Recycling paper has become commonplace particularly in the last decade, owing to its environmental benefits. The use of recycled paper is continuously growing in the global paper industry especially in the regions of China and India. This has lead to an increased need for deinking chemical agents.

De-inking chemicals are used to remove ink from paper so it can be recycled. This market is growing with the increasing utilisation of recycled paper. This is a positive sign for chemical companies in India.

De-inking agents are designed to be used for wastepaper recycling.

In this process ink is removed from the surface of recovered printed paper like paper from magazines and newspapers. The ink that floats away is collected using foam.
De-inking agents have two primary functions:

1.Reducing the surface tension between pulp fiber and ink to facilitate the detachment of the ink

2.Foaming a froth to float the ink off during the ink collection process, keeping the ink separate from the pulp slurry.

De-inking is also required to create recycled pulp from waste paper. This is done by pulverising waste paper in water. Pulp that has been de-inked pulp is cleaned and bleached, to form recycled pulp. De-inked pulp, mixed with wood pulp is recycled to form various types of paper including newsprint paper, copier paper, and tissue paper.

Industry Challenges

The paper and pulp industry has three major challenges to tackle. The increased demand on wood and its prices and availability worldwide, escalating energy prices that are hampering profit margins, and greater pressure from environmental groups and lobbies for utilisation of environmentally friendly chemicals.

There has been an attempt to replace chemicals used for deinking with green enzymes that contain cellulase, xylanase, laccase and lipase. These enzymes peel off fibres to dislodge ink paper surfaces. Cellulolytic enzymes are considered to be the most promising for deinking mixed office paper waste. In the future these enzymes could be considered as an attractive substitute for chemicals used in the paper and pulp industry.

To conclude,  the market for deinking chemicals is primed for further growth. This also takes into account the significant impact usage of recycled paper has on the reduction of wood consumption and abundant forest resources. Recycling paper is also more economical compared to wood pulping. Recycled paper is likely to dominate the paper fibre feedstock in the coming years. Deinking agents are an essential part of the impetus in this market.