Untreated and hot water-treated birch (Betula pendula) sawdust were cooked by the oxygen-alkali method under the same cooking conditions (temperature = 170°C, liquor-to-wood ratio = 5 L/kg, and 19% sodium hydroxide charge on the ovendry sawdust). The pretreatment of feedstock clearly facilitated delignification. After a cooking time of 90 min, the kappa numbers were 47.6 for the untreated birch and 10.3 for the hot water-treated birch. Additionally, the amounts of hydroxy acids in black liquors based on the pretreated sawdust were higher (19.5-22.5g/L) than those in the untreated sawdust black liquors (14.8-15.5 g/L). In contrast, in the former case, the amounts of acetic acid were lower in the pretreated sawdust (13.3-14.8 g/L vs. 16.9-19.1 g/L) because the partial hydrolysis of the
acetyl groups in xylan already took place during the hot water extraction of feedstock. The sulfur-free fractions in the pretreatment hydrolysates (mainly carbohydrates and acetic acid) and in black liquors (mainly lignin and aliphatic carboxylic acids) were considered as attractive novel byproducts of chemical pulping.
