The Impact of Dissolved Matter on Fiberline Processes

Abstract: The impact of dissolved matter on the performance of four fiberline process stages was investigated: oxygen delignification, hot acid treatment, chlorine dioxide bleaching, and hydrogen peroxide reinforced alkaline extraction. In particular the impact on delignification due to dissolved lignin was studied.The impact of unoxidized and oxidized dissolved matter on lignin and carbohydrate degradation was investigated in a laboratory oxygen delignification stage. It was concluded that the delignification was decreased by the presence of unoxidized dissolved matter but increased in the case of oxidized dissolved matter. Both types of dissolved matter comparably increased the carbohydrate degradation. Thus, the presence of unoxidized dissolved matter impaired the selectivity. In the case of oxidized dissolved matter, the selec­tiv­ity was affected in the same way as when using a higher sodium hydroxide charge.The presence of dissolved matter reduced the efficiency of a laboratory hot acid stage, and subsequently further affected the chemical demand in a following chlorine dioxide stage. In a laboratory chlorine dioxide stage, the presence of dissolved matter reduced the delignifica­tion. The additional chemical demand required to compensate for this reduc­tion was proportional to the content of dissolved matter. Moreover, the total chemical demand was found proportional to the total kappa number of the pulp, that is the sum of the fiber and filtrate kappa numbers. Finally, the presence of dissolved matter in a laboratory hydrogen peroxide reinforced alkaline extrac­tion stage reduced both the delignification and the brightness.Furthermore, mill studies showed that the content of dissolved lignin varied significantly, and often more than the fiber-bound lignin, in a bleaching stage. For chlorine dioxide stages, it was proposed that the chemical consumption could be reduced by controlling the chemical charge based on the sum of the fiber-bound lignin and the dissolved lignin.