VOL. 10, NO.

14, AUGUST 2015 ISSN 1819-6608

ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences

©2006-2015 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved.

www.arpnjournals.com

CHARACTERIZATION OF HYBRID BLACK TONER USING THE

PARAMETERS WASTE TONER AND NANO PHASE CARBON

C. Krishnaraj and R. Vaira Vignesh

Karpagam College of Engineering (Autonomous), Othakkalmandapam Post, Coimbatore, India
E-Mail: [email protected]

ABSTRACT
Toner is used in photocopiers to form the latent electrical image on the electrostatically charged drum. The paper
picks up the toner particles, when it slides over the drum. Specific factors cause 10% of toner particles (approximately) to
be left over the drum. This left out toner is cleaned by the unit to ensure the quality of the proceeding copies. This left out
toner is called as waste toner and is collected in cleaner sump. If this waste toner is used in the photocopiers, the quality of
the copier is reduced. The waste toner is mixed in proportion with Nano phase Carbon and original toner to get Hybrid
Black Toner. The original toner is the toner prescribed for the photocopier by the manufacturer. The hybrid black toner is
characterized by the two parameters say waste toner and nano phase carbon in this article.

Keywords: original toner, waste toner, nano phase carbon (carbon black nano powder), hybrid black toner.

INTRODUCTION
Photocopiers are a machine that makes copies of Developing: The toner is made to obtain the
documents. Photocopiers make use of Xerographic positive charge. When it is made to fall on the drum,
technique to print the document. It is a dry process using negatively charged areas in the drum attracts the toner and
heat and fuser oil to stick the toner particles onto paper. sticks to the same in micro seconds. This leads to
Copiers also use other technologies such as ink jet, but development of image on the drum.
xerography is standard for office copying.
The inability of the paper to grasp the complete Transfer: The resulting toner image on the
toner particles when it slides over the drum results in surface of the drum is transferred from the drum to the
sedimentation of toner over the surface of the drum roller. paper, when the paper rolls over the drum either from
This left over toner known as waste toner is cleaned by the manual feed or automatic or tray feed.
cleaning unit and deposited in the cleaner sump.
Dumping of waste toner in the land causes Fusing: The toner is melted by fuser and bonded
adverse effects the environment. The waste toner is neither to the paper by heat and pressure from heat rollers, which
recycled nor reused and it is simply dumped in the is nothing but a rubberised hard sheet of drum roller.
landfills. This method of reusing the waste toner reduces
the impact of adverse effects made by dumping of waste
TONER
toner.
Toner is a dense, powdery substance with carbon
black as its major proportion. The thermal properties of the
XEROGRAPHY toner should be soft for the fuser to bind and hard enough
so that the toner particles are not fused in the photo
Charging: Cylindrical drum is electro statically receptor at the developmental stage. The rheological
charged by a corona wire or a charge roller (high voltage properties of the toner must allow coalescence, spreading
wire). The drum has a coating of and finally penetration into the paper for best photo copy.
a photoconductive material. A photoconductor is Rheology is the study of flow and deformation of
a semiconductor material that becomes conductive when materials under applied forces.
exposed to light The measurement of rheological properties is
applicable to all materials - from fluids such as dilute
Exposure: A lamp with high luminescent solutions of polymers and surfactants through to
character illuminates the document, and the white areas of concentrated protein formulations, to semi-solids such as
the original document reflect the light onto the surface of pastes and creams, to molten or solid polymers.
the photoconductive drum. The areas of the drum that are
exposed to light become conductive. Then it is discharged WASTE TONER
to ground. The result is a latent electrical image on the The toner is used in photocopiers to form the
surface of the drum. latent electrical image on the drum. The paper picks up the

6135
 VOL. 10, NO. 14, AUGUST 2015 ISSN 1819-6608

ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences

©2006-2015 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved.

www.arpnjournals.com

toner particles (image), when it slides over the drum. Table-1. Composition of cases under study.
Nearly 10% of toner particles are left over the drum for a
normal document. Composition
The quantity of waste toner produced depends S. No. Compound
Case 1 Case 2 Case 3
upon the usage of toner and the inability of the paper to
grasp complete toner particles from the drum. The waste 1 Original toner 10% 15% 20%
toner cannot be used for further photocopying, as it does 2 Waste toner 90.9% 84.9% 79.9%
not satisfy the chemical properties and the quality of
Carbon Black
original toner. The waste toner is hazardous and has to be 3 0.1% 0.1% 0.1%
Nano Powder
recycled.
This waste toner is cleaned by the cleaning unit
and it is collected in waste toner collector unit or cleaner SEM ANALYSIS
sump. Scanning Electron Microscopy also known as
SEM analysis is used extensively in micro structure
EXISTING SYSTEM analysis. The signals generated during analysis produce a
two dimensional image and reveal information about the
The Hybrid Black Toner is prepared using the
sample including external morphology and orientation of
original toner, waste toner and Carbon Black Nano
the materials making up the model.
powder. The original toner and the waste toner are mixed
in the ratio and Carbon Black Nano powder is added to the
above mixture.
This composition is made to obtain a
homogeneous mixture. The mixture has to be sintered at
413K for about 2 hours obtain the rheological properties
back. The original toner is added in proportion to maintain
the fusing properties of the hybrid black toner.

CHARACTERIZATION OF HYBRID BLACK

TONER
The Hybrid Black Toner is prepared using the
original toner, waste toner and Carbon Black Nano
powder. The hybrid black toner is characterised by the
waste toner and the nano phase carbon mixed in it. Hybrid
Black Toner is characterised by the percentage of original Figure-1. SEM analysis of waste toner.
toner present in it with respect to waste toner content.
To characterise the HBT, three cases are taken for
Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis is widely used
analysis as shown in Table-1 Composition of Cases under
technique to analyse the chemical composition of a
study.
material under SEM. X-ray data is processed to obtain the
percentage of each measured element in the individual
particles.

Table-2. Hybrid black toner - Case 1.

Intensity Weight %
Element Apprx. conc. Weight % Atomic %
corrn. sigma
C K 95.47 0.9286 86.06 0.78 71.92
O K 21.73 0.5159 22.95 0.85 22.17
Si K 00.48 0.8430 00.30 0.09 00.16
Ca K 00.52 1.2031 00.30 0.09 00.15
Fe K 30.50 0.8555 20.34 0.46 05.60
Total 100.00

6136
 VOL. 10, NO. 14, AUGUST 2015 ISSN 1819-6608

ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences

©2006-2015 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved.

www.arpnjournals.com

Table-3. Hybrid black toner - Case 2.

Apprx. Intensity Weight%

Element Weight % Atomic %
Conc. Corrn. sigma
C K 95.50 0.9279 86.09 0.78 71.98
O K 21.75 0.5612 22.93 0.83 22.11
Si K 00.49 0.8349 00.32 0.10 00.19
Ca K 00.54 1.0221 00.28 0.09 00.12
Fe K 30.48 0.8154 20.37 0.45 05.60
Total 100.00

Table-4. Hybrid black toner – Case 3.

Element Apprx. Conc. Intensity Corrn. Weight % Weight % sigma Atomic %

C K 95.52 0.9278 86.10 0.78 72.00
O K 21.73 0.5162 22.92 0.82 22.09
Si K 00.48 0.8439 00.31 0.09 00.17
Ca K 00.53 1.0231 00.25 0.08 00.11
Fe K 30.52 0.8155 20.39 0.48 05.63
Total 100.00

The results are scanned at 400 dpi using Canon

Oce Plot Wave 300 and as shown in the Figure-3 and
Figure-4.

Figure-2. EDAX analysis of Hybrid Black - Case 1.

The table specifies the composition and

concentration of each element present in the three cases
under study @ 0.1% of Carbon Black Nano Powder.

TEST RESULTS
The Original Test Document is as shown in the
Figure-3 and the same is prepared accordingly that may be
used to test the specified desirable properties.
Each composition under all the three cases under
study is injected into the cartridges separately. Then they
Figure-3. Original document.
are inserted into the photocopier. Photocopies are made
using the Original Test Document.

6137
 VOL. 10, NO. 14, AUGUST 2015 ISSN 1819-6608

ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences

©2006-2015 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved.

www.arpnjournals.com

From the Test results, the maximum possible

efficiency that can be obtained from HBT is at 20% of
Original Toner and 0.1% of Carbon Black Nano Powder.
From the Quality results, the quality is around
90% when HBT composition is 20% of Origianl Toner
and 0.1% of Carbon Black Nano Powder.

REFERENCES

[1] Adhesion of Photo Electrographic Toner on Paper* -

Hartus. T - Helsinki University of Technology,
Department of Automation and System Technology,
Laboratory of Media Technology, Finland. *Paper
presented in Finnish Chemical Congress, Kemia 2001,
Helsinki.

[2] Photocopier and Laser Printer Hazards”. London

Hazards Centre. 2002.
Figure-4. Hybrid black toner Case - 3. [3] Electro Photographic Toner with Magnetic Particle
additive” US Patent Number: 5641601- Shiumitum,
QUALITY RESULTS Kazllhlro, Nakazawa et al, Japan
The efficiency curves are drawn with respect to
the percentage of nano phase carbon at constant [4] Chromium Oxide Nano Powder - An Alternative to
percentage of original toner. The quality test is performed
Fuser Oil in Photo Copiers” Authors: Mr. R. Vaira
with respect to nano phase carbon content at constant
original toner percentage content. Vignesh IEEE Xplore - 8th International Conference
The quality is poor and it is around 10% when on Intelligent Systems and Control – ISBN: 978-1-
Carbon Black Nano Powder is not introdcued. The quality 4673-4359-6.
increases steadily till 0.1% of Caarbon Black Nano
Powder and there is no abrupt changes in quality after [5] 7120380 Electrostatographic apparatus having
0.1% of Carbon Black Nano Powder. transport member with oil – absorbing layer; Inventor:
Ferrar, et al. Filed: October 14, 2004.

[6] Kittelberger, Steve and Sacripante, Guerino, "Easily

deinkable toner: A solution to the deinking problem
for small mills". Pulp & Paper Canada. 104:5, (2003)
p.37.

[7] Material Safety Data Sheet - EP L Toner Cartridge;

ST9152 MICR Toner Cartridge.

[8] List of printers that do not display tracking dots

http://www.eff.org/Privacy/printers/list.php

Figure-5. Quality vs nano phase carbon @ constant [9] R. Vaira Vignesh, G. Gnanakumar. 2014. Synthesis of
original toner composition. Hybrid Black Toner from Waste Toner Using Nano
Technology - Optimization Technique. International
CONCLUSIONS Journal of Engineering and Technology. ISSN: 2249 -
The characterization chart yields the report that 8958, Volume - 3, Issue -3, No. 42 - Pages: 204-213.
the optimum percentage content of Original toner in
Hybrid Black Toner must be 20% to ensure the photo copy [10] Particle Emission Characteristics of Office Printers
quality, rheological properties of the Hybrid Black Toner. Congronghe, Lentaplin, Lentaplin - International
Laboratory for Air Quality and Health - Queensland

6138
 VOL. 10, NO. 14, AUGUST 2015 ISSN 1819-6608

ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences

©2006-2015 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN). All rights reserved.

www.arpnjournals.com

University of Technology, Brisbane QLD 4001, Technique”, European Journal of Scientific Research,
Australia and Queensland Department of Public Vol.71, No.2, pp. 298-311.
works, Brisbane, QLD 4001, Australia.
[22] Beck H., Glienke N., Möhlmann C., BIA – Report,
[11] Hazards of Toner particles, By Siobhan Egan. Combustion and explosion characteristics of dusts,
Professional Associations Occupational Safety
[12] Nakamura Y, Kutsuwada N, (October 1-5, 1989). Institute, Sankt Augustin, Germany.
“Direct measurement of toner particle size”. Industry
Applications Annual meeting, 1989. IEEE XPLORE [23] C Krishnaraj, KM Mohanasundaram, S
pp. 2239-2242. Navaneethasanthakumar. 2012. “Implementation
Study Analysis of FTFMEA Model in Indian Foundry
[13] What Your Ink and Toner Cartridges Do after Industry”, Journal of Applied Sciences Research, Vol.
Dumped www.1-stecofriendlyplanet.com. 8, No. 2, pp. 1009-1017.
[14] Aleksandra AnićVučinića, DinkoVujevića, [24] Cashdollar K.L. 2000. “Overview of dust explosibility
KerimMujkićb, MatejaNovakc. 2013. “Recycling of characteristics”, J. Loss. Prevent. Proc. 13, 183-199.
Waste Toner in the Republic of Croatia – An
Environmentally Friendly Approach”, Chemical [25] Mohanasundaram, K. M., N. Godwin Raja Ebenezer,
Engineering Transactions, Vol. 34, ISBN 978-88- and C. Krishnaraj. 2012. "Forward Kinematics
95608-25-9; ISSN 1974-9791. Analysis of SCORBOT ER V Plus using LabVIEW."
European Journal of Scientific Research 72(4): 549-
[15] Environmental protection agency. 2002. “European 557.
waste catalogue and hazardous waste list”, valid from
1 January. [26] Krishnaraj, C., K. M. Mohanasundram, and S.
Navaneethasanthakumar. 2012. "Implementation
[16] Health and Safety Office Technical Guidance Note, Study Analysis of Ftfmea Model in Indian Foundry
“CHM04 – Control of Printer and Photocopier Toner Industry." Journal of Applied Sciences Research 8(2).
Hazard”, University of Portsmouth

[17] Health and Safety Department “Photocopiers and

Laser Printers Health Hazards”, the University of
Edinburgh 19/04/2010.

[18] U. Ewers, D. Nowak. 2006. “Health hazards caused

by emissions of laser printers and copiers” Translation
of: Gesundheitsschäden and Erkrankungendurch
Emissionenaus Laserdruckern and Kopiergeräten
Gefahrstoffe - Reinhalt. Luft 66, no. 5, p. 203-210.

[19] C Krishnaraj, KM Mohanasundaram, SR Devadasan,

NM Sivaram. 2012. “Total failure mode and effect
analysis: a powerful technique for overcoming
failures”, International Journal of Productivity and
Quality Management, Vol.10, No.2, pp. 131-147.

[20] Eweed K.M. 2011. “Polymeric Additives Effect on

Mechanical Properties for Bitumen Based
Composites”, Eng. and Tech., 2501-2519, January.

[21] C Krishnaraj, KM Mohanasundaram. 2012. “Design

and Implementation Study of Knowledge Based
Foundry Total Failure Mode Effects Analysis

6139