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7 Water Waste Reduction Strategies to Improve Pump Reliability/Black Liquor Processing, Paper360º November/December 2019

7 Water Waste Reduction Strategies to Improve Pump Reliability/Black Liquor Processing, Paper360º November/December 2019

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.

A new method of studying the fundamental mechanisms involved in pigment liberation from recycle papers, TAPPI Journal October 2022

ABSTRACT: Deinking flotation is the most efficient and widely used method of removing ink particles from printed papers to improve the recyclability. A prerequisite for successful deinking flotation is detachment of pigments from paper fibers, a subprocess known as liberation. The degree of liberation is usually determined via hyperwashing tests, which are costly and time consuming. Furthermore, they provide no information on the fundamental mechanisms controlling liberation. In the present work, we developed a new method in which ?-potentials of the particles in a pulp are measured and analyzed. If pigments are not liberated from paper fibers, a frequency distribution plot gives a single peak, while two peaks appear when they are liberated. One can readily determine the degrees of liberation from the peak positions and peak heights. In addition, the ?-potential data can be used to construct disjoining pressure isotherms using the DLVO theory that are useful to better understand the fundamental mechanisms involved and the roles of different reagents used to improve pigment liberation.

TAPPI Journal Summaries, Paper360º November/December 2022

Economic and competitive potential of lignin-based thermoplastics using a multicriteria decision-making method, TAPPI Journal September 2022

ABSTRACT: As a result of new lignin extraction plants hatching and increasing volumes of technical lignin becoming available, a variety of lignin derivatives, including phenolic resins and polyurethane (PU) foams, are reaching the marketplace or being used as intermediate products in many industrial applications. In the spectrum of possible lignin derivatives, thermoplastics appear particularly attractive due to a symbiosis of market, policy, and technology drivers. To assess the preferredness for lignin-based thermoplastics, this paper adapted a risk-oriented methodology formerly applied to assess lignin usage in various applications (phenol-formaldehyde [PF] resins, PU foams, and carbon fiber applications) to the case of lignin-based thermoplastics using hydroxypropylated lignin (HPL) and miscible blends of lignin and polyethylene oxide (PEO). The HPL is considered for garbage bags and agricultural films applications, while lignin-PEO blends are used as replacement for acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) in applications such as automotive parts. In the methodology, two phased-implementation strategies were defined for each thermoplastic derivative, considering perspectives for profit maximization (90 metric tons/day integrated units) and revenue growth (350 metric tons/day overall capacity), which were considered for implementation within a softwood kraft pulping mill. A set of six criteria representative of the main economic and market competitiveness issues were employed, and their respective importance weights were obtained in a multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) panel.Early-stage techno-economic estimates were done as a basis for the calculation of decision criteria. Compared to product derivatives previously assessed, capital investment for thermoplastic strategies appeared marginally higher due to the required lignin modification steps (on average 30% higher at similar capacity, and 6% for higher-scale revenue diversification strategies). Higher operating costs were also observed due to increased chemical expenses for all thermoplastic strategies, which are ultimately balanced by revenues associated with targeted thermoplastic products, leading to greater annual margins and cash flow generation over the project lifetime for thermoplastic strategies compared to other product applications (58% to 66% higher on average, at similar scale). Benefits of improved economics were reflected in economic criteria, internal rate of return (IRR), and cash flow on capital employed (CFCE), as well as in the price competitiveness criterion, CPC. Overall, the combination of relatively high lignin content in the plastic formulation and the less costly modification method contributed to lignin-PEO strategies, gaining the top two rankings. Based on their overall scores, both strategies defined for HPL would also integrate the group of “preferred” strategies, but are outranked by strategies that consider lignin positioning on PU foam applications.

Fiber-based characterization of pulp refining, TAPPI Journal September 2022

ABSTRACT: Fiber development in pulp refining can be characterized by three parameters: number of impacts on pulp, N; energy per impact, I, and bar force on fibers, F. These parameters enable comparisons of radically different refining conditions; determination of intensity for hardwoods and softwoods; assessment of effect of bar width on fiber shortening; and predictions of tensile strength increases.

Suzano Pulp Plant to Set World Standard for Efficiency, Sustainability, Paper360º September/October 2022

Reach the Perfect Temperature with Regular Heating System Maintenance, Paper360º September/October 2022

TAPPI Journal Summaries, Paper360º September/October 2022

TAPPI Journal Summaries, Paper360º September/October 2022

Evaluation of soap recovery efficiency from black liquor — analytical tools, TAPPI Journal April 2023

ABSTRACT: Soap skimmings (“soap”) are typically recovered from black liquor in kraft mills that process a high percentage of softwood. In many mills, the recovery of soap is inefficient, negatively impacting performance of evaporators and recovery boilers and resulting in loss of potential revenue. A thorough evaluation of soap recovery performance in a kraft mill requires measurement of soap content in black liquor at various sampling locations, especially around the soap skimmer.The standard laboratory method for evaluating soap content in black liquor is a complex, multi-step process that relies on solvent extraction and titration; most mills send these samples to an outside laboratory for this analysis. In this study, 100 black liquor samples, with a wide range of soap concentrations, were tested by the standard solvent extraction method. After additional dilution, each sample was also tested for surface tension with a bubble pressure tensiometer. The results were found to correlate very closely with the solvent extraction tests results. This alternate method, using surface tension measurements of diluted black liquor samples, produces rapid results and can be easily implemented in most kraft mills, which would facilitate much more frequent in-house evaluations of soap recovery performance.