HP Labs "Bubbling" with Excitement over Printer Ink Removal

According to seekingAlpha.com, HP Labs have figured out a way to remove ink from recycled paper and thus help the recycling process. The first step is adding ethoxylated fatty alcohol to the vat of paper pulp which separates the ink from the particles from the paper. Then, anionic surfactants are put in the vat to turn the ink droplets into bubbles which can then be removed from the surface. HP feels that this methodology can be universally applied to ink both from digital commercial prints as well as inkjet dye-based products. It has also been successfully test on newsprint, which is widely known as one of the hardest products to de-ink.