EP0530881A1 - Use of wash press for pulp alkali addition process - Google Patents

Use of wash press for pulp alkali addition process Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0530881A1
EP0530881A1 EP92202469A EP92202469A EP0530881A1 EP 0530881 A1 EP0530881 A1 EP 0530881A1 EP 92202469 A EP92202469 A EP 92202469A EP 92202469 A EP92202469 A EP 92202469A EP 0530881 A1 EP0530881 A1 EP 0530881A1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
pulp
alkaline material
consistency
delignification
amount
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Application number
EP92202469A
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German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Inventor
James C. Joseph
Christopher H. Matthews
Stuart T. Terrett
Spencer W. Eachus
Bruce F. Griggs
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Union Camp Patent Holding Inc
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Union Camp Patent Holding Inc
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    • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
    • D21—PAPER-MAKING; PRODUCTION OF CELLULOSE
    • D21C—PRODUCTION OF CELLULOSE BY REMOVING NON-CELLULOSE SUBSTANCES FROM CELLULOSE-CONTAINING MATERIALS; REGENERATION OF PULPING LIQUORS; APPARATUS THEREFOR
    • D21C9/00—After-treatment of cellulose pulp, e.g. of wood pulp, or cotton linters ; Treatment of dilute or dewatered pulp or process improvement taking place after obtaining the raw cellulosic material and not provided for elsewhere
    • D21C9/10—Bleaching ; Apparatus therefor
    • D21C9/1005—Pretreatment of the pulp, e.g. degassing the pulp
    • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
    • D21—PAPER-MAKING; PRODUCTION OF CELLULOSE
    • D21C—PRODUCTION OF CELLULOSE BY REMOVING NON-CELLULOSE SUBSTANCES FROM CELLULOSE-CONTAINING MATERIALS; REGENERATION OF PULPING LIQUORS; APPARATUS THEREFOR
    • D21C9/00—After-treatment of cellulose pulp, e.g. of wood pulp, or cotton linters ; Treatment of dilute or dewatered pulp or process improvement taking place after obtaining the raw cellulosic material and not provided for elsewhere
    • D21C9/10—Bleaching ; Apparatus therefor
    • D21C9/147—Bleaching ; Apparatus therefor with oxygen or its allotropic modifications
    • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
    • D21—PAPER-MAKING; PRODUCTION OF CELLULOSE
    • D21C—PRODUCTION OF CELLULOSE BY REMOVING NON-CELLULOSE SUBSTANCES FROM CELLULOSE-CONTAINING MATERIALS; REGENERATION OF PULPING LIQUORS; APPARATUS THEREFOR
    • D21C9/00—After-treatment of cellulose pulp, e.g. of wood pulp, or cotton linters ; Treatment of dilute or dewatered pulp or process improvement taking place after obtaining the raw cellulosic material and not provided for elsewhere
    • D21C9/02—Washing ; Displacing cooking or pulp-treating liquors contained in the pulp by fluids, e.g. wash water or other pulp-treating agents
    • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
    • D21—PAPER-MAKING; PRODUCTION OF CELLULOSE
    • D21C—PRODUCTION OF CELLULOSE BY REMOVING NON-CELLULOSE SUBSTANCES FROM CELLULOSE-CONTAINING MATERIALS; REGENERATION OF PULPING LIQUORS; APPARATUS THEREFOR
    • D21C9/00—After-treatment of cellulose pulp, e.g. of wood pulp, or cotton linters ; Treatment of dilute or dewatered pulp or process improvement taking place after obtaining the raw cellulosic material and not provided for elsewhere
    • D21C9/10—Bleaching ; Apparatus therefor

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a method for the treatment of wood pulp, and more particularly to a method for oxygen delignification of brownstock to produce highly delignified pulp without deleteriously affecting strength.
  • Wood is comprised in major proportion of cellulose and hemicellulose fiber and amorphous, non-fibrous lignin which serves to hold the fibrous portions together.
  • the hemicellulose and the cellulose are sometimes referred to collectively as holocellulose.
  • the wood is transformed into a fibrous mass by removing a substantial portion of the lignin from the wood.
  • processes for the production of paper and paper products generally include a pulping stage in which wood, usually in the form of wood chips, is reduced to a fibrous mass.
  • pulping stage in which wood, usually in the form of wood chips, is reduced to a fibrous mass.
  • Chemical pulping methods include a wide variety of processes, such as the sulfite process, the bisulfite process, the soda process and the Kraft process.
  • the Kraft process is the predominant form of chemical pulping.
  • Chemical pulping operations generally comprise introducing wood chips into a digesting vessel where they are cooked in a chemical liquor.
  • the cooking liquor comprises a mixture of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide.
  • softened and delignified wood chips are separated from the cooking liquor to produce a fibrous mass of pulp.
  • the pulp produced by chemical pulping is called "brownstock.”
  • the brownstock is typically washed to remove cooking liquor and then processed for the production of unbleached grades of paper products or, alternatively, bleached for the production of high brightness paper products.
  • chromophoric groups on the lignin are principally responsible for color in the pulp, most methods for the bleaching of brownstock require further delignification of the brownstock.
  • the brownstock may be reacted with elemental chlorine in an acidic medium or with hypochlorite in an alkaline solution to effect this further delignification. These steps are typically followed by reactions with chlorine dioxide to produce a fully bleached product.
  • Oxygen delignification is a method that has been used at an increasing rate in recent years for the bleaching of pulp because it uses inexpensive bleach chemicals and produces by-products which can be burned in a recovery boiler reducing environmental pollutants. Oxygen delignification is frequently followed by bleach stages which use chlorine or chlorine dioxide but require less bleach chemical and produce less environmental pollutants because of the bleaching achieved in the oxygen stage.
  • the pulp is bleached while being maintained at low to medium levels of pulp consistency.
  • Pulp consistency is a measure of the percentage of solid fibrous material in pulp. Pulps having a consistency of less than about 10% by weight are said to be in the low to medium range of pulp consistency.
  • Processes which require bleaching at low to medium consistency are described in the following patents and publications: U.S. Patent 4,198,266, issued to Kirk et al; U.S. Patent 4,431,480, issued to Markham et al; U.S. Patent Number 4,220,498, issued to Prough; and an article by Kirk et al. entitled "Low-consistency Oxygen Delignification in a Pipeline Reactor - A Pilot Study", TAPPI, May 1978.
  • Each of the foregoing describe an oxygen delignification step that operates upon pulps in the low to medium consistency range.
  • U.S. Patent 4,806,203 issued to Elton, discloses an alkaline extraction, preferably for chlorinated pulp, wherein the timed removal of alkaline solution is essential to prevent redepositing of dissolved lignin back onto the pulp. If too short or too long of a time period passes in this stage, the process shows little benefit.
  • Oxygen delignification of wood pulp can be carried out on fluffed, high consistency pulp in a pressurized reactor.
  • the consistency of the pulp is typically maintained between about 20% and 30% by weight during the oxygen delignification step.
  • Gaseous oxygen at pressures of from about 80 to about 100 psig is introduced into and reacted with the high consistency pulp. See, G.A. Smook, Handbook for Pulp and Paper Technologists , Chapter 11.4 (1982).
  • the pulp after cooking is washed and dewatered to produce a high consistency mat.
  • the pulp mat is then covered with a thin film or layer of an alkaline solution, by spraying the solution onto the surface of the mat.
  • the amount of alkaline solution sprayed onto the mat is about 0.8 to 7% by weight of oven dry pulp.
  • the present invention provides a novel process for obtaining enhanced delignification selectivity of pulp during a high consistency oxygen delignification process wherein the oxygen delignified pulp has greater strength and a lower lignin content than has been attainable by prior art processes.
  • a wash press is utilized to reduce the quantity of alkaline material that is needed to apply the desired amount onto the pulp, while also reducing the amount of solids on the pulp which enters the oxygen delignification reactor.
  • pulp is initially washed in the wash press to a consistency of at least about 18%. This consistency is subsequently reduced to less than about 10% by weight and preferably less than 5% by weight to form a low consistency pulp.
  • a first amount of alkaline material is applied to the low consistency pulp by combining the low consistency pulp with a quantity of alkaline material in an aqueous alkaline solution in a manner to obtain a substantially uniform distribution of the first amount of alkaline material throughout the pulp. This uniform distribution of the first amount of alkaline material is sufficient to assist in the enhancement of delignification selectivity during high consistency oxygen delignification compared to processes where the alkaline material is only applied upon high consistency pulp or is only applied at very low amounts onto low consistency pulp.
  • the consistency of the pulp is then increased to at least about 18% to form high consistency pulp.
  • the step of increasing the pulp consistency includes pressing or otherwise processing the low consistency pulp in a manner to remove pressate containing alkaline material while retaining the first amount of alkaline material distributed throughout the pulp.
  • the consistency of the pulp is increased by the wash press to a value which is equal to or greater than that of the high consistency pulp.
  • This allows all pressate to be directly recycled to the alkaline material combining step, wherein all alkaline material is applied to the low consistency pulp to distribute the total amount thereupon. Also, the quantity of alkaline material utilized to apply the total amount of alkaline material to the pulp is minimized due to the recycling of all pressate.
  • a split alkaline material addition sequence is used to apply the total amount of alkaline material to the pulp after it exits the wash press.
  • a first amount of alkaline material is applied to the low consistency pulp and a second amount is applied to the high consistency pulp.
  • a predetermined quantity of pressate may be retained in a holding tank. This quantity of pressate may be continuously returned or recycled directly to the alkaline material combining step.
  • the total amount of alkaline material applied to the pulp is between about 0.8 and 7 percent by weight based on oven dry pulp, the pulp is then subjected to oxygen delignification whereby enhanced delignification is achieved.
  • the present invention relates to a process for treating brownstock pulp with alkaline material prior to high consistency oxygen delignification wherein the pulp is substantially uniformly treated with the alkaline material in a manner which minimizes usage of alkaline material and solids buildup on the pulp.
  • the present invention provides high quality, high strength, delignified wood pulp from Kraft pulp or pulps produced by other chemical pulping processes.
  • the preferred starting material is unbleached pulp obtained by cooking wood chips or other fibrous materials in a cooking liquor, such as by the Kraft or Kraft AQ process.
  • wood chips 1 and a white liquor 2 comprising sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide are introduced into a digester 3.
  • Sufficient white liquor should be introduced into the digester to substantially cover the wood chips.
  • the contents of the digester are then heated at a temperature and for a time sufficient to allow the white liquor to substantially impregnate the wood chips and substantially complete the cooking reaction.
  • This wood chip cooking step is conventionally known as Kraft cooking or the Kraft process and the pulp produced by this process is known as Kraft pulp or Kraft brownstock.
  • the delignification results obtained with the conventional Kraft process may be increased by the use of extended delignification techniques or the Kraft-AQ process.
  • these techniques are preferred for obtaining the greatest degree of reduction in K No. of the pulp without deleteriously affecting the strength and viscosity properties of the pulp during the cooking stage.
  • the amount of anthraquinone in the cooking liquor should be an amount of at least about 0.01% by weight, based on the oven dried weight of the wood to be pulped, with amounts of from 0.02 to about 0.1% generally being preferred.
  • the inclusion of anthraquinone in the Kraft pulping process contributes significantly to the removal of the lignin without adversely affecting the desired strength characteristics of the remaining cellulose. Also, the additional cost for the anthraquinone is partially offset by the savings in cost of chemicals utilized in the bleaching steps which follow oxygen delignification of the pulp.
  • Kraft-AQ Alternatively or additively to Kraft-AQ is the use of techniques for extended delignification such as the Kamyr MCC, Beloit RDH and Sunds Super Batch Methods. These techniques also offer the ability to remove more of the lignin during cooking without adversely affecting the desired strength characteristics of the remaining cellulose.
  • the digester 3 produces a black liquor containing the reaction products of lignin solubilization together with brownstock 4.
  • the cooking step is typically followed by washing to remove most of the dissolved organics and cooking chemicals for recycle and recovery, as well as a screening stage (not shown) in which the pulp is passed through a screening apparatus to remove bundles of fibers that have not been separated in pulping.
  • the brownstock 4 is then directed to a blow tank 5.
  • Brownstock 6 exiting blow tank 5 is diluted to a consistency of about 3.5% with a portion 15A of stream 15.
  • This pulp 6 enters wash press 7 and is washed with recycle stream 27. Instead of stream 27, other suitable wash streams which may contain alkaline materials will be apparent to persons skilled in the art.
  • the pulp then exits the wash press 7 as stream 8 at a consistency of 25-35%. In a most preferred embodiment, the pulp 8 has a consistency of 32%.
  • wash press 7 instead or in place of a conventional washer reduces the quantity of alkaline material necessary to apply the desired amount onto the pulp. Also, the amount of organic and/or inorganic solids on the pulp exiting the wash press are reduced, so that less of these contaminants are carried by the pulp into the oxygen reactor. Thus, less amounts of chemical are consumed by the oxygen reactor. In addition, compared to a conventional washer, less alkaline material is lost to the plant liquid recovery system due to pressate discharge or due to "break through” from pressate into the washer effluent.
  • the washed pulp 8 is then introduced into a mixing chest 9 where it is substantially uniformly combined with sufficient fresh 10 and recycle 14 alkaline material for a time sufficient to distribute a first amount of alkaline material throughout the pulp.
  • the consistency of the brownstock pulp is reduced and maintained at less than about 10% and preferably less than about 5% by weight.
  • the consistency of the pulp is generally greater than about 0.5%, since lesser consistencies are not economical to process in this manner.
  • a most preferred consistency range is 0.5 to 4.5%.
  • aqueous sodium hydroxide solution is combined with the low consistency pulp in an amount sufficient to provide at least about 0.8% to about 7% by weight of sodium hydroxide on pulp based on oven dry pulp after thickening.
  • other alkali sources having equivalent sodium hydroxide content can also be employed, such as oxidized white liquor.
  • the alkaline material treated pulp 11 is forwarded to a thickening unit 12 where the consistency of the pulp is increased, for example, by pressing to at least about 18% by weight and preferably from about 25% to 35%. For the preferred embodiment described above, the consistency is increased to 29%.
  • the pulp consistency increasing step also removes residual liquid or pressate 13.
  • the consistency of the pulp 8 entering the mixing chest 9 is on the same order (i.e., about equal or slightly greater) as that of the high consistency pulp 17 which exits the thickener 12, the quantity of alkaline material utilized in the combining step is minimized because all pressate 13 may advantageously be directly recycled back to the mixing chest 9, as shown in Figure 1.
  • wash press 7 allows pulp 8 to obtain a sufficiently high consistency so that all pressate may be recycled to the mixing chest 9 via stream 14.
  • a holding tank 16 may be included to receive pressate 13.
  • This holding tank 16 assists in the smooth, continuous operation of the process by being able to retain amounts of pressate 13 so as to provide an uninterrupted flow of pressate 14 containing alkaline material to the mixing chest 9.
  • holding tank 16 provides a reservoir of alkaline material which can be continuously directed to mixing chest 9 for use in the low consistency pulp alkaline treatment step.
  • this tank should be sized at about 6000 cubic feet in order to have sufficient volume to handle the pressate generated by a 1000 air dried tons per day ("ADT/d") plant.
  • pressate 14 to mixing chest 9 or holding vessel 16 allows all such alkaline material to be retained within the low consistency pulp alkaline treatment stage. This avoids loss of alkaline material to the recovery system which would occur if the pressate 14 were introduced into a conventional washer by a shower or split shower configuration due to "breakthrough" into the effluent of the washer. A closed system is achieved, whereby pressate 13 is directly recycled to mixing chest 9. The amount of alkaline material "lost" due to application to the increased consistency pulp is easily replaced by additional alkaline material 10 added to the mixing chest 9 or holding tank 16. In this arrangement, the quantities of alkaline material to be utilized in the process would be minimized, since no alkaline material is lost by intentional or unintentional discharge to the plant recovery system.
  • a first portion 27 of the oxygen stage washer 23 filtrate 26 can be used to advantage by being recycled to wash press 7 to recover the alkaline material utilized by the process.
  • Portions 15A, 15B of wash filtrate 15 from wash press 7 can be used to dilute pulp 6 or to wash pulp upstream of wash press 7.
  • the remaining portion 15C of wash filtrate 15, if any, can be discharged to the plant recovery system to maintain water balance.
  • the second portion 28 of oxygen stage washer 23 filtrate 26 may also be used in an analogous manner to that of filtrate 15.
  • alkaline material added to chest 9 at stream 10 is the same as the amount on the pulp 17 exiting thickening unit 12.
  • a first portion of the total amount of alkaline material desired on the pulp for the high consistency delignification in the oxygen reactor 20 is added to the low consistency pulp in the mixing chest 9. Generally, about half of the total amount is applied during the low consistency treatment described above. Thereafter, a second portion of additional alkaline material 18 is applied to the high consistency brownstock 17 produced by the thickening unit 12 by conventional spray techniques, for example, to obtain the total amount of alkaline material on the pulp prior to oxygen delignification.
  • This second amount of alkaline material 18 is selected to apply the remaining amount necessary (again, about one-half of the total amount) to achieve the desired extent of delignification in the subsequent oxygen delignification step which is carried out on the alkaline material treated high consistency pulp.
  • This two-step process is referred to as the split alkaline material addition process.
  • the total amount of alkaline material actually applied onto the pulp will generally be between 0.8 and 7% by weight based on oven dry ("OD") pulp, and preferably between about 1.5 and 4% for southern softwood and between about 1 and 3.8% for hardwood. In the alternate embodiment of Figure 1, about half these amounts are preferably applied in each of the low consistency and high consistency treatments. Thus, about 0.5 to 2% by weight, preferably about 0.5 to 1.9% for hardwood and 0.75 to 2% for softwood, is applied onto the pulp during each of the low and high consistency pulp alkaline treatments.
  • OD oven dry
  • the split addition process improves control of the addition of alkaline material to the pulp.
  • the high consistency alkaline treatment step allows rapid modification or adjustment of the total amount of the alkaline material present in or upon the pulp which will enter the oxygen delignification reactor 20.
  • By adjusting the amount of alkaline material 18 applied onto the pulp during the high consistency treatment prolonged equilibrium adjustments during the low consistency treatment are avoided.
  • the increased speed in achieving equilibrium of the high consistency alkaline solution treatment allows for a more rapid response of the oxygen system to changing delignification requirements in that the precise total amount to be applied to the pulp can be easily and rapidly varied to compensate for changes in the properties (i.e., wood type, K No. and viscosity) of the incoming brownstock, or to vary the degree or extent of oxygen delignification for a particular pulp.
  • the fully alkaline treated pulp 19 is then forwarded to the oxygen delignification reactor 20 where it is contacted with gaseous oxygen 21 by any of a number of well known methods.
  • Suitable conditions for oxygen delignification according to the present invention comprise introducing gaseous oxygen at about 80 to about 100 psig to the high consistency pulp while maintaining the temperature of the pulp between about 90 and 130°C.
  • the average contact time between the high consistency pulp and the gaseous oxygen ranges from about 15 minutes to about 60 minutes.
  • the delignified pulp 22 is forwarded to a washing unit 23 wherein the pulp is washed with water 24 to remove any dissolved organics and to produce high quality, low color pulp 25. From here, pulp 25 can be sent to subsequent bleaching stages to produce a fully bleached product.
  • Figure 2 illustrates a portion of the process of Figure 1. Where like components are utilized in this process, identical reference numbers have been utilized for convenience. Components not shown in Figure 2 would be identical to those of Figure 1.
  • the alkaline material treated pulp 11 is forwarded to a wash press 30, instead of thickening unit 12, for increasing the consistency of the pulp by removing pressate 13.
  • a holding tank 16 may be provided in the recycle line for the reasons mentioned above.
  • a first variation allows all alkaline material to be combined with the pulp in mixing chest 9 as described above with regard to the process of Figure 1.
  • a second variation of the Figure 2 embodiment is the use of the split alkaline material addition process of Figure 1.
  • only a portion of the desired total amount of alkaline material is applied to the low consistency pulp in the mixing tank 9, while the remaining portion 18 is applied to the high consistency pulp 17.
  • the relative amounts of alkaline material in these portions and the resultant advantages would be essentially the same as those described above with respect to the split alkaline material addition embodiment of Figure 1.
  • Additional advantages of the present invention can be obtained during the subsequent bleaching of the oxygen delignified pulp 25.
  • Such bleaching can be conducted with any of a wide variety of bleaching agents, including ozone, peroxide, chlorine, chlorine dioxide, hypochlorite or the like.
  • a substantially reduced amount of total active chlorine is used compared to the bleaching of pulps which are oxygen delignified by prior art techniques.
  • the total amount of chlorine-containing chemicals utilized according to the present invention is reduced by about 15 to 35% by weight compared to the amount needed for the same starting pulp which is not treated with alkaline material at low pulp consistency.
  • the process of the present invention also reduces the amounts of environmental pollutants caused by the use of chlorine, since reduced amounts of chlorine are used. Furthermore, due to the lower usage of chemicals in this portion of the system, the amount of contaminants in the waste water from the plant which is to be treated is correspondingly reduced with similar savings in waste water treatment facilities and related costs.
  • delignification selectivity is a measure of cellulosic degradation relative to the extent of lignin remaining in the pulp and is an indication of the ability of the process to produce a strong pulp with low lignin content. Differences in delignification selectivity for oxygen delignification of a particular pulp can be shown, for example, by comparing the ratio of pulp viscosity to K No. or Kappa number. For this invention, the lignin content of the pulp may be measured by either K No. or Kappa number. One skilled in the art can recognize the difference between these values and can convert one number to the other, if desired.
  • the viscosity of a bleached pulp is representative of the degree of polymerization of the cellulose in the bleached pulp and as such is representative of the pulp.
  • K No. represents the amount of lignin remaining in the pulp. Accordingly, an oxygen delignification reaction that has a high selectivity produces a bleached pulp of high strength (i.e., high viscosity) and low lignin content (i.e., low K No.).
  • Southern pine Kraft brownstock having a K No. of about 24 was pressed without alkaline solution treatment to a consistency of about 30-36% by weight to produce a high consistency mat of brownstock.
  • the mat of brownstock was sprayed with a 10% sodium hydroxide solution in an amount sufficient to produce approximately 2.5 weight percent sodium hydroxide based on pulp dry weight. Dilution water was added in an amount sufficient to adjust the brownstock mat to about 27% consistency.
  • the high consistency brownstock mat was then subjected to oxygen delignification using the following conditions: 110° C, 30 minutes, 80 psig O2. The oxygen delignified pulp produced according to this procedure was tested and found to have a K No.
  • Bleaching of the oxygen delignified pulp was conducted in three stages: chlorine, caustic extraction and chlorine dioxide.
  • the final bleached pulp of 83 G.E. brightness was obtained using the bleaching and extraction conditions of Table 3 and the chemical charges (percent based on OD pulp) listed in Table 4. Also, the pulps were well washed between bleaching stages.
  • Examples 2-5 illustrate the benefits in degree of delignification and delignification selectivities obtained during high consistency oxygen delignification for pulps which are treated with alkaline material only at low consistency.
  • Example 2 The same pine Kraft brownstock as used in Example 1 was introduced into a mixing chest, such as 9 of Figures 1 or 2. Sufficient dilution water was added to obtain a brownstock consistency of about 3% by weight in the mixing chest. A sufficient volume of 10% NaOH solution was added to effect a 30% NaOH addition based on OD pulp. The brownstock and the aqueous sodium hydroxide solution were uniformly mixed at room temperature for about 15 minutes to combine the alkaline material with the brownstock. The resulting alkaline material containing brownstock was then pressed to a consistency of about 27% by weight. After pressing, the sodium hydroxide on the fiber equaled about 2.5%, as in Example 1. The alkaline material treated brownstock was then bleached according to the oxygen delignification procedure described in Example 1.
  • the oxygen delignified pulp was then washed to remove organics.
  • the resulting oxygen stage pulp had a K No. of 9 (Kappa number of 10.8) and a CED viscosity of 14.0.
  • the oxygen bleached pulp was further bleached by known technology at the conditions shown in Example 1. The properties of the oxygen delignified pulp and the fully bleached pulp of this Example are also shown above in Tables 1 and 2, respectively.
  • Example 2 As can be seen from a comparison of Examples 1 and 2, the procedure of Example 2 produced an oxygen delignified pulp having greater delignification (lower K No.) at about the same viscosity than the prior art method of Example 1 which applies all the alkaline material upon the high consistency pulp. Furthermore, utilizing a low consistency alkaline treatment of pulp in accordance with Example 2 provides enhanced delignification without significant change in strength properties. Thus, increased delignification selectivity is achieved.
  • Pulp produced from softwood (pine) in a process similar to that of Example 2 is compared to that produced conventionally (i.e. with no low consistency alkaline treatment step) as in Example 1.
  • the average sodium hydroxide dosage applied only to high consistency pulp for subsequent oxygen delignification of the pulp was found to be 45 pounds per oven dried ton (1b/t) or 2.3%.
  • the average reduction in K No. across the oxygen delignification reactor was 10 units.
  • an average K No. drop during delignification was found to be 13 units: a 30% increase compared to the prior art.
  • the average K No. and viscosity for conventional pulp was 12.1 and 14.4 cps, respectively.
  • the average K No. at essentially the same viscosity (14.0 cps) was 8.3, an increase in delignification selectivity of about 41% (1.69 vs. 1.19), as shown in Table 5.
  • Table 5 illustrates that total active chlorine usage in the next stage of bleaching was reduced by about 1/3 (i.e., 69.4 pounds per ton vs. 46.4 pounds per ton).
  • sodium hydroxide requirements for the extraction stage were also reduced by about 1/3 (24 lb/t vs. 35 lb/t).
  • Chlorine dioxide in the final bleaching stage was reduced by about 1/6 (9 lb/t vs. 10.6 lb/t).
  • the average hardwood K No. and viscosity were found to be 7.6 and 16 cps, respectively.
  • a K No. of 6 and a viscosity of 17.7 was obtained.
  • the K No. at the same viscosity as the prior art alkaline material treated pulp (16 cps) was found to be 5.8.
  • An increase of delignification selectivity of about 40% (2.95 vs. 2.10) is achieved, as shown in Table 6.
  • Delignification selectivity can also be expressed in terms of the change in viscosity versus the change in K No. between brownstock and delignified pulps.
  • the average change in viscosity was 4 cps for pulps produced by the conventional process.
  • the change in K No. for the same change in viscosity for pulps produced by the low consistency pulp treatment was 7 units.
  • the selectivity for the low consistency treated pulp was 1.75 and that for the conventional process was 1 (cps/K No.), an increase of about 75%.
  • Table 6 illustrates that total active chlorine usage in the chlorine stage was reduced by about 1/6 (i.e., 34.9 lb/t compared to 41.6 1b/t), while caustic requirements for the extraction stage were reduced by more than 29% (i.e., 13.3 lb/t vs. 18.9 lb/t) compared to prior art pulp.
  • the chlorine dioxide in the final bleaching stage was reduced by more than 14% (i.e., 4.7 lb/t vs. 5.5 lb/t).
  • the final pulp properties with regard to viscosity and dirt values were essentially the same.
  • An unbleached brownstock pine pulp was prepared having a K No. of 19.54 and a viscosity of 24.9. Two samples of this pulp at a consistency of 7.7% were treated with 3% NaOH at a temperature of 60°C for 1 and 15 minutes, respectively. Thereafter, the consistency of the pulp was increased to 27% and the NaOH content of the pulp was found to be about 0.67%.
  • This pulp was directed to an oxygen delignification reactor at a pressure of 80 psi and a temperature of 110°C for 30 minutes without the further addition of alkaline material.
  • the treated pulp of samples E-H retains a much greater amount (i.e., 3%) of sodium hydroxide than that of samples A-D, because a much larger quantity of sodium hydroxide is mixed with the pulp.
  • Samples E-H show a decrease in K No. of the pulp of at least about 55.3%, while the K No. decrease of Samples A-D is much smaller and is, at best, about 11.3%.
  • the samples (E-H) treated in accordance with the process of the present invention increases delignification by about 49.6% over the comparative samples.
  • samples M-P Due to the increased amount of NaOH mixed with the low consistency pulp, a much greater amount of NaOH is retained on the high consistency pulp. Due to this increased amount of NaOH, samples M-P achieve a decrease in K No. of at least about 56%, while samples I-L, at best, achieve a decrease of only about 24.4%. Again, the samples (M-P) prepared by the present process obtain increased delignification by at least 41.9% compared to the comparative samples. As noted above, this is due to the increased amounts of sodium hydroxide retained upon the high consistency pulp due to the uniform mixing and distribution of appropriate amounts of sodium hydroxide throughout the low consistency pulp.
  • the same starting brownstock was treated with sodium hydroxide (2.1% on pulp after pressing) at 3% consistency for 15 minutes.
  • the starting Kappa number decreased 0.6 units to a Kappa number of 27.5. This represented a 4.2% contribution to the total Kappa number drop experienced following low consistency alkaline treatment and oxygen delignification (Kappa number of 13.4).
  • the yield across the alkaline treatment stage was 98.7%.
  • This Example 5 shows that no significant amount of delignification occurs during the low consistency alkaline treatment of the pulp. This example also shows that there is no significance to the time of treatment with alkaline material at low consistency up to about 15 minutes. As is further shown by Examples 2-6, however, the low consistency alkaline treatment does significantly increase the relative amount of delignification obtained during subsequent high consistency oxygen delignification step as compared to pulps treated in the conventional manner. This example also shows that the process is effective with a low Kappa number brownstock in taking the pulp to a very low Kappa number without any significant decrease in viscosity.
  • the uniform distribution of the alkaline material throughout the pulp during the low consistency combining step ensures that the pulp fibers are more optimally associated with the alkaline material than is otherwise possible according to prior techniques. This results in enhanced delignification selectivity during subsequent oxygen delignification in that the delignified brownstocks have strength and degrees of delignification that are generally superior to those attainable by the prior art. Also, the delignification selectivity of the oxygen delignification reaction is unexpectedly improved.
  • the minimum amount of alkaline material applied onto the low consistency pulp is that which, in combination with the amount applied onto the high consistency pulp, is sufficient to increase or enhance delignification selectivity of the pulp during the oxygen delignification stage.
  • at least about 50% of the total amount of alkaline material to be applied to the pulp prior to oxygen delignification should be applied to the low consistency pulp. If less than about 50% is applied to the low consistency pulp, the advantages regarding delignification selectivity significantly decrease.
  • a delignification i.e., reduction in K No.
  • K No. reduction in K No.
  • pulp K Nos. for the particular pulp range from about 10 to 26, depending upon the type of wood and type of pulping conducted upon the particular wood. After delignification, the K No. is reduced to about 5 to 10.
  • K Nos. generally range from 20-24 (target of 21) prior to delignification, while after delignification, the K Nos. are in the range of 8-10.
  • K Nos. of 10-14 target 12.5 prior to delignification
  • K Nos. of 5-7 after delignification are generally obtained by the present process.
  • the viscosity prior to delignification is generally about 19 or greater, while after delignification is above about 13 (generally 14 or above for softwood and 15 or above for hardwood). Typically, this change in viscosity from before to after delignification would be about 6 cps. or less. Moreover, it has been found that the change in viscosity per change in K No. is a constant for decreases in K No. up to about 17 units.
  • delignification selectivity is enhanced by the 100% low consistency alkali treatment process, with an increase of at least 20% in delignification compared to prior art delignification processes.
  • the avoidance of deterioration of the cellulose component of the pulp is evident by the minimal change in viscosity of pulp from before to after oxygen delignification.
  • the following data illustrates the relative quantities of alkaline material needed to treat Southern pine brownstock pulp prior to high consistency oxygen delignification.
  • Example 2 provides enhanced delignification without a significant change in strength properties, so that the additional quantities of alkaline material would be tolerated.
  • the process illustrated in Figure 1, however, would also utilize only the necessary 40 pounds per ton, since no alkaline material is discharged from the pressate recycle and the only alkaline material which exits the system is that which enters the oxygen reactor.
  • the improved delignification selectivity of the process of Example 2 is achieved with the savings of about 51 pounds per ton of alkaline material used in the process of the present invention.
  • the starting brownstock used in the experiment was Southern pine. This material was digested in a conventional manner to form brownstock.
  • the 40 ml K No. of the brownstock was 22.1, and the 25 ml K No. was 19.8.
  • the viscosity of the pulp was 24.5 cps.
  • This pulp was diluted to a low consistency of about 3.5%. A sufficient amount of alkaline material was distributed throughout this pulp by the addition of oxidized white liquor solution. The pulp consistency was then increased to about 27% to retain, after pressing, the amount of alkaline material throughout the pulp shown in Table 10.
  • a second amount of alkaline material was then applied to the high consistency pulp.
  • the alkali solution used to apply the stated amounts was oxidized white liquor containing 84.5 g/l sodium hydroxide and 0.1% magnesium sulfate.
  • the alkaline treated high consistency pulp was then directed to the oxygen reactor 20 (Figure 1) which was operated at a temperature of 110°C, at a pressure of 80 psig for 30 minutes.
  • the total alkaline material applied in both the low and high consistency pulp treatments ranged from about 2.96 to 4.23% as shown in Table 10.
  • the actual splits of alkaline material on pulp between the low and high consistency pulp treatments are shown in Table 10, while the resulting viscosities, K Nos. and selectivity ratios for the oxygen delignified pulp are shown in Table 11.
  • Samples 1, 2 and 3 provide delignified pulps which are comparable to that of comparative sample A, where 100% of the alkaline material is applied to low consistency pulp. Samples 1-3 and A are preferred due to the increased delignification selectivities compared to samples 4-6 and B, viscosity decreases while K Nos. increase. Further bleaching of the pulps of samples 4-6 and B would require additional bleaching chemical compared to the pulps of samples 1-3 and A due to the higher K Nos. of the pulps of samples 4-6 and B. These results demonstrate that split alkaline additions of at least 50% in the low consistency stage retain the enhanced delignification achievable by the addition of all alkaline material to the low consistency pulp.
  • Figure 3 also includes curves generated from combined data from actual tests, and numerous other predicted and observed results, which illustrates the relationship of viscosity to K No. for softwood from the prior art pulp treatment process of Example 1.
  • Example 1 achieves typical pulp properties after oxygen delignification defined by the curve labeled Prior Art. It is desirable to maintain pulp strength, as measured by viscosity, at higher viscosity levels, while achieving effective delignification as measured by a decrease in K No.
  • Figure 3 illustrates that enhanced delignification (lower K Nos.) may be attained at a given viscosity value according to the curve representing the invention, for a low consistency pulp alkaline material treatment as compared to the lesser delignification and viscosity values according to the Prior Art curve.
  • Figure 4 illustrates the effect of increasing the percentage of alkaline material utilized in treating the high consistency pulp.
  • the solid horizontal line proximate to the 0 viscosity change numeral corresponds to the baseline viscosity achieved with 100% of the alkaline material applied on the low consistency pulp.
  • the two broken horizontal lines on either side of the solid 0 line delineate the boundaries of a typical ⁇ 6% deviation in viscosity.
  • viscosity of the pulp drops below the acceptable deviation.
  • any split addition process achieves some improvement in delignification selectivity compared to the application of all alkaline material to the high consistency pulp. The best results in delignification selectivities are achieved for a split addition where no more than about 50% of the total alkaline material is added to the high consistency pulp.
  • the values listed in Table 10 refer to the total amount of alkaline material applied to pulp by the process: i.e., the amount applied by the low, consistency treatment plus the amount applied to the high consistency pulp (if applicable).
  • the 50% split column at zero pressate discharge thus indicates that 21.6 lb/ADT are applied to the low consistency pulp in the mixing chest and 21.6 lb/ADT are applied to the high consistency pulp.
  • the same 50% split at 20% pressate discharge shows that in addition to the 21.6 lb/ADT applied to the low consistency pulp, an additional 5.4 lb/ADT must be added to the system (a total of 27 lb/ADT) to compensate for the amount lost by pressate discharge.
  • This additional amount is generally added to the mixing chest in order to maintain the amount applied to the high consistency pulp at no more than about 50% of the total amount.
  • Table 13 illustrates the same data of Table 12, but quantifies the amount of additional alkaline material that should be added to the low consistency treatment to achieve the target 2.4% NaOH on the pulp. As the percentage of alkaline material applied to the high consistency pulp increases up to 50%, less additional alkaline material must be added to the low consistency treatment to maintain the proper amount of alkaline material on the pulp available for high consistency oxygen delignification. With zero pressate discharge, as described above, in particular with respect to the embodiment of Figure 1, no alkaline material is lost with the appropriate savings in chemical realized for the particular design.
  • Table 14 illustrates the same data of Tables 12 and 13, but presents only the amount of alkaline material (and corresponding weight percentage in parentheses) which is added to the low consistency pulp for 20, 40 and 60% of pressate discharged.
  • TABLE 14 lb/ADT (% of total) Alkaline Material Applied to Low Consistency Pulp Pressate Discharged (%) Split (%) of alkaline material added to low consistency pulp 100% 80% 60% 50% 0 43.2 (100%) 34.6 (80%) 25.9 (60%) 21.6 (50%) 20 54 (100%) 43.2 (83.4%) 32.7 (65.4%) 27 (55.5%) 40 72 (100%) 57.6 (87%) 43.2 (71.4%) 36 (62.5%) 60 108 (100%) 86.4 (90.9%) 64.8 (73.79%) 54 (71.4%)
  • applying lesser proportions of the alkaline material onto the low consistency pulp reduces the quantity of alkaline material utilized in the mixing chest 9 and also reduces the amount of alkaline material removed via pressate discharge.
  • This splitting of the alkaline material applied to low and high consistency pulp reduces the amount of pressate discharge 15C which in turn reduces the amount of alkaline material which must be reintroduced, thus saving chemical.

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WO2018022427A1 (en) * 2016-07-27 2018-02-01 Ecolab USA, Inc. Method and compositions for oxygen delignification of chemical pulp
US9932709B2 (en) 2013-03-15 2018-04-03 Ecolab Usa Inc. Processes and compositions for brightness improvement in paper production

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CN1277283A (zh) * 1999-06-14 2000-12-20 普拉塞尔技术有限公司 木素纤维素材料的氧脱木质
FI122241B (fi) * 2007-06-15 2011-10-31 Andritz Oy Menetelmä massan pesun yhteydessä sellutehtaalla
FI20115754A0 (fi) * 2011-03-22 2011-07-15 Andritz Oy Menetelmä ja järjestely kemiallisen massan käsittelemiseksi
RU2018117289A (ru) 2013-02-08 2018-10-26 ДжиПи СЕЛЛЬЮЛОУС ГМБХ КРАФТ-ВОЛОКНО ДРЕВЕСИНЫ ХВОЙНЫХ ПОРОД С УЛУЧШЕННЫМ СОДЕРЖАНИЕМ α-ЦЕЛЛЮЛОЗЫ И ЕГО ПРИМЕНЕНИЕ ПРИ ПРОИЗВОДСТВЕ ХИМИЧЕСКИХ ЦЕЛЛЮЛОЗНЫХ ПРОДУКТОВ

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WO1986004938A1 (en) * 1985-02-14 1986-08-28 Edward Francis Elton Method and apparatus for alkaline delignification of lignocellulosic fibrous materials
WO1992012288A1 (en) * 1991-01-03 1992-07-23 Union Camp Patent Holding, Inc. Split alkali addition for high consistency oxygen delignification

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US5085734A (en) * 1989-02-15 1992-02-04 Union Camp Patent Holding, Inc. Methods of high consistency oxygen delignification using a low consistency alkali pretreatment
AU647485B2 (en) * 1991-04-18 1994-03-24 Union Camp Patent Holding, Inc. Pulp alkali addition process for high consistency oxygen delignification

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WO1986004938A1 (en) * 1985-02-14 1986-08-28 Edward Francis Elton Method and apparatus for alkaline delignification of lignocellulosic fibrous materials
WO1992012288A1 (en) * 1991-01-03 1992-07-23 Union Camp Patent Holding, Inc. Split alkali addition for high consistency oxygen delignification

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US9932709B2 (en) 2013-03-15 2018-04-03 Ecolab Usa Inc. Processes and compositions for brightness improvement in paper production
WO2018022427A1 (en) * 2016-07-27 2018-02-01 Ecolab USA, Inc. Method and compositions for oxygen delignification of chemical pulp

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NO923163L (no) 1993-02-15
SE9202338L (sv) 1993-02-15
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BR9203170A (pt) 1993-03-30
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FI923585A (fi) 1993-02-15
KR930004578A (ko) 1993-03-22
FI923585A0 (fi) 1992-08-11
AU2095492A (en) 1993-02-25
AU647950B2 (en) 1994-03-31
JPH0726350B2 (ja) 1995-03-22
CN1070969A (zh) 1993-04-14

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