Neural fuzzy modeling of ethanolamine pulping of vine shoots

The influence of operational variables in the pulping of vine shoots by use of ethanolamine [viz. temperature (155 to 185 °C), cooking time (30 to 90 min) and ethanolamine concentration (50 to 70%, v/v)] on the properties of the resulting pulp (viz. yield, kappa index and viscosity) and paper sheets (breaking length, stretch, burst index, tear index and brightness) was studied.A central composite factorial design was used in conjunction with the software ANFIS Edit Matlab 6.5 to develop fuzzy neural model that reproduced the experimental results of the dependent variables with errors less than 10%. The model is therefore effective with a view to simulating the ethanolamine pulping process.