EFFECT OF BLEACHING REAGENTS ON EUCALYPTUS KRAFT PULP FRACTIONATION AND REFINING

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the behavior of eucalyptus kraft pulp bleaching on paper physical and mechanical properties. Pulp was bleached by four similar sequences, each containing one of the reagents analyzed: D(E+P)DD (reference), AHTD(E+P)DD, D(E+P)D(PO), and PX(E+P)DD. Each of the sequences contained one of the studied reagents: chlorine dioxide, sulfuric acid, pressurized hydrogen peroxide, and peracid (Caro’s acid). One part of the samples was refined to 40ºSR, whereas the other part was classified in a Bauer-McNett. Subsequently, the part retained in 50 mesh sieve, was refined to the same number of revolutions as the global sample. Pulp bleached in AHT, PO, and PX exhibited reduced mechanical strength and during fractionating increased the concentration of fibers in finer sieves because these reagents are less selective. The results show that pulp bleached in reagents such as pressurized hydrogen peroxide and peracid indicated reduced strength and produced greater fiber concentrations. However, despite the low selectivity of acid hydrolysis, it was found that this sequence had very high tear and tensile strength comparable to classified and global pulp, concluding that regardless of classification, pulp fractions may have high mechanical strength.