mills have an additional process step of flotation and de-inking. The waste/recycle mills furnish bales of dried pulp to a wet laid facility, and the waste/recycle pulp is either added to a hydropulper and eventually fed to a refiner, or it is fed to a blend tank downstream of the refiner.

It would be desirable to provide a synthetic fiber that can provide beneficial properties to wet laid products but that can also be recycled back and fed through a refiner. Polyolefins and polyesters cannot be fed through a refining operation without agglomerating or compromising the operation of the refiner. Even if such synthetic fibers are added to a furnish downstream of a refiner, the wet laid products made thereby are unsuitable for recycling since recycled pulp is added to a hydropulper that feeds a refiner.

It would be desirable to make wet laid products with a synthetic fiber suitable for recycling, and to provide composition containing recycle cellulose fibers along with synthetic fibers that can be added to a hydropulper feeding a refiner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

There is now provided a composition comprising, or obtained by combining:a. waste/recycle cellulose fibers, andb. cellulose ester (CE) staple fibers having:i. a denier per filament (DPF) of less than 3, orii. a cut length of less than 6 mm, oriii. crimping, oriv. non-round with a DPF of less than 3, orv. a combination of any two or more of (i)-(iv),c. a denier per filament (DPF) of less than 3, andd. water.

There is also provided a process for making a waste/recycle composition comprising:a. combining waste/recycle cellulose fibers, cellulose ester (CE) staple fibers, and water in a hydropulping vessel, andb. agitating the cellulose fibers, CE staple fibers, and water to obtain a furnish composition having a consistency of less than 50 wt. %;wherein the cellulose ester (CE) staple fibers have:i. a denier per filament (DPF) of less than 3, orii. a cut length of less than 6 mm, oriii. crimp, oriv. non-round with a DPF of less than 3, orv. a combination of any two or more of (i)-(iv).

