RICOH's NEW BIOMASS TONER ( organic based ink)

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Date: Monday December 7, 2009 10:38:20 am
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    http://www.ricoh.com/technology/tech/035.html
    RICOH’s NEW BIOMASS
    TONER

    Biomass resources
    are organic resources that are biologically reproducible, excluding
    fossil resources.

    Ricoh has developed a technology to use biomass as a raw
    material for resin, the primary element of toner. This technology will
    lessen the environmental impacts of toner use—it will suppress the
    depletion of petroleum and reduce CO2 emissions through carbon-neutral
    processes.

    Biomass used as primary element of toner
    When used
    copy paper is recycled, the paper goes through a de-inking process,
    which separates the printed toner from the paper. The separated toner is
    then merely disposed of—it is either burnt or buried in landfills.
    Today’s technologies are incapable of recycling the toner printed on
    paper.Every year, more than 200,000 tons of toner is produced worldwide.
    About 80% of that amount is resin. To lessen the environmental impacts
    of toner, Ricoh has been developing biomass toner (*1), for which we
    adopted plan-based resin.

    The biomass toner requires less
    petroleum than conventional toner, and contributes to the prevention of
    petroleum depletion. Being carbon-neutral, the biomass toner works to
    reduce the net amount of CO2 emitted from the combustion of used
    toner.In November 2009, Ricoh released the world’s first digital
    multi-function copier featuring biomass toner, the “for E toner.” (This
    product is sold only in Japan.)


    Low-temperature fixing and heat resistance—two contradictory
    features implemented
    Toner must meet a variety of characteristic
    requirements. To reduce the power consumption of a copier, the power
    required for thermal fixing must be reduced. This, in turn, requires the
    toner to be molten at a low temperature. However, toner with a low
    melting point has its own problems—it tends to coagulate when stored
    under a high temperature, for instance. In this way, low-temperature
    fixing and heat resistance hinder each other. This dilemma can be solved
    depending on the characteristics of binder resin.

    Plant-based
    resins have been widely used for molding, but their characteristics are
    far from those required for toner resins. Ricoh has thus developed a new
    plant-based resin for use as toner binders. It is already in use as
    part of the binder for our biomass-based “for E toner.”

    The
    biomass content of the “for E toner” is 25% (*2). While meeting the
    requirements of both low-temperature fixing and heat resistance, the
    “for E toner” has the same high performance as our petroleum-based
    toner. With the excellent chargeability and fluidity, the “for E toner”
    has even attained a higher image quality than conventional toner.

    To
    steadily establish technologies and know-how
    Ricoh has been
    examining many possibilities to reduce the environmental impact of
    toner, and considers the use of biomass effective at this point. It
    would be too late if we started developing biomass toner after the
    seriousness of global warming and petroleum depletion became clear. In
    the area of the conventional toner, Ricoh has many proven technologies,
    acquired over a very long time. We need to acquire the same technologies
    for the biomass toner, too.Ricoh has made an early start in using the
    biomass toner in actual products. Ricoh will continue accumulating
    technologies and know-how on the biomass toner in preparation for the
    full-scale operation in the future, intending to contribute to
    preserving the environment.


    http://www.ricoh.com/info/091126.html
    Ricoh Develops the World’s First  Biomass
    Toner

    Sustainability is crucial to
    society’s survival. Ricoh believes that a company must take
    responsibility for all the materials used in its products. Ricoh does
    this while focusing on two points: minimizing the amount of resources
    extracted from the natural world, and finding alternatives to resources
    at risk of depletion. Toward this end, Ricoh is actively converting the
    materials it uses from non-renewable petroleum resources to reproducible
    biomass as well as recycling its products. Biomass plastic has already
    being used in some Ricoh products.

     In a recent highlight, Ricoh
    developed the world’s first(*) biomass toner as a genuine manufacturer’s
    supply item, and released machines that utilize this toner in the
    Japanese market. About 80% of conventional toner is petroleum-based
    resin. Our new “for E toner” however, has a biomass content of 25% of
    the entire mass including the resin.

     The “for E toner” will help
    reduce environmental impact in the following two ways:
    1)   
     Suppressing CO2 emissions from burning the toner printed on used paper.
    (Including
    toner elements separated from the paper in the paper recycling
    process.)
    2)     Reducing the use of depletable petroleum resources

     Ricoh
    got an early start in using biomass toner in actual products. We will
    continue accumulating technologies and know-how on the biomass toner,
    with the goal of preserving the environment.

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