Elaboration and Characterization of Waste Inked Paper-Poly(Vinyl Chloride) Composites: Effect of Paper Deinking

The waste paper poses environmental problems because it is a wood-based resource. Recovering it as fiber for the preparation of a low-cost and environmentally-friendly composite materials offers significant environmental benefits, including reducing deforestation and the preservation of fossil resources. Our study presents an innovative approach by using waste inked and deinked paper as a reinforcement in thermoplastic polymer. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)-based composites reinforced with waste inked paper (WIP) and waste de-inked paper (WDIP) fibers with loading rates ranging from 10% to 30% (Wt.%) were prepared. The effect of paper deinking processes on the mechanical, morphological and physicochemical properties of the resulting composites was studied. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis revealed the de-inking of paper after alkali-treatment. This result was confirmed by morphological analysis using optical spectroscopy. The results for the PVC/WIP and PVC/WDIP composites showed an improvement in the mechanical properties after the de-inking of the paper fiber. The tensile strength and the Young's modulus were increased by 16.90% and 37.80% respectively when 30% (Wt.%) of WDIP was added to PVC compared to WIP fiber. These results were confirmed by the optical spectroscopy (OS) analysis, where a better surface was observed in the PVC/WDIP composites. The water uptake test showed that the introduction of WDIP in PVC reduced water absorption by 18.38% compared with WIP fiber at a load charge of 30% (Wt.%). However, an increase in density was recorded. These results demonstrate that the incorporation of WDIP into PVC is not only feasible, but also beneficial to environmental sustainability and economic growth.