Role of lignin and sodium carbonate on the swelling behavior of black liquor
     droplets during combustion

Chengcong Chen; Hannu Pakkanen; Raimo Alén

doi:10.1515/hf-2017-0092

Article

Role of lignin and sodium carbonate on the swelling behavior of black liquor droplets during combustion

Chengcong Chen , Hannu Pakkanen and Raimo Alén

Published/Copyright: November 14, 2017

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From the journal Holzforschung Volume 72 Issue 3

Abstract

A partial removal of lignin from black liquor (BL) by carbonation and lignin precipitation was studied. In lignin-lean BL droplets during combustion in a laboratory furnace at 800°C in stagnant air, the maximum swelling was decreased. This observation was interpreted as showing that the lignin content decrement is due mainly to removal of higher molar mass (HMM) lignin and that the Na₂CO₃ content of the BL is increased. Stepwise precipitation experiments with industrial softwood and hardwood kraft BLs by carbonation (resulting in pH decrement from 13 to 9) indicated that a fraction of HMM lignin (MM >10 kDa) with a higher amount of carbohydrates precipitated more prominently and earlier than the fraction with lower molar mass (LMM) lignin (MM <10 kDa) containing less amounts of carbohydrates. Separate experiments with a 50/50 (by wt) mixture of different lignin fractions (1–5, 5–10 and >10 kDa) and BL-originated aliphatic carboxylic acids were performed and found that the mixture of medium MM fraction (MM 5–10 kDa) swelled more than the other lignin fractions. The addition of Na₂CO₃ to BL also reduced the maximum swelling of a BL droplet.

Keywords: black liquor; chemical recovery; droplet swelling; high definition video camera; lignin; kraft lignin; maximum swelling of droplets; molar mass; sodium carbonate

Acknowledgments

Financial support from the Academy of Finland, within the framework of the International Doctoral Programme in Bioproducts Technology (PaPSaT), is gratefully acknowledged. Special thanks are due to Marja Salo for her assistance with the analyses of aliphatic carboxylic acids.

Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.
Research funding: None declared.
Employment or leadership: None declared.
Honorarium: None declared.

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Received: 2017-05-31

Accepted: 2017-10-16

Published Online: 2017-11-14

Published in Print: 2018-02-23

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https://doi.org/10.1515/hf-2017-0092

Keywords for this article

black liquor; chemical recovery; droplet swelling; high definition video camera; lignin; kraft lignin; maximum swelling of droplets; molar mass; sodium carbonate