White liquor is a strongly alkaline solution mainly of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide. It is used in the first stage of the Kraft process in which lignin and hemicellulose are separated from cellulose fiber for the production of pulp. [1] The white liquor breaks the bonds between lignin and cellulose. It is called white liquor due to its white opaque colour.
White liquor consists mainly of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide in water and is the active component in Kraft pulping. [1] White liquor also contains minor amounts of sodium carbonate, sodium sulfate, sodium thiosulfate, sodium chloride, calcium carbonate and other accumulated salts and non-process elements. These additional components are considered inert in the Kraft process, except sodium carbonate that contributes to a lesser extent.
The chemical composition and properties of the white liquor are calculated as total alkali, active alkali, effective alkali, sulfidity, causticity and reduction.
Total alkali | All Na− compounds | |
Active alkali (AA) | NaOH + Na2S | g NaOH equivalents, or % on dry wood |
Effective alkali (EA) | NaOH + ½ Na2S | g NaOH equivalents, or % on dry wood |
Sulfidity | Na2S / AA | % |
Causticity | NaOH / (NaOH + Na2CO3) | % |
Reduction | Na2S / (Na2S + Na2SO4) | % |
The Kraft cooking liquor (white) is used to extract the lignin and break down the cellulose composition of wood chips into usable pulp. The white (cooking) liquor becomes weak black liquor and is sent to the recovery process.
Sodium hydroxide, also known as lye and caustic soda, is an inorganic compound with the formula NaOH. It is a white solid ionic compound consisting of sodium cations Na+
and hydroxide anions OH−
.
Sodium carbonate, Na2CO3, (also known as washing soda, soda ash and soda crystals) is the inorganic compound with the formula Na2CO3 and its various hydrates. All forms are white, water-soluble salts that yield moderately alkaline solutions in water. Historically it was extracted from the ashes of plants growing in sodium-rich soils. Because the ashes of these sodium-rich plants were noticeably different from ashes of wood (once used to produce potash), sodium carbonate became known as "soda ash." It is produced in large quantities from sodium chloride and limestone by the Solvay process.
Lignin is a class of complex organic polymers that form key structural materials in the support tissues of vascular plants and some algae. Lignins are particularly important in the formation of cell walls, especially in wood and bark, because they lend rigidity and do not rot easily. Chemically, lignins are cross-linked phenolic polymers.
Pulp is a lignocellulosic fibrous material prepared by chemically or mechanically separating cellulose fibers from wood, fiber crops, waste paper, or rags. Mixed with water and other chemical or plant-based additives, pulp is the major raw material used in papermaking and the industrial production of other paper products.
Methanethiol is an organosulfur compound with the chemical formula CH
3SH. It is a colorless gas with a distinctive putrid smell. It is a natural substance found in the blood, brain and feces of animals, as well as in plant tissues. It also occurs naturally in certain foods, such as some nuts and cheese. It is one of the chemical compounds responsible for bad breath and the smell of flatus. Methanethiol is the simplest thiol and is sometimes abbreviated as MeSH. It is very flammable.
The Leblanc process was an early industrial process for the production of soda ash used throughout the 19th century, named after its inventor, Nicolas Leblanc. It involved two stages: production of sodium sulfate from sodium chloride, followed by reaction of the sodium sulfate with coal and calcium carbonate to produce sodium carbonate. The process gradually became obsolete after the development of the Solvay process.
The kraft process (also known as kraft pulping or sulfate process) is a process for conversion of wood into wood pulp, which consists of almost pure cellulose fibers, the main component of paper. The kraft process entails treatment of wood chips with a hot mixture of water, sodium hydroxide (NaOH), and sodium sulfide (Na2S), known as white liquor, that breaks the bonds that link lignin, hemicellulose, and cellulose. The technology entails several steps, both mechanical and chemical. It is the dominant method for producing paper. In some situations, the process has been controversial because kraft plants can release odorous products and in some situations produce substantial liquid wastes.
Xanthate usually refers to a salt with the formula ROCS−
2M+
(R = alkyl; M+ = Na+, K+), thus O-esters of dithiocarbonate. The name xanthates is derived from Greek ξανθός xanthos, meaning “yellowish, golden”, and indeed most xanthate salts are yellow. They were discovered and named in 1823 by Danish chemist William Christopher Zeise. These organosulfur compounds are important in two areas: the production of cellophane and related polymers from cellulose and (in mining) for extraction of certain ores. They are also versatile intermediates in organic synthesis. Xanthates also refer to esters of xanthic acid. These esters have the structure ROC(=S)SR′.
A pulp mill is a manufacturing facility that converts wood chips or other plant fiber source into a thick fiber board which can be shipped to a paper mill for further processing. Pulp can be manufactured using mechanical, semi-chemical, or fully chemical methods. The finished product may be either bleached or non-bleached, depending on the customer requirements.
Resin acid refers to mixtures of several related carboxylic acids, primarily abietic acid, found in tree resins. Nearly all resin acids have the same basic skeleton: three fused rings having the empirical formula C19H29COOH. Resin acids are tacky, yellowish gums that are water-insoluble. They are used to produce soaps for diverse applications, but their use is being displaced increasingly by synthetic acids such as 2-ethylhexanoic acid or petroleum-derived naphthenic acids.
In industrial chemistry, black liquor is the by-product from the kraft process when digesting pulpwood into paper pulp removing lignin, hemicelluloses and other extractives from the wood to free the cellulose fibers.
Tall oil, also called "liquid rosin" or tallol, is a viscous yellow-black odorous liquid obtained as a by-product of the Kraft process of wood pulp manufacture when pulping mainly coniferous trees. The name originated as an anglicization of the Swedish "tallolja". Tall oil is the third largest chemical by-product in a Kraft mill after lignin and hemicellulose; the yield of crude tall oil from the process is in the range of 30–50 kg / ton pulp. It may contribute to 1.0–1.5% of the mill's revenue if not used internally.
Kraft paper or kraft is paper or paperboard (cardboard) produced from chemical pulp produced in the kraft process.
Alkali salts or basic salts are salts that are the product of incomplete neutralization of a strong base and a weak acid.
Bleaching of wood pulp is the chemical processing of wood pulp to lighten its color and whiten the pulp. The primary product of wood pulp is paper, for which whiteness is an important characteristic. These processes and chemistry are also applicable to the bleaching of non-wood pulps, such as those made from bamboo or kenaf.
The sulfite process produces wood pulp that is almost pure cellulose fibers by treating wood chips with solutions of sulfite and bisulfite ions. These chemicals cleave the bonds between the cellulose and lignin components of the lignocellulose. A variety of sulfite/bisulfite salts are used, including sodium (Na+), calcium (Ca2+), potassium (K+), magnesium (Mg2+), and ammonium (NH4+). The lignin is converted to lignosulfonates, which are soluble and can be separated from the cellulose fibers. For the production of cellulose, the sulfite process competes with the Kraft process, which produces stronger fibers and is less environmentally costly.
Calcium sulfite, or calcium sulphite, is a chemical compound, the calcium salt of sulfite with the formula CaSO3·x(H2O). Two crystalline forms are known, the hemihydrate and the tetrahydrate, respectively CaSO3·½(H2O) and CaSO3·4(H2O). All forms are white solids. It is most notable as the product of flue-gas desulfurization.
Soda pulping is a chemical process for making wood pulp with sodium hydroxide as the cooking chemical. In the Soda-AQ process, anthraquinone (AQ) may be used as a pulping additive to decrease the carbohydrate degradation. The soda process gives pulp with lower tear strength than other chemical pulping processes, but has still limited use for easy pulped materials like straw and some hardwoods.
In industrial paper-making processes, organosolv is a pulping technique that uses an organic solvent to solubilise lignin and hemicellulose. It has been considered in the context of both pulp and paper manufacture and biorefining for subsequent conversion of cellulose to fuel ethanol. The process was invented by Theodor Kleinert in 1968 as an environmentally benign alternative to kraft pulping.
Paper chemicals designate a group of chemicals that are used for paper manufacturing, or modify the properties of paper. These chemicals can be used to alter the paper in many ways, including changing its color and brightness, or by increasing its strength and resistance to water.