Process for manufacturing recycled pulp from used sanitary goods

Abstract

Provided is a process for recovering pulp fiber from used sanitary goods which contain both pulp fiber and a superabsorbent polymer and producing a recycled pulp which contains little ash and which is reusable for sanitary goods. This process comprises: a calcium treatment step for treating used sanitary goods with a water-soluble calcium compound and thereby conducting the dehydration of a superabsorbent polymer contained in the used sanitary goods; a disintegration step for applying a physical force to the used sanitary goods to disintegrate the used sanitary goods into pulp fiber and other materials; a separation step for separating the pulp fiber from a pulp fiber/other materials mixture which has been formed in the disintegration step; a disinfecting step using a disinfectant; and a citric acid treatment step for subjecting the separated pulp fiber to treatment with an aqueous citric acid solution at an acidic pH.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.