Eucalyptus kraft pulp production: Thermogravimetry monitoring

Under oxidative environment the thermal degradation of lignocellulosic materials like wood or pulp is sensitive to slight composition changes. For this, in order to complement the chemical and X-ray diffraction results, thermogravimetric analyses (TGA) were used to monitor pulp production in a modern pulp mill. Runs were carried out on crude, oxygen delignified and bleached pulps from three eucalyptus woods from different species and geographical origins. Moreover, with the modeling of thermogravimetric data, it was possible to obtain an approximate composition of samples which includes crystalline and amorphous cellulose. TGA results show that pulping has an intensive effect on bulk lignin and hemicellulose, but it has limited influence on the removal of these substances when they are linked to cellulose microfibril. The stages of oxygen delignification and bleaching, based in chlorine dioxide and hydrogen peroxide, increase the crystalline cellulose volatilization rate. These changes are compatible with a more crystalline microfibril. The influence of the fibre size on pulp composition, crystallinity and thermal degradation behavior was observed.

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► Thermogravimetric analysis can be used to monitor the pulping process in a pulp mill.
► ECF bleaching process affects the crystalline cellulose volatilization.
► The fibre size has an influence on composition and thermal behavior of pulp.