Adsorption of sodium on O2-prebleached Eucalyptus globulus kraft pulp

G. Vazquez, M. Lopez-Lorenzo, J. Gonzales, G. Antorrena

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

    46 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Application: Laboratory research has established the Langmuir isotherm for sodium adsorption on eucalyptus kraft pulp. Mills can use this information to simulate the pulping process and establish a global sodium balance.

    European mill ENCE, Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain, producing totally chlorine free kraft pulp from Eucalyptus globulus, wanted to establish a millwide sodium balance and simulate its pulping process. This knowledge is useful in closing the sodium balance in the pulp production process and evaluating the possible closure of water circuits and the recirculation of wastewaters.

    WinGEMS software is widely used to model the kraft pulping process. The WinGEMS simulator uses the Langmuir isotherm to represent the adsorption equilibrium of metallic cations on the pulp. Mills producing kraft pulps from pine and birch can refer to the literature to obtain the required Langmuir-model adsorption equilibrium constants for sodium adsorption. However, there is no similar information for eucalyptus kraft pulp.

    Objective and results:
    The research presented here was carried out to determine the sodium adsorption parameters of the Langmuir isotherm for eucalyptus kraft pulp. Because the kraft process involves various stages carried out at different levels of pH, the influence of pH on sodium adsorption was analyzed as well.

    Conclusion:
    Adjustment of the equilibrium data to the Langmuir model revealed the two key isothermal parameters for eucalyptus kraft pulp: Q = 8.26 kg [Na.sub.2]S[O.sub.4]/ovendry ton of pulp and k = 62.8 L/g [Na.sub.2]S[O.sub.4]. Both parameters can be plugged into the WinGEMS simulator to calculate the sodium balance and simulate the pulping process for mills producing TCF eucalyptus kraft pulps.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1-3
    Number of pages4
    JournalSolutions!
    Volume85
    Issue number1
    Publication statusPublished - 2002

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