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On the diagnosis of a fouling condition in a kraft recovery boiler: combining process knowledge and data-based insights, TAPPI Journal March 2023
ABSTRACT: Fouling is still a major challenge for the operation of kraft recovery boilers. This problem is caused by accumulation of ash deposits on the surfaces of heat exchangers in the upper part of the boiler over time. The first consequence is the reduction of steam production due to loss of heat transfer and, finally, the shutdown of the boiler due to clogging. The present work investigated the operational condition of a modern kraft boiler under a critical fouling condition. This boiler had even faced a manual cleaning due to a clogging event. This analysis combined process knowledge, plant team experience, and a data-driven approach, given the complexity of the process. In this sense, historical data covering this critical period of operation were collected. After a cleaning procedure, they were used to obtain a predictive neural network model for the flue gas pressure drop in the boiler bank, which is an indirect measure of ash deposit accumulation. Once validated, it was used for sensitivity analysis, with the aim of quantifying the effects of the model inputs. Five variables out of eighteen accounted for nearly 60% of the total effect on pressure drop. Namely, primary air temperature (21.6% of the total effect) and flow rate (11.1%), black liquor flow rate (9.9%) and temperature (8.4%), and white liquor sulfidity (8.6%). The analysis of these results mainly suggested an excess of carryover, which composes the ash deposits. Recommended actions to mitigate the fouling condition involved adjustments to the primary air system before the more drastic solution of reducing the boiler load.
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Value creation by converting pulp mill flue gas streams to green fuels, TAPPI Journal March 2023
ABSTRACT: Climate change mitigation induces strong growth in renewable electricity production, partly driven by shifts in environmental policies and regulation. Intermittent renewable electricity requires supporting systems in the form of sustainable hydrocarbon chemicals such as transportation fuels. Bulk chemical production fits well into a pulp mill environment, given their large volumes, stable operation, and ample supply of biomass-based carbon feed-stock in the form of flue gases. Until now, the utilization of the flue gases from conventional operation of a pulp mill has received little attention. Harnessing these flue gases into usable products could offer additional value to mill operators, while also diversifying their product portfolio. However, electricity-based fuels and products require extra energy in the conversion step and may not be commercially competitive with current fossil products under the current regulation. There might also be uncertainties about future commodity prices. Thus, the objective of this study is to estimate the economic competitiveness and the added value of selected side products that could be produced alongside conventional pulp and paper products. A typical modern pulp mill is modeled in different product configurations and operational environments, which allows testing of various development paths. This illustrates how the overall energy and mass balance of a pulp mill would react to changes in different final products and other parameters. The focus of the study is in synthetic methanol, which is produced from flue gases and excess resources from the mill, with minimal interference to the pulping process. The results aid in assessing the necessity and magnitude of a premium payment for subsidizing green alter-natives to replace current fossil fuels and chemicals. Additionally, the results function as an indicator of the development state of the pulp and paper industry in the turmoil of climate change regulation. The results indicate that power-to-X systems offer one more viable pathway alternative for broadening the product portfolio of the pulp and paper sector, as well as opening new flexibility measures and services to grid stabilization. Market conditions were found to have a significant impact on the perceived profitability.
Journal articles
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Techno-economic analysis of hydrothermal carbonization of pulp mill biosludge, TAPPI Journal March 2023
ABSTRACT: For many mills, the biosludge from wastewater treatment is difficult to recycle or dispose of. This makes it a challenging side stream and an important issue for chemical pulping. It often ends up being burned in the recovery or biomass boiler, although the moisture and non-process element (NPE) contents make it a problematic fuel. Biosludge has proven resistant to attempts to reduce its moisture. When incinerated in the biomass boiler, the heat from dry matter combustion is often insufficient to yield positive net heat. Mixing the sludge with black liquor in the evaporator plant for incineration in the recovery boiler is more energy efficient, but is still an additional load on the evaporator plant, as well as introducing NPEs to the liquor. In this study, treating the biosludge by hydrother-mal carbonization (HTC), a mild thermochemical conversion technology, is investigated. The HTC process has some notable advantages for biosludge treatment; taking place in water, it is well suited for sludge, and the hydrochar product is much easier to dewater than untreated sludge. In this study, two HTC plant designs are simulated using IPSEpro process simulation software, followed by economic analysis. Low temperature levels are used to minimize investment costs and steam consumption. The results show that if the sludge is incinerated in a biomass boiler, payback periods could be short at likely electricity prices. The HTC treatment before mixing the sludge with black liquor in the evaporator plant is profitable only if the freed evaporator capacity can be used to increase the firing liquor dry solids content.
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Lignin-based resins for kraft paper applications, TAPPI Journal November 2019
ABSTRACT: We investigated miscanthus (MS) and willow (W) lignin-furfural based resins as potential reinforce-ment agents on softwood and hardwood kraft paper. These resins might be sustainable alternatives to the commercial phenolformaldehyde (PF) resins. Phenol is a petrochemical product and formaldehyde has been classified as a carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The lignin used in this study was derived from hot water extraction (160ºC, 2 h) of MS and W biomass, and may be considered sulfur-free. These biorefinery lignins were characterized for their chemical composition and inherent properties via wet chemistry and instrumental techniques. The resin blends (MS-resin and W-resin) were characterized for their molecular weight, thermal behavior, and mechanical properties. Mechanical properties were measured by the resin’s ability to reinforce softwood and hard-wood kraft papers. The effect of adding hexamethylenetetramine (HMTA), a curing agent, to the resin was also examined. Mixtures of PF and lignin-based resins were investigated to further explore ways to reduce use of non-renewables, phenol, and carcinogenic formaldehyde. The results show that lignin-based resins have the potential to replace PF resins in kraft paper applications. For softwood paper, the highest strength was achieved using W-resin, without HMTA (2.5 times greater than PF with HMTA). For hardwood paper, MS-resin with HMTA gave the highest strength (2.3 times higher than PF with HMTA). The lignin-based resins, without HMTA, also yielded mechanical properties comparable to PF with HMTA.
Journal articles
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The solubility of calcium carbonate in green liquor handling systems, TAPPI Journal October 2019
ABSTRACT: The formation of hard calcite (CaCO3) scale in green liquor handling systems is a persistent problem in many kraft pulp mills. CaCO3 precipitates when its concentration in the green liquor exceeds its solubility. While the solubility of CaCO3 in water is well known, it is not so in the highly alkaline green liquor environment. A systematic study was conducted to determine the solubility of CaCO3 in green liquor as a function of temperature, total titratable alkali (TTA), causticity, and sulfidity. The results show that the solubility increases with increased temperature, increased TTA, decreased causticity, and decreased sulfidity. The new solubility data was incorporated into OLI (a thermodynamic simulation program for aqueous salt systems) to generate a series of CaCO3 solubility curves for various green liquor conditions. The results help explain how calcite scale forms in green liquor handling systems.
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Prehydrolysis kraft pulping of jute cutting and caddis mixture for rayon production
ABSTRACT: Jute cutting, jute caddis, and cutting-caddis mixtures were prehydrolyzed by varying time and temperature to get about 90% prehydrolyzed yield. At the conditions of 170°C for 60 min of prehydrolysis, the yield for 100% jute cutting was 76.3%, while the same for jute caddis was only 67.9%. But with prehydrolysis at 150°C for 60 min, the yield was 90% for jute cutting, where 49.94% of original pentosan was dissolved and prehydrolysis of jute caddis at 140°C in 60 min yielded 86.4% solid residue. Jute cutting-caddis mixed prehydrolysis was done at 140°C for 30 min and yielded 92% solid residue for 50:50 cutting-caddis mixtures, where pentosan dissolution was only 29%. Prehydrolyzed jute cutting, jute caddis, and cutting-caddis mixtures were subsequently kraft cooked. Pulp yield was only 40.9% for 100% jute cutting prehydrolyzed at 170°C for 60 min, which was 10.9% lower than the prehydrolysis at 140°C. For jute cutting-caddis mixed prehydrolysis at 140°C for 45 min followed by kraft cooking, pulp yield decreased by 3.3% from the 100% cutting to 50% caddis in the mixture, but 75% caddis in the mixture decreased pulp yield by 6.7%. The kappa number 50:50 cutting-caddis mixture was only 11.3. Pulp bleachability improved with increasing jute cutting proportion in the cutting-caddis mixture pulp.
Journal articles
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Does the kappa number method accurately reflect lignin content in nonwood pulps?, TAPPI Journal November 2018
Does the kappa number method accurately reflect lignin content in nonwood pulps?, TAPPI Journal November 2018
Journal articles
Magazine articles
Understanding the pulping and bleaching performances of eucalyptus woods affected by physiological disturbance, TAPPI Journal November 2018
Understanding the pulping and bleaching performances of eucalyptus woods affected by physiological disturbance, TAPPI Journal November 2018
Journal articles
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A review of green liquor scale formation, TAPPI Journal October 2018
A review of green liquor scale formation, TAPPI Journal October 2018
Journal articles
Magazine articles
Alternative “green” lime kiln fuels: Part I—Pulping/recovery byproducts, TAPPI Journal May 2020
ABSTRACT: This paper is the first of a two-part series on “green” lime kiln fuels. The first part of this work reviews the use of pulp mill and recovery byproducts as either full or partial replacement of oil or natural gas in the kiln. The second part reviews the use of various forms of woody biomass, bio-oils, gasification, and hydrogen as potential carbon neutral or carbon-free lime kiln fuels.