Water consumption optimization in cardboard industry by experimental design

Abstract

This work was performed into a cardboard plant in order to reduce the freshwater consumption. Statistical experimental design was applied to investigate the effect of cleaning program, ink colour class and detergent concentration on ink circuit cleaning operation of flexographic printing machines. The results indicated that the proposed models fitted well with residual ink removal and cleaning water consumption (R2 > 0.99). For a better residual ink removal of the first colour class, it is suitable to employ cleaning program number 1 with 2% of detergent. However, if a residual ink of second colour class has to be removed, cleaning program number 2 and 2% of detergent are appropriate. At the optimum conditions, the volume of water required for residual ink removal from flexographic machines can be reduced by up to 26%. These results can contribute to the development of water consumption reduction models in cardboard plants and clean production implementation.

Improving the Removal of Anionic Surfactant in Cardboard Industry Wastewater by Coagulation/Flocculation: Process Optimization with Response Surface Methodology

“…This pollution is a significant environmental concern, as it not only impacts the health of aquatic ecosystems, but also poses a risk to human health through the consumption of contaminated water or aquatic organisms (Bani-Melhem et al, 2023). Additionally, the degradation of water quality can have economic consequences, as it can limit the availability of clean water for drinking, irrigation, and industrial purposes (Harif et al, 2022a). As such, it is critical to implement effective strategies to mitigate the discharge of pollutants into water resources and promote the sustainable use of this precious natural resource.…”

“…A response surface methodology is a valuable statistical tool that allows for the efficient and cost-effective assessment of the interactive effects of various factors (Dehghani et al, 2020;Harif et al, 2022a).…”