On the selectivity of ozone delignification of softwood kraft pulps

Summary Ozonation of kraft pulp and oxygen-delignified kraft pulp in acetic acid/water mixtures has been studied at different pulp consistencies with and without an inhibitor to obtain information about the limitations of the selectivity of the ozone treatment. The experiments have been performed according to a full factorial design and data have been analysed by stepwise regression analysis. The results show that a better delignification selectivity can be achieved when ozone is applied in acetic acid media instead of conventional aqueous media. By combining conventional oxygen delignification and ozonation in acetic acid, pulps with equal strength properties and better optical properties compared to those of conventional O(DC)E prebleached pulps can be obtained. This study has also revealed that the reagent is utilized far more efficiently in ozonation at high pulp consistency (35%) than in ozonation at low consistency (1%), and that a similar selectivity can be achieved in both types of ozonation by choosing appropriate conditions. The greater selectivity of ozonation in acetic acid than in water is interpreted in terms of different stabilities of the oxidant in these reaction media. The relation between the formation of hydroxyl radicals and the extent and selectivity of delignification during ozonation has been investigated. The final bleaching of pulps prebleached with ozone in acetic acid medium has been studied. Two final bleaching sequences are presented, by which pulps with ISO brightness levels of 79% and 90% can be produced.The authors are indebted to the Swedish National Board for Technical Development (Styrelsen för Teknisk Utveckling) for financial support for this work and to STORA Technology for pulp tests and analyses