DESIGN OF AN INDUSTRIAL PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF TOILET PAPER FOR THE GADIC CAÑAR

The objective of this work dealt to designing an industrial process for produce toilet paper from cardboard and recycled paper. Initially, laboratory experiments were conducted using different methods of deinking, defibering, and pulp bleaching; by performing quality control on the products through the application of the NTE INEN 1430 standard, the optimal and most efficient procedure was identified with a yield of 56.282%. An industrial level projection was elaborated with an economic viability analysis based on mass and energy balances. The statistical analysis for the data obtained during the quality control was carried out by implementing ANOVA and TUKEY tests, where the industrial process was demonstrated to be viable with a ARV of 5211.62, IRR of 20%, and a recovery period of approximately 4 years. However, additional bleaching methods and pulp recovery systems should be analyzed to optimize the process.