Removal of wood extractives as pulp (pre-)treatment: a technological review

Wood extractives usually do not exceed five percent of dry wood mass but can be a serious issue for pulping as well as for the pulp itself. They cause contamination and damages to process equipment and negatively influence pulp quality. This paper addresses not only the extractives-related problems but also different solutions for these issues. It is an extensive review of different technologies for removing wood extractives, starting with methods prior to pulping. Several wood yard operations like debarking, knot separation, and wood seasoning are known to significantly decreasing the amount of wood extractives. Biological treatment has also been proven as a feasible method for reducing the extractives content before pulping, but quite hard to handle. During pulping, the extractives reduction efficiency depends on the pulping method. Mechanical pulping removes the accessory compounds of wood just slightly, but chemical pulping, on the other hand, removes them to a large extent. Organosolv pulping even allows almost complete removal of wood extractives. The residual extractives content can be significantly reduced by pulp bleaching. Nevertheless, different extraction-based methods have been developed for removing wood extractives before pulping or bleaching. They range from organic-solvent-based extractions to novel processes like supercritical fluid extractions, ionic liquids extractions, microwave technology, and ultrasonic-assisted extraction. Although these methods deliver promising results and allow utilization of wood extractives in most cases, they suffer from many drawbacks towards an economically viable industrial-scale design, concluding that further research has to be done on these topics. Graphical abstract

Energy efficiency challenges in pulp and paper manufacturing: A tutorial review

The pulp and paper industry is highly energy-intensive. In mills that use chemical pulping, roughly half of the higher heating value of the cellulosic material used to manufacture the product typically is incinerated to generate steam and electricity that is needed to run the processes. Additional energy, much of it non-renewable, needs to be purchased. This review considers publications describing steps that pulp and paper facilities can take to operate more efficiently. Savings can be achieved, for instance, by minimizing unnecessary losses in exergy, which can be defined as the energy content relative to a standard ambient condition. Throughout the long series of unit operations comprising the conversion of wood material to sheets of paper, there are large opportunities to more closely approach a hypothetical ideal performance by following established best-practices.

Energy efficiency challenges in pulp and paper manufacturing: A tutorial review

The pulp and paper industry is highly energy-intensive. In mills that use chemical pulping, roughly half of the higher heating value of the cellulosic material used to manufacture the product typically is incinerated to generate steam and electricity that is needed to run the processes. Additional energy, much of it non-renewable, needs to be purchased. This review considers publications describing steps that pulp and paper facilities can take to operate more efficiently. Savings can be achieved, for instance, by minimizing unnecessary losses in exergy, which can be defined as the energy content relative to a standard ambient condition. Throughout the long series of unit operations comprising the conversion of wood material to sheets of paper, there are large opportunities to more closely approach a hypothetical ideal performance by following established best-practices.

CHARACTERISTICS OF PULP OBTAINED FROM MISCANTHUS x GIGANTEUS BIOMASS PRODUCED IN LEAD-CONTAMINATED SOIL

"The main goal of the study was to investigate processing of Miscanthus x giganteus biomass produced in soil contaminated with lead and other trace elements (TEs) into pulp using chemical pulping. The phytoremediation parameters of the plant were measured during two growing seasons, which confirmed that the process can be defined as phytostabilization; the contaminants were mainly concentrated in the roots and practically did not translocate to the stalks and leaves, which permitted the use of the aboveground biomass to process into pulp using the organosolvent cooking. The chemical composition, morphological structure, and microscopic characteristics of various crops’ stalks were investigated and compared with the same parameters received for wood and other non-wood plant materials: rape, flax, hemp, and wheat straw. Indicators of pulp were studied depending on the duration of the organosolvent cooking. After 90 minutes of the cooking process, the peroxide pulp from M. x giganteus had a breaking length of 8300 m, tear resistance of 310 mN, and burst resistance of 220 kPa, testifying the high values of the indicators. Further research should investigate the properties of pulp produced from M. x giganteus biomass grown in soils contaminated with various TEs, as well as the possible translocation of elements to pulp."

Evaluation of the Energy Efficiency Improvement Potential through Back-End Heat Recovery in the Kraft Recovery Boiler

Sustainability and energy efficiency have become important factors for many industrial processes, including chemical pulping. Recently complex back-end heat recovery solutions have been applied to biomass-fired boilers, lowering stack temperatures and recovering some of the latent heat of the moisture by condensation. Modern kraft recovery boiler flue gas offers still unutilized heat recovery possibilities. Scrubbers have been used, but the focus has been on gas cleaning; heat recovery implementations remain simple. The goal of this study is to evaluate the potential to increase the power generation and efficiency of chemical pulping by improved back-end heat recovery from the recovery boiler. Different configurations of heat recovery schemes and different heat sink options are considered, including heat pumps. IPSEpro simulation software is used to model the boiler and steam cycle of a modern Nordic pulp mill. When heat pumps are used to upgrade some of the recovered low-grade heat, up to +23 MW gross and +16.7 MW net power generation increase was observed when the whole pulp mill in addition to the boiler and steam cycle is considered as heat consumer. Combustion air humidification proved to yield a benefit only when assuming the largest heat sink scenario for the pulp mill.

Thermal and Structural Characterization of Two Commercially Available Technical Lignins for High-value Applications

<p>Lignin is a complex polyaromatic macromolecule and a potential source of various sustainable materials and feedstock chemicals. To this end, researchers have made some considerable efforts in the high-value applications of lignin, even though there is a limited success so far. This is mainly because the exact structure of native lignin is still virtually unknown due to its highly heterogeneous nature. Besides, technical lignin undergoes unintended structural modifications during the chemical pulping and extraction processes making its final structure even more complicated. Therefore, understanding the lignin structure and its macromolecular characteristics is essential for its proper utilization. In this study, two technical lignins, such as indulin AT and alkali-treated lignin, were investigated for thermal and structural characterization. Various thermal behaviors were studied using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Indulin AT was found to be thermally more stable compared to alkali lignin. Structural characterization was performed using attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H NMR). Cupric oxide oxidation was utilized to selectively degrade the lignin into its monomers (H/G/S-moieties), which were identified with GC-MS. The results suggested that the selected lignins are mainly composed of G-type monomers. The detailed characterization studies also revealed some minor structural differences between the two lignins due to their respective delignification process. Indulin AT underwent higher structural modifications due to the harsher delignification process and hinted to show more recalcitrance toward depolymerization than alkali lignin.</p>

Thermal and Structural Characterization of Two Commercially Available Technical Lignins for High-value Applications

<p>Lignin is a complex polyaromatic macromolecule and a potential source of various sustainable materials and feedstock chemicals. To this end, researchers have made some considerable efforts in the high-value applications of lignin, even though there is a limited success so far. This is mainly because the exact structure of native lignin is still virtually unknown due to its highly heterogeneous nature. Besides, technical lignin undergoes unintended structural modifications during the chemical pulping and extraction processes making its final structure even more complicated. Therefore, understanding the lignin structure and its macromolecular characteristics is essential for its proper utilization. In this study, two technical lignins, such as indulin AT and alkali-treated lignin, were investigated for thermal and structural characterization. Various thermal behaviors were studied using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Indulin AT was found to be thermally more stable compared to alkali lignin. Structural characterization was performed using attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H NMR). Cupric oxide oxidation was utilized to selectively degrade the lignin into its monomers (H/G/S-moieties), which were identified with GC-MS. The results suggested that the selected lignins are mainly composed of G-type monomers. The detailed characterization studies also revealed some minor structural differences between the two lignins due to their respective delignification process. Indulin AT underwent higher structural modifications due to the harsher delignification process and hinted to show more recalcitrance toward depolymerization than alkali lignin.</p>

Characterization of Lignin Compounds at the Molecular Level: Mass Spectrometry Analysis and Raw Data Processing

Lignin is the second most abundant natural biopolymer, which is a potential alternative to conventional fossil fuels. It is also a promising material for the recovery of valuable chemicals such as aromatic compounds as well as an important biomarker for terrestrial organic matter. Lignin is currently produced in large quantities as a by-product of chemical pulping and cellulosic ethanol processes. Consequently, analytical methods are required to assess the content of valuable chemicals contained in these complex lignin wastes. This review is devoted to the application of mass spectrometry, including data analysis strategies, for the elemental and structural elucidation of lignin products. We describe and critically evaluate how these methods have contributed to progress and trends in the utilization of lignin in chemical synthesis, materials, energy, and geochemistry.