Residual phase lignin in haft cooking related to the conditions in the
cook
Abstract The amount of lignin reacting according to the slow residual phase, i.e. the residual phase lignin, is in many perspectives an interesting issue. The purpose of the present investigation was to develop a mathematical model to show how the amount of residual phase lignin in the kraft cooking of spruce chips (Picm ahies) depends on the conditions in the earlier phases of the cook. The variables studied were hydroxide ion concentration, hydrogen sulfide ion concentration and ionic strength. The liquor-to-wood ratio during pulping was very high to maintain approximately constant chemical concentrations throughout each experiment (so called "constant composition" cooks). An increase in hydroxide ion concentration andtor hydrogen sulfide ion concentration leads to a decrease in the amount of residual phase lignin, while an increase in ionic strength, i.e. sodium ion concentration, leads to an increase. A signiticant result is that the hydrogen sulfide ion concentration has a pronounced influence on the amount of residual phase lignin during a cook at a low hydroxide ion concentration. The amount of residual phase lignin expressed as % lignin on wood, L,, can be described by the following equation developed for "constant composition" cooks (when cooking with a constant sodium ion concentration of 2 mol/L): LT=0,55-0.32*[HO-](-1,3)*ln[HS-] This equation is valid for a concentration of HO- in the range from 0.17 to 1.4, and a hydrogen sulfide ion concentration from 0.07 to 0.6 mol/L.