Evidence for the formation of lignin-hexenuronic acid-xylan complexes during modified kraft pulping processes

Abstract

Abstract The finding that hexenuronic acid (HexA) groups can be selectively removed from kraft pulps by acid hydrolysis has provided an opportunity to reduce bleaching chemicals. However, there is evidence that the acid hydrolysis is not uniform. In this report, we evaluate the kinetics of acid hydrolysis of HexA in a xylan sample enriched with HexA, a conventional kraft pulp, and three modified kraft pulps: anthraquinone pulp (Kraft-AQ), polysulfide pulp (PS), and polysulfide-anthraquinone pulp (PS-AQ). We found that HexA present in the xylan and conventional kraft pulp behaved similarly toward the acid hydrolysis throughout. On the other hand, HexA present in the Kraft-AQ, PS-AQ and PS pulps was heterogeneous toward acid hydrolysis and the reaction can be separated into two pseudo-first-order kinetic phases, each of which has a different rate constant. The kinetic data provide evidence for the formation of lignin-HexA-xylan complexes during modified kraft pulping processes.