Design and Fabrication of A Hydra Pulper
Design and Fabrication of A Hydra Pulper
Design and Fabrication of A Hydra Pulper
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Department of Agricultural & Environmental Engineering,
University of Ibadan, Nigeria
Correspondence Author:
Fatoki, J.G.
Email: fatjomo@yahoo.com
Abstract
This study is aimed at producing paper from disused Tetra Pak® beverage cartons usually found in
Nigerian landfills and dumpsites, creating environmental problems. Their use will reduce the over-
exploitation of trees in the forest for papermaking. A laboratory-scale hydrapulper of 80dm3 was
designed and fabricated using locally sourced materials to make the disintegration process cost
effective. The performance of the hydrapulper was evaluated at three carton slurry consistencies:
low, medium and high consistencies where 3%, 8% and 13% of carton pieces were repulped in water
respectively. The fabricated hydrapulper performed satisfactorily to disintegrate and separate the
paper component of the cartons from its low density polyethylene and aluminum foil components.
The highest average pulp yield of 60.57% was recorded at low consistency although there is no
significant difference between the pulp yields at each consistency. It can be concluded that about
80% of the paper component of the carton can be recovered for papermaking.
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European International Journal of Science and Technology ISSN: 2304-9693 www.eijst.org.uk
Introduction
Global demand for paper has been on the increase over the years due to its use for diverse purposes in all
works of life ranging from communications (writings, stamps, newspapers and greeting cards) and business
(advertisements, money and cheques), to packaging of foods and beverages (paper crockery and cutlery,
coffee filters, liquid carton board and folding box-board). The effect of producing these grades of paper from
virgin pulp, together with the use of sawn timber for furniture and construction purposes can be observed in
the over-exploitation of trees in forests, as Kolajo (2009) reported that half of the world’s timber is needed
to make paper products such as tissues, paper towels, handkerchiefs, gift-wrapping paper etc. Olorunnisola
(2013) however predicts that the growing quest for pulpwood for papermaking in Nigeria will increase to
about 2,719,900m3 before the end of 2020.
Tetra Pak® is a food processing and packaging company that produces carton-like containers that hold many
foods and drink items such as dairy, juice, spirits, beans and vegetables (Stearns, 2013). These beverage
cartons are made from softwood trees such as pines, spruce and birch that are known for their exceptionally
long and strong fibres which give the desired rigidity required to maintain the shape of the cartons (Pablo,
2009). The cartons are usually multi-layered poly-coated paperboards that are easily re-pulpable in water
because they contain no wet strength additives. The paper content represents 75% of the total weight of the
package, with barriers consisting of four or five layers of low-density polyethylene of about 20% by weight
and a remaining 5% thin layer of aluminum foil (Abreu, 2002) as shown in Fig. 1 & 2.
The recycling process of Tetra Pak beverage cartons basically involves the carton being opened, cleaned,
disintegrated and separated in a hydrapulper (a big blender) which is analogous to the conventional pulper
used for recycling wastepaper, with a simple modification of installing a drilled plate under the hydrapulper
rotor which allows the pumpable fibre slurry to move out through a designated outlet, leaving behind the
low density polyethylene/aluminum foil residues in the hydrapulper container (Tetra Pak Corporate
Environmental Affairs (CEA), 2000). The hydrapulpers employed for carton recycling can be classified
based on operating processes (batch or continuous) and rotor types (low, medium or high consistency
rotors). While continuous process can be explicitly used in wastepaper recycling, it is to be avoided as much
as possible in beverage carton repulping, except when large amount of wastepaper are blended with the
cartons before disintegration (Abreu, 2000).
The low consistency rotor is specifically suited for fast repulping action, with the fibres usually cut during
the process (rotor-to-fibre interaction) leading to low value final product, while the high consistency rotor
were developed later to pulp stock at higher shearing action (fibre-to-fibre interaction) in a smooth and
gentle repulping process, though in a longer time than low consistency rotors (Tetra Pak CEA, 2000). The
medium consistency rotors are hybrid rotors used to compromise the highs and lows of the two rotor types.
In addition, the proportions of cartons repulped in water are also classified as low consistency (3-5% carton),
medium consistency (6-9% caton) and high consistency (12-15% carton). Contrary to intuition, the addition
of temperature or chemicals to the repulping process does not have any significant effect on the overall
performance of the recycling action.
The practice of using recycled fibres from Tetra Pak® beverage cartons for papermaking was commercially
reported in the late 90’s in Brazil and USA; a practice that has since extended to other developed countries
of the world (Abreu, 2002). Pablo (2009) reported Lloyd Alter to have said that only 18% of Tetra Pak®
cartons are recycled worldwide; a figure which has gradually increased to about 30% (i.e. an increase of
73%) in the past seven years due to Tetra Pak’s drive towards recyclability of their products. In developing
countries however, many communities still struggle to divert their postconsumer disused Tetra Pak beverage
cartons from their waste streams (Stearns, 2013), thereby causing environmental pollution and ugly sights in
landfills and open dumpsites. In these communities, there are no proper waste collection systems and
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European International Journal of Science and Technology Vol. 4 No. 6 August, 2015
particularly there is no existence of recycling facilities to process these cartons into other usable products.
One of such communities is Nigeria, as no commercial breakthrough of Tetra Pak® carton recycling has
been recorded over the years. Hence, there is a need to separately collect Tetra Pak beverage cartons from
household waste and locally fabricate a machine, which will be cost effective, not complex to operate and
easy to maintain, to recover quality fibres from these cartons so as to meet the growing demand for paper
products.
Legend
Polyethyle
Paper
Aluminum foil
4. Three vertical triangular baffles made from angle iron were welded to the wall of the container at
equal distance from one another to improve the disintegration process.
5. An electric motor which powers a gearbox through a rotating shaft. A high consistency rotor blade,
attached to the shaft, was used to promote high shear action and smooth repulping in order to
produce high quality fibres.
6. The overall height of the hydrapulper was ergonomically chosen to improve its stability during
repulping processes, to provide the operator with maximum comfort during usage and to facilitate
general maintenance and cleaning of the inside of the hydrapulper.
7. The six supporting legs, which carry the weight of the container and its content, were made of
circular hollow pipes to maintain rigidity of the hydrapulper on the ground during operation.
8. The machine was painted with silver grey colour to prevent corrosion and improve its aesthetics.
Some of the basic parameters considered during the design of the hydrapulper are shown in Table 1.
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European International Journal of Science and Technology Vol. 4 No. 6 August, 2015
P567 × D
For a thin-walled cylindrical vessel, the tangential stress (working stress) is given as
Tangential stress, σGH = … … … ( 5) (Collins -. /0, 2010)
2t
P567 × D 1.06 × 10F × 0.45
∴t= = = 4.77 × 10NO m
2 × σGH 2 × 5 × 10L
t = 0.477mm
Hence, a mild steel plate of 2mm thickness was used for the fabrication of the hydrapulper container.
(c) Vertical Baffles
Three vertical baffles made with 50mm angle iron of 4mm thickness and 400mm length are installed
internally at equal distance from one another around the internal wall of the container. The distance between
the baffles is computed through the relation of the circumference of a circle as given in equation (6).
Circumference, C = πD … … … (6)
i. e C = π × 450 = 1413.72mm
Number of baffles, Nb =3
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European International Journal of Science and Technology ISSN: 2304-9693 www.eijst.org.uk
… … … (8)
ks =service factor; which is given as
k H = k6 × k8 (Zdziennicki and Maciejczyk, 2014)
where k 6 = application factor and k 8 = duty factor
Assume the gear input operating conditions as uniform and output operating conditions as moderate shock,
30P
the application factor ka =1.25. Also, if the gear reducer is running for 10hrs/day, the duty factor kt =1.0.
∴ TRS8 = u .k .k … … … (9)
π × n5 X 6 8
TRS8 × c × de
b=
30 × uX . k 6 . k 8
15 × 3.142 × 1440
b=
30 × 1.5 × 1.25 × 1.0
P = 1206.5W = 1.21kW
since 1kW = 1.34hp, then 1.21kW = 1.21 × 1.34 = 1.62hp
Thus, an electric motor of 2hp was chosen to drive the gearbox.
(e) Shaft Diameter
To design the shaft based on strength, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) design code
for ductile material (mild steel) is employed. The general relation is given in equation (10).
αFa d0 (1+c2 )
fkm M+ g +(kt Tout )2
2
16
πd0 3 (1-c4 )
τallowable = ……… (10) (Hall, et al, 1980)
8
Where km and hi are bending and torsion factors to account for shock and fatigue.
Since the shaft is subjected primarily to only torsion effect, with no bending load and negligible axial load
(due to weight of the rotor blade), the design of the shaft is based on a limiting factor of shear stress
generated by twisting moment only. The bending and axial stress term is reduced to zero
(as bending moment, M=0 and axial load, Fa = 0). Therefore, equation (10) is simplified to
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European International Journal of Science and Technology Vol. 4 No. 6 August, 2015
… … … (11)
16
πd0 (1-c4 )
τallowable = 3 kt Tout
Where,
τallowable =permissible shear stress based on twisting effect of the shaft
d0 =outside diameter of the shaft
c= di ⁄d0 =ratio of the internal diameter to outside diameter of the shaft
For a solid shaft, c=0 since the internal diameter di=0.
Thus, equation (11) is simplified further to
kt Tout … … … (12)
16
τallowable =
π d0 3
Re-arranging equation (12), the diameter of the solid shaft is given as
d= … … … (13)
16
π × τallowable t out
3
kT
For a rotating shaft with load suddenly applied (minor shock), Kt = 1.5 (Hall et al, 1980)
4
Flange Coupling
Electric Motor
Gearbox
Gearbox
support
Hydrapulper
container
Internal baffle
Electric Motor support
Rotor shaft
Rotor blade
Perforated plate
Discharge (Screen)
outlet
Projection for slurry
Gate valve discharge
Supporting legs
Bracing plate
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European International Journal of Science and Technology Vol. 4 No. 6 August, 2015
q
repulping is as given in equation (17).
mn = mo p r … … … (17)
1−q
Hence, for a 30 litres (30,000cm3) of water used for each repulping experiment 0.93kg, 2.6kg and 4.5kg of
carton pieces were repulped for low, medium and high consistencies respectively. The yield of the pulp
produced, which is the measure of the performance of the hydrapulper can be expressed mathematically as
shown in equation (18).
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From Table 2, it can be observed that the pulp yields throughout the experiment vary from 56.89% under
high consistency to 62.2% under low consistency indicating that about 80% of the paper component of the
carton can be recovered using this equipment. The average pulp yields of 60.57%, 60.26% and 58.17% for
low, medium and high consistencies respectively indicate that the rate of yield of pulp slightly decreases as
the quantity of carton repulped increases; as the highest traces of pulp fibres were seen undetached from the
“polyfoil” residues after disintegration of cartons at high consistency. This slight increase in yield at low
consistency may be attributed to the low viscosity of water-diluted stock observed during repulping
processes, as carton pieces were readily carried with the aid of the internal baffles towards the rotating blade
than during repulping processes at high consistency. The result of the pulp yield is in agreement with the
65% reported in Tetra Pak CEA (2000) as the minimum pulp yield of most hydrapulper on commercial
scale. The pulp yield can however be increased by the use of rotary drum to separate the remaining traces of
fibres from the “polyfoil” residues.
Table 3: Result of Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) of the Pulp Yields at Each Consistency
Source of Variation SS df MS F-value P-value F crit.
Between Groups 9.76685 2 4.883425 1.617348 0.274275* 5.143253
Within Groups 18.11642 6 3.019403
Total 27.88327 8
*test not significant at s > 0.05 probability level or F-value < Fcrit.
The result of the analysis of variance of the pulp yields at each consistency (Table 3) indicates that there is
no significant difference between the pulp yields at the three consistencies. Thus, the slight difference in the
average pulp yields at each consistency may be due to experimental errors that might have occurred during
the replication of the experiment and not due to the difference in amount of cartons that were repulped. This
means that carton pieces can be repulped at any consistency without any significant differences in the yields
of pulp.
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