A method for the destruction of data carriers preventing access to the process of rendering confidential data carriers, which consist of paper or similar material, unreadable and allowing the carriers to be destroyed. In the method, confidential data carriers are collected at the point of origin in secure collection containers, removed by a collection vehicle, and are supplied to a paper recycling plant in a final step. The interior of a mobile pulper, which is connected to the collection vehicle, is filled with the confidential data carriers, the carriers are mixed with a pulping fluid and the mixture is blended by an agitator to form a suspension of defibrated documents and pulping fluid, a hydromechanical pulping process taking place in the pulper before the suspension is supplied to the paper recycling plant.

A method for the destruction of data carriers preventing access to the process of rendering confidential data carriers, which consist of paper or similar material, unreadable and allowing the carriers to be destroyed. In the method, confidential data carriers are collected at the point of origin in secure collection containers, removed by a collection vehicle, and are supplied to a paper recycling plant in a final step. The interior of a mobile pulper, which is connected to the collection vehicle, is filled with the confidential data carriers, the carriers are mixed with a pulping fluid and the mixture is blended by an agitator to form a suspension of defibrated documents and pulping fluid, a hydromechanical pulping process taking place in the pulper before the suspension is supplied to the paper recycling plant.

Methods of preparing partially dried or essentially completely dried compositions comprising microfibrillated cellulose and an inorganic particulate material may include microfibrillating a fibrous substrate comprising cellulose in an aqueous environment by grinding in the presence of an inorganic particulate material to form an aqueous composition comprising microfibrillated cellulose and inorganic particulate material, wherein the fibrous substrate comprising cellulose has a Canadian Standard freeness equal to or less than 450 cm, wherein the fibrous substrate to the inorganic particulate material are in a ratio of about 99.5:0.5 to about 0.5:99.5, and wherein the microfibrillated cellulose has a fibre steepness of from about 20 to about 50; by treating the aqueous composition comprising microfibrillated cellulose and inorganic particulate material to remove at least a portion or substantially all of the water of the aqueous composition to form a partially dried or essentially completely dried composition comprising microfibrillated cellulose and inorganic particulate material.

An apparatus for dispersing or refining organic material includes a rotor shaft extending along a rotation axis, a rotor to be driven to rotate by the rotation axis, and a housing arranged around the rotor shaft and the rotor, the housing having an inlet for receiving the organic material and an outer wall. The housing has a stator disc, and the rotor has a rotor disc, each disc having teeth on a surface that is turned toward the other disc. After organic material has been dispersed by the teeth, the organic material is fed into a dilution zone where the organic material is mixed with dilution liquid introduced through a number of dilution inlets before the mix is fed out of the apparatus via an outlet arranged in the outer wall. The dilution inlets are angled in relation to the radial of the rotation axis, in a plane perpendicular to the rotation axis. By angling the dilution inlets in such a way, a better mix is achieved between dilution liquid and dispersed or refined organic material, which results in increased energy efficiency of the apparatus.

An apparatus for dispersing or refining organic material includes a rotor shaft extending along a rotation axis, a rotor to be driven to rotate by the rotation axis, and a housing arranged around the rotor shaft and the rotor, the housing having an inlet for receiving the organic material and an outer wall. The housing has a stator disc, and the rotor has a rotor disc, each disc having teeth on a surface that is turned toward the other disc. After organic material has been dispersed by the teeth, the organic material is fed into a dilution zone where the organic material is mixed with dilution liquid introduced through a number of dilution inlets before the mix is fed out of the apparatus via an outlet arranged in the outer wall. The dilution inlets are angled in relation to the radial of the rotation axis, in a plane perpendicular to the rotation axis. By angling the dilution inlets in such a way, a better mix is achieved between dilution liquid and dispersed or refined organic material, which results in increased energy efficiency of the apparatus.

Cellulose particles treated with a bio-based surfactant can be compounded into a polymer composite having improved mechanical properties, such as tensile strength and/or tensile modulus. Treatment can be integrated into an industrial scale continuous cellulose particle production process, and the process provides one or more of reduced environmental impact, reduced energy consumption, reduced chemical consumption, reduced water consumption, reduced processing/operational cost, reduced capital investment, increased output, improved fiber dispersion in the polymer matrix and improved thermal degradation properties of the composite.

Cellulose particles treated with a bio-based surfactant can be compounded into a polymer composite having improved mechanical properties, such as tensile strength and/or tensile modulus. Treatment can be integrated into an industrial scale continuous cellulose particle production process, and the process provides one or more of reduced environmental impact, reduced energy consumption, reduced chemical consumption, reduced water consumption, reduced processing/operational cost, reduced capital investment, increased output, improved fiber dispersion in the polymer matrix and improved thermal degradation properties of the composite.

A method for preparing an aqueous suspension may include providing a fibrous substrate comprising cellulose having a Canadian Standard freeness equal to or less than 450 cm.sup.3, and microfibrillating the fibrous substrate in an aqueous environment by grinding in the presence of a grinding medium consisting essentially of mullite. The grinding may be carried out in the absence of grindable inorganic particulate material. The grinding medium may be present in an amount of at least about 10% by volume of the aqueous environment. The microfibrillated cellulose may have a fibre steepness of from about 20 to about 50.

Waste paper contains sticky foreign material, and the recovery and sending of this sticky foreign material to a paper-making process together with fiber is liable to lead not only to the sticky foreign material sticking to and contaminating the paper making machine or dryer but also paper peeling and tearing, causing a decline in paper quality. This method for recovering fiber form a screening reject is characterized by comprising the steps of: sending a screening reject coming out from a coarse sorting process to a fine sorting pre-processing process such that the screening reject is impacted against rotating blades 8 or stationary blades 11 in the interior of a cylinder body 2 and detachment of the fibers from the sticky foreign material by the sticky foreign material being kneaded and granulation and balling-up of the detached sticky foreign material are promoted, taking advantage of the sticky foreign material becoming extendable and shrinkable due to softening in an environment in which heat is generated from friction between fibers; and then sending the result to the fine sorting process so that the fiber is recovered with the balled-up sticky foreign material being separated as a screening reject via the fine sorting process.

Waste paper contains sticky foreign material, and the recovery and sending of this sticky foreign material to a paper-making process together with fiber is liable to lead not only to the sticky foreign material sticking to and contaminating the paper making machine or dryer but also paper peeling and tearing, causing a decline in paper quality. This method for recovering fiber form a screening reject is characterized by comprising the steps of: sending a screening reject coming out from a coarse sorting process to a fine sorting pre-processing process such that the screening reject is impacted against rotating blades 8 or stationary blades 11 in the interior of a cylinder body 2 and detachment of the fibers from the sticky foreign material by the sticky foreign material being kneaded and granulation and balling-up of the detached sticky foreign material are promoted, taking advantage of the sticky foreign material becoming extendable and shrinkable due to softening in an environment in which heat is generated from friction between fibers; and then sending the result to the fine sorting process so that the fiber is recovered with the balled-up sticky foreign material being separated as a screening reject via the fine sorting process.