Flotation versus wash
A de-inking agent detaches printing ink from fibre and either floats it out on a froth or washes it through a filter. In chemical development those two mills cannot share one “de-inker” nickname. Paper Chemicals list aliphatic acid ethoxylate derivatives for units without flotation (brilliant paper), aliphatic acid derivatives with strong detergency and froth for flotation cells, solvent-containing types for stubborn inks on waste paper, and APEO-free EO/PO polymers. Share pH, temperature, water hardness and whether the process is flotation or wash.
Ink type matters: offset, flexo, UV and toner do not release the same way. A solvent-containing grade aimed at stubborn ink is the wrong default for a mill that has banned solvent.
APEO-free substitution
De-inking historically used alkyl phenol ethoxylates. Many mills now specify alcohol ethoxylates or aliphatic-acid ethoxylate derivatives. Matching cloud point and detergency in the real pulp is faster than rewriting the whole line. Dyna Glycols can sample an alcohol-based or EO/PO grade next to an alkyl phenol grade when policy changes, without swapping families unless you ask.
Foam in flotation is a process tool; foam in a wash washer is a pump problem. An EO/PO low-foam polymer that works in wash de-inking can starve a flotation cell. Write the cell type on the sample request.
What else sits in the same mill
Defoamers, slime-control carbamates and felt detergents are different articles on the same paper page. Do not use a de-inker as a felt wash or a slime biocide as a de-inker. Brightness after bleach is a bleaching-aid duty (non-ionic brightness helpers, non-silicate peroxide stabilisers), not extra de-inker dose.
How to specify
Name flotation versus wash, furnish (ONP, OMG, mixed office, stubborn UV), pH, temperature, APEO and solvent policy, and the current chemistry. Dyna Glycols will sample an aliphatic acid ethoxylate, a froth-forming type, a solvent grade or an APEO-free EO/PO polymer against that recycling line.
Specification checklist
Put the application, the substrate, temperature, pH and any APEO or formaldehyde limit on the first enquiry. INCI or chemical names, cloud point, hydroxyl value, saponification value and colour are the numbers Dyna Glycols can lock on a TDS for this De-inking agents topic. A warehouse nickname is not a specification.
Samples and documents
Request a laboratory sample of the related De-inking agents grade together with the current SDS and TDS. The certificate of analysis is issued for the shipping lot after manufacture at Kandla SEZ. Once the trial is approved, freeze the identity tests so later drums of this chemistry match the article you evaluated.