Before the material can be processed, some of it has to be sorted out. \u201cUnfortunately, the large bales don’t just contain waste paper,\u201d explains Hartmut Langner, line technologist in the paper production stock preparation department. From carpets and household appliances to shampoo bottles and car batteries – there are all kinds of surprises in the pressed waste paper that end up there accidentally or due to incorrect disposal. “We would like to see more education about what really belongs in waste paper. Careful separation of recyclable materials supports sustainable waste paper processing,” adds Jonas Hain, Head of Paper Production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.pkvarel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/stoffaufbereitung-1024x819.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe waste paper is sorted in several steps to remove plastics, metal parts, foils or strings. This cleaning is crucial for the quality of the subsequent pulp from which new paper is produced. In addition to the large foreign objects, there are many smaller foreign materials, such as metal bars from folders or Tetra Paks. \u201cEmpty drinks packaging is often found in waste paper,\u201d says Hain, \u201cbut it doesn’t break down well because of its plastic coating.\u201d In technical terms, such impurities are called rejects. \u201cIn the paper division, we process around 2,000 tons of waste paper every day, which contains an average of 100 tons of rejects,\u201d reports Langner. \u201cWith our modern reject processing plant, we also try to make these materials usable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Paper production never sleeps<\/strong> PKV’s two paper machines run 24 hours a day, seven days a week. \u201cHowever, we have planned shutdowns every month,\u201d explains Langner. \u201cDuring this preventive maintenance, all machines are checked to ensure that there are no problems during operation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A look behind the scenes – or rather into the huge mixer and sorting facilities of paper production – shows that sophisticated recycling processes and state-of-the-art technology are needed to process around 2,000 tons of waste paper into new pulp every day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":4857,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[113,134],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-company","category-sustainability"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Into the mixer<\/strong>
The waste paper is already mixed with water in the large pulpers during the sorting process. \u201cYou can think of it like a giant blender that turns the waste paper into pulp in 2 to 3 minutes,\u201d says Langner. \u201cHowever, our mixer has 1,100 HP, as if we were using 1,700 mixers at the same time.\u201d
The pieces of paper are broken down into their fibers again and a fiber-water mixture, known as pulp, is created. The pulp undergoes further cleaning steps: screens and sorting units remove finer impurities such as sand or staples. The last adhesive residues and even the smallest paint chips, for example from glossy magazines, are removed in a special cleaning process. Stock preparation at PKV is a highly developed recycling process. The resulting light-colored pulp is the basis for new paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Where have all the good fibers gone?<\/strong>
Production is also noticing that the raw material situation is changing fundamentally, that less graphic paper is contained in the waste paper of the household mixed goods. \u201cInstead, there is more and more packaging and specially coated cardboard packaging for food, which presents us with challenges when it comes to recovering the primary fibers,\u201d Hain points out. “In future, other ways must be found to obtain sufficient primary fibers. There are already promising research projects on this.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In stock preparation, 50 employees work in an interlocking five-shift system. Many of the employees have trained as paper technologists, but lateral entry from other technical training and study areas is also possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With a closed raw material cycle, innovative technology and consistent conservation of resources, PKV sets standards in the paper processing industry – efficient, environmentally friendly and forward-looking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n