Evaluating the quality of recycled fibre material with a new concept

Users of recycled fiber material have to overcome three main challenges: price, quality, and availability. The question of the price, quality and availability are interconnected, and there is a need for evaluating the quality of recycled paper also on the fiber level. Today, the average fiber age of recycled paper is low; for most areas and grades it is still lower than 1. Therefore, the characteristic phenomena in the paper recycling loop are not caused by the degradation of individual fibers, but by a blending process in which different fiber grades and non-fiber components are blended in a non-optimal way. A novel method is introduced for evaluating the quality of fiber material using a new parameter, the fiber integrity value. The approach is based on the fact the strength yielding ability of the material is of primary importance, and only sufficient strength level makes it possible to optimize other quality properties.