Experimental data and kinetic models in terms of methanol formation during oxygen delignification processes of alkaline pulps

Abstract

Abstract This paper reports on the formation of methanol (MeOH) during conventional oxygen delignification (OD) of four typical alkaline pulps, namely, southern pine kraft pulp (SP-KP), wheat straw soda pulp (WS-SP), and eucalyptus kraft pulp (E-KP) with κ numbers (KN) of 32.8 and 16.9 (E-KP32.8 and E-KP16.9). Based on the mass transfer effect of MeOH and a proposed demethoxylation reaction pathway of lignin, two kinds of kinetic models were proposed to predict MeOH formation. The results show that the two-stage pseudo kinetic model with a first-order rate equation is adequate, which was further modified to a first-order kinetic model by means of which MeOH formation during OD of the pulps can be effectively predicted. Finally, the single set of kinetic parameters for the WS-SP, E-KP32.8, and E-KP16.9 pulps was calculated. The proposed kinetic model is considered as a valuable tool for the prediction and control of MeOH formation during OD of various alkaline pulps.