Flotation

The primary goal of flotation deinking is the selective removal of printing ink, stickies and hydrophobic impurities in general from the stock suspension, thus improving the brightness and optical appearance of the product. Fillers and coating particles can also be removed efficiently with flotation.

Selectivity is important for retaining useful material such as fibers in the accepts. The selectivity criteria is the wettability of the particle surfaces. The more hydrophobic the particle surface, the better it adheres to an air bubble and the better the chance of its removal.