The diagram illustrates the steps involved in producing recycled paper. Overall, there are four main stages, beginning with the transformation of the used paper into pulp. The next stages include filtering and cleaning the pulp, followed by recycled paper production.
Once collected, used paper undergoes several processes to clean it. First, in-feed bunkers filled with used paper are placed on a conveyor belt, and upon reaching the end of the belt the material is upset into a pulper with water and chemical agents. The paper is further broken down into pieces to be sent into a sieve where foreign particles are separated. Following that, the filtered pulp is moved into a de-inking basin filled with water soap. The air pump creates bubbles so that the ink is caused to rise to the surface, from where the ink is removed through another pipe. Following this, the pulp is further purified with water and chemicals.
After the final cleaning stage with water and chemicals the cleaned pulp is prepared for paper production. It is spread on a conveyor belt and passed through heated rollers, which extract the extra water from the pulp. By the end of the process, rolls of recycled paper are ready for use.