Search
Use the search bar or filters below to find any TAPPI product or publication.
Filters
Content Type
Publications
Level of Knowledge
Collections
Journal articles
Magazine articles
Corrosion damage and in-service inspection of retractable sootblower lances in recovery boilers, TAPPI Journal October 2021
ABSTRACT: Several reports of accidents involving serious mechanical failures of sootblower lances in chemical recovery boilers are known in the pulp and paper industry. These accidents mainly consisted of detachment and ejection of the lance tip, or even of the entire lance, to the inside of the furnace, towards the opposite wall. At least one of these cases known to the author resulted in a smelt-water explosion in the boiler.In other events, appreciable damage or near-miss conditions have already been experienced. The risk of catastrophic consequences of the eventual detachment of the lance tip or the complete lance of a recovery boiler soot-blower has caught the attention of manufacturers, who have adjusted their quality procedures, but this risk also needs to be carefully considered by the technical staff at pulp mills and in industry committees.This paper briefly describes the failure mechanisms that prevailed in past accidents, while recommending inspection and quality control policies to be applied in order to prevent further occurrences of these dangerous and costly component failures. Digital radiography, in conjunction with other well known inspection techniques, appears to be an effective means to ensure the integrity of sootblower lances in chemical recovery boilers used in the pulp and paper industry.
Journal articles
Magazine articles
Application of spruce wood flour as a cellulosic-based wood additive for recycled paper applications— A pilot paper machine study, TAPPI Journal October 2021
ABSTRACT: This study gives a first insight into the use of wood flour as a plant-based and cellulosic-based alter-native additive for newsprint and paperboard production using 100% recycled fibers as a raw material. The study compares four varieties of a spruce wood flour product serving as cellulosic-based additives at addition rates of 2%, 4%, and 6% during operation of a 12-in. laboratory pilot paper machine. Strength properties of the produced news-print and linerboard products were analyzed. Results suggested that spruce wood flour as a cellulosic-based additive represents a promising approach for improving physical properties of paper and linerboard products made from 100% recycled fiber content. This study shows that wood flour pretreated with a plant-based polysaccharide and untreated spruce wood flour product with a particle size range of 20 μm to 40 μm and 40 μm to 70 μm can increase the bulk and tensile properties in newsprint and linerboard applications.
Journal articles
Magazine articles
Evaluation of rice straw for purification of lovastatin, TAPPI Journal November 2021
ABSTRACT: Cholesterol synthesis in the human body can be catalyzed by the coenzyme HMG-CoA reductase, and lovastatin, a key enzyme inhibitor, can reduce hypercholesterolemia. Lovastatin can be obtained as a secondary metabolite of Aspergillus terreus ATCC 20542. In this study, rice straw of lignocellulose was used in aeration and agitation bath fermentation in a 1-L flask, and a maximal crude extraction rate of 473 mg/L lovastatin was obtained. The crude extract was treated with silica gel (230–400 mesh) column chromatography. Ethyl acetate/ethanol (95%) was used as the mobile phase, and isolation was performed through elution with various ethyl acetate/ethanol ratios. The highest production rate of 153 mg/L was achieved with ethyl acetate/ethanol in a ratio of 8:2. The lovastatin gained from the crude extract was added to 12 fractions treated with 0.001 N alkali, and acetone was then added. After 24 h of recrystallization at 4°C, the extract underwent high-performance liquid chromatography. The purity had increased from 25% to 84.6%, and the recovery rate was 65.2%.
Journal articles
Magazine articles
Repulping of wet strength paper towel with potassium monopersulfate, TAPPI Journal September 2020
ABSTRACT: Potassium monopersulfate (KMPS) was used in repulping of polyamide-epichlorohydrin (PAE)-containing paper towel. The effectiveness of the repulping aid was compared with that of sodium hypochlorite. Addition of a 2.4% KMPS repulping aid achieved complete repulping of the paper towel, resulting in 88% screen yield and about 5% rejects. To reach a similar pulping result, two times the oxidative equivalent amount of sodium hypochlorite had to be used. Compared to the pulp fibers obtained from sodium hypochlorite repulping, those obtained from KMPS repulping had higher physical strength, longer fiber length, and lower fines content. This study demonstrated that KMPS was superior to sodium hypochlorite in repulping of PAE-containing paper towel in terms of effectiveness and pulp quality.
Journal articles
Magazine articles
Evaluation of soap recovery efficiency from black liquor — analytical tools, TAPPI Journal April 2023
ABSTRACT: Soap skimmings (“soap”) are typically recovered from black liquor in kraft mills that process a high percentage of softwood. In many mills, the recovery of soap is inefficient, negatively impacting performance of evaporators and recovery boilers and resulting in loss of potential revenue. A thorough evaluation of soap recovery performance in a kraft mill requires measurement of soap content in black liquor at various sampling locations, especially around the soap skimmer.The standard laboratory method for evaluating soap content in black liquor is a complex, multi-step process that relies on solvent extraction and titration; most mills send these samples to an outside laboratory for this analysis. In this study, 100 black liquor samples, with a wide range of soap concentrations, were tested by the standard solvent extraction method. After additional dilution, each sample was also tested for surface tension with a bubble pressure tensiometer. The results were found to correlate very closely with the solvent extraction tests results. This alternate method, using surface tension measurements of diluted black liquor samples, produces rapid results and can be easily implemented in most kraft mills, which would facilitate much more frequent in-house evaluations of soap recovery performance.
Journal articles
Magazine articles
How do mud balls form in lime kilns?, TAPPI Journal April 2023
ABSTRACT: Mud ball formation in lime kilns has been a persistent problem in many kraft mills, particularly for older kilns that are equipped with chains. A systematic laboratory study was conducted to examine how mud balls are formed and the key factors that affect ball formation. The results confirm the general mill experience that high moisture and high sodium contents in lime mud are the main contributing factors to ball formation. The high moisture content allows lime mud to agglomerate and grow to form balls, while the high sodium content helps make the balls hard and retain their shape. A ball formation mechanism is proposed to explain how mud balls form and grow near the kiln feed end.
Journal articles
Magazine articles
Value creation by converting pulp mill flue gas streams to green fuels, TAPPI Journal March 2023
ABSTRACT: Climate change mitigation induces strong growth in renewable electricity production, partly driven by shifts in environmental policies and regulation. Intermittent renewable electricity requires supporting systems in the form of sustainable hydrocarbon chemicals such as transportation fuels. Bulk chemical production fits well into a pulp mill environment, given their large volumes, stable operation, and ample supply of biomass-based carbon feed-stock in the form of flue gases. Until now, the utilization of the flue gases from conventional operation of a pulp mill has received little attention. Harnessing these flue gases into usable products could offer additional value to mill operators, while also diversifying their product portfolio. However, electricity-based fuels and products require extra energy in the conversion step and may not be commercially competitive with current fossil products under the current regulation. There might also be uncertainties about future commodity prices. Thus, the objective of this study is to estimate the economic competitiveness and the added value of selected side products that could be produced alongside conventional pulp and paper products. A typical modern pulp mill is modeled in different product configurations and operational environments, which allows testing of various development paths. This illustrates how the overall energy and mass balance of a pulp mill would react to changes in different final products and other parameters. The focus of the study is in synthetic methanol, which is produced from flue gases and excess resources from the mill, with minimal interference to the pulping process. The results aid in assessing the necessity and magnitude of a premium payment for subsidizing green alter-natives to replace current fossil fuels and chemicals. Additionally, the results function as an indicator of the development state of the pulp and paper industry in the turmoil of climate change regulation. The results indicate that power-to-X systems offer one more viable pathway alternative for broadening the product portfolio of the pulp and paper sector, as well as opening new flexibility measures and services to grid stabilization. Market conditions were found to have a significant impact on the perceived profitability.
Journal articles
Magazine articles
Cross-flow separation characteristics and piloting of graphene oxide nanofiltration membrane sheets and tubes for kraft black liquor concentration, TAPPI Journal September 2023
ABSTRACT: Dewatering of weak black liquor (WBL) in the kraft cycle by evaporation is highly energy intensive. Membranes are an attractive alternative for energy-efficient dewatering, but existing commercial polymeric or ceramic membranes are either degraded in BL or have high capital costs. Our recent works have demonstrated the engineering of graphene oxide (GO) nanofiltration membranes, their stability and promising performance in BL conditions, and preliminary scale-up into sheets and tubes. Here, we describe in detail the separation characteristics of GO membrane sheets and tubes under real BL conditions and crossflow operation. Recycle-mode piloting of a GO tubular membrane showed average “production flux” of 16 L/m2/h (LMH) and high rejections of lignin (98.3%), total solids (66%), and total organic carbon (83%), with no signs of irreversible fouling identified. A corresponding GO sheet membrane produced an average flux of ~25 LMH and maintained high lignin rejection of ~97% during a slipstream pilot at a kraft mill site using WBL with ~16 wt% total solids (TS). Finally, we piloted a Dow/DuPont XUS1808 polyamide composite reverse osmosis (RO) membrane for last-mile processing of the GO nanofiltration membrane permeate. The RO membrane showed a steady state flux of 19 LMH at 65 bar and produced ~0.02 wt% TS water product, which is highly suitable for reuse in pulp washing operations in the kraft process. The results have strong positive implications for the industrial application of GO membranes in BL concentration and other related applications.
Journal articles
Magazine articles
Gas dispersion in the oxygen delignification process, TAPPI Journal May 2021
ABSTRACT: There has been very little knowledge about the state of gas dispersion in the oxygen delignification process, even though this has a major impact on the performance of the reactor. This paper presents a new continu-ous inline method for measuring oxygen bubble size distribution in the reactor, as well as results from studies con-ducted in softwood and hardwood lines. This new measurement worked well, and new information about oxygen bubble size, as well as how different reactor conditions affected the distribution, was obtained. For example:œ In the softwood line, the mean volume-weighted bubble size was about 0.1 mm, whereas in the hardwood line, this size was almost 10 times higher. For both lines, there was considerable variation in the measured bubble size over the long term.œ For both lines, an increase in mixer rotation speed caused a discernible decrease in the bubble size, and an increase in oxygen charge caused a discernible increase in the bubble size.œ In the softwood line, no coalescence of the bubbles in the reactor was observed, but in the hardwood line, some coalescence of the larger bubbles occurred.œ In the test conducted in the hardwood line, the use of brownstock washer defoamer caused a discernible increase in oxygen bubble size.œ In the hardwood line, reactor pressure had a noticeable effect on the amount of delignification, which indicated that improving mass transfer of oxygen (e.g., by decreasing the oxygen bubble size, in this case) should also have an increasing effect on the delignification.
Journal articles
Magazine articles
The role of gas dispersion in the oxygen delignification process, TAPPI Journal May 2021
ABSTRACT: Oxygen delignification is an essential part of the pulp production process. Delignification occurs with the aid of alkali and dissolved oxygen. Dissolved oxygen is obtained by dispersing oxygen gas into the pulp suspension by using efficient mixers. Little is known about the state of oxygen gas dispersion and its effect on oxygen delignification kinetics and efficiency. This paper will present the results for the effect of gas bubble size on the performance of oxygen delignification. The results are mainly based on detailed studies made in a Finnish hardwood mill where the oxygen bubble size distribution could be altered at the feed of the reactor. An essential aspect of these studies was the use of a new continuous inline gas bubble size measurement system to simultaneously determine the bubble size distribution at the feed and top of the reactor. Information about oxygen consumption in the reactor could also be obtained through the bubble size measurements. Accordingly, these studies quantify the effect of oxygen bubble size on the kappa reduction of the pulp. The effect of different chemical factors on the oxygen bubble size is also studied.Finally, the relationship between the gas bubble size and the liquid phase oxygen mass transfer coefficient (kLa) is presented. This connects the bubble size to the kappa reduction rate. Based on the presented modeling approach and the evaluation of practical factors that are not taken into account in the modeling, it was concluded that the volumetric average oxygen bubble size should preferably be smaller than 0.2 mm in practice.The information obtained with the new gas bubble size measurement system and the presented modeling approach give a very new basis for understanding, monitoring, adjusting, and designing oxygen delignification processes.