Investigação do comportamento viscoelástico de amostras de licor negro oriundas do processo de polpação Kraft da Cenibra-MG à 25 oc

RESUMO O comportamento viscoelástico dos licores negros de eucalipto (LN) do processo de polpação Kraft da CENIBRA foi avaliado a 25 oC, na ausência (LNSC) e na presença (LNCC) de cinzas da ebulição da recuperação química, que são geralmente misturadas com licores negros para melhorar a eficiência da recuperação química. As amostras foram tosquiadas em campos rotativos e oscilatórios, mostrando os comportamentos de cisalhamento e cisalhamento dependentes da taxa de cisalhamento aplicada. A viscosidade complexa - *, o módulo de armazenamento e perda - G' e G'', e a tensão de rendimento 0 para LNSC foram todos muito superiores ao LNCC, provavelmente devido à fragmentação molecular causada pela adição de cinzas. ABSTRACT The viscoelastic behavior of eucalyptus black liquors (LN) from CENIBRA Kraft pulping process was evaluated at 25 oC, in absence (LNSC) and in presence (LNCC) of ash from chemical recovery boiling, which are usually mixed with black liquors to improve the efficiency of chemical recovery. The samples were sheared upon rotational and oscillatory fields, showing booth shear-thickening and shear-thinning behaviors dependent of applied shear rate. The complex viscosity – h*, storage and loss modulus – G’ and G’’, and yield stress s0 for LNSC were all very higher than LNCC, probably due the molecular fragmentation caused by addition of ashes.

A quantitative comparison of the precipitation behavior of lignin from sweetgum and pine kraft black liquors

Lignin is a by-product of the pulp and paper industry that can be precipitated by acidification from black liquor as a potential feedstock for valuable green materials. Precipitation and quantification of lignin from softwood black liquors have been documented and commercialized with well-established methods; however, applying those methods to the precipitation of lignin from hardwood black liquors has produced low lignin yields. A need to understand the main differences between hardwood and softwood lignin precipitation prompted the current investigation. Multiple black liquor samples from sweetgum and pine pulping were obtained at different times of standard kraft cooks. Two lignin fractions were precipitated from each of these black liquors, one at pH 9.5 and one at pH 2.5. Detailed lignin and carbohydrate material balances were performed around each of the sample sets, starting with the wood and ending with precipitated lignin fractions. For all conditions tested, the amount and purity of pine lignin precipitated were superior to sweetgum lignin. The maximum recovery for sweetgum lignin was 69.7%, while for pine lignin, it was 90.9%.

Combustion behavior of kraft black liquor droplets from hot water pretreated hardwood and softwood chips

This paper describes the combustion behavior of birch and spruce kraft black liquors obtained from an integrated forest biorefinery concept in which a hot water extraction of chips was performed before pulping. This pretreatment, aiming mainly at the recovery of various hemicellulose-derived materials, increased the concentrations of lignin and hydroxy acids in black liquors, compared with those in the reference black liquors without any process modification. On the other hand, the pretreatment decreased the concentrations of volatile acids and other organics (extractives and hemicellulose residues). Because of these characteristic changes, the total burning times (pyrolysis time plus char burning time) of the reference black liquors were somewhat longer than those of black liquors from the modified cooking process. The novel biorefinery based black liquors also swell more than the conventional ones. This phenomenon was primarily associated with the combined effect of high-molar-mass lignin fragments and hydroxy acids. All of the detected changes in combustion behavior were more intense for birch black liquors than for spruce black liquors.