Recycle bale comprising cellulose ester

Abstract

A bale of sheets made of waste/recycle cellulose fibers and cellulose ester (CE) staple fibers can be fed to a hydropulper. The CE staple fibers have: i. a denier per filament (DPF) of less than 3, or ii. a cut length of less than 6 mm, or iii. crimping, or iv. a combination of any two or more of (i)-(iii). The bales can be fed and dropped in as entire bales to a hydropulper, or a blend tank directly or indirectly in fluid communication with a hydropulper, using the same feed system employed for feeding cellulose to the hydopulper and avoiding having to defiberize by pulling or drawing fibers from a box container into a hydropulper. The waste/recycle cellulose fibers and CE staple fibers can be co-refined prior to making the bale of sheets.

What we claim is: 
     
         1 . A bale comprising sheets, wherein at least one of the sheets in the bale comprises waste/recycle cellulose fibers and cellulose ester (CE) staple fibers, wherein said CE staple fibers have:
 i. a denier per filament (DPF) of less than 3, or   ii. a cut length of less than 6 mm, or   iii. crimping, or   iv. a combination of any two or more of (i)-(iii).   
     
     
         2 . The bale of  claim 1 , wherein each sheet is at least 1 mm thick. 
     
     
         3 . The bale of  claim 1 , wherein the waste/recycle cellulose fibers are deinked. 
     
     
         4 . The bale of  claim 1 , wherein the bale is obtained from a recycle facility. 
     
     
         5 . The bale of  claim 1 , wherein the waste/recycle cellulose fibers are obtained from OCC, ONP, Office Waste, Mixed paper, or High Grade De-Inked Paper. 
     
     
         6 . The bale of  claim 1 , wherein the sheets within the bale are compressed. 
     
     
         7 . The bale of  claim 1 , having dimensions of width×length×height of 12′″×12″′×12′″ and up to 42″×42″×30″. 
     
     
         8 . The bale of  claim 1 , each sheet in the bale has the same width and length as the bale, and the bale height is comprised of the height of the stacked sheets, discounting packaging and strapping. 
     
     
         9 . The bale of  claim 1 , wherein the bales are flat on all sides. 
     
     
         10 . The bale of  claim 1 , wherein one or more of the sheets is a slab having a thickness of at least 2 inches. 
     
     
         11 . The bale of  claim 1 , wherein the bale has straps and/or packaging made with or obtained from a cellulose pulp. 
     
     
         12 . The bale of  claim 1 , wherein the CE staple fibers have a target cut length of less than 6 mm, and a ratio of cut length to DPF not more than 5:1. 
     
     
         13 . The bale of  claim 1 , wherein the waste/recyle cellulose fibera and CE staple fibers are co-refined. 
     
     
         14 . The bale of  claim 1 , wherein the CE staple fibers have a DPF of less than 3.0, a cut length of less than 6 mm, are non-round, and are crimped.