Effect of bark content in mixed hardwood chips on pulp and papermaking properties

Abstract Effect of different proportions of bark in mixed hardwood (about 70 % eucalyptus and 30 % poplar) chips on pulp and papermaking properties was studied. Increased proportion of bark in raw material chips resulted in increased active alkali consumption, increased reject content in pulp and reduced pulp yield after kraft pulping. The unbleached pulp obtained with higher proportion of bark in mixed hardwood chips also has higher kappa number, lower brightness and viscosity as compared to pulp obtained with bark free mixed hardwood chips. The soda loss and ash content in pulp were severely increased from 12.8 kg/t to 312 kg/t of pulp and 0.7 % to 21.1 %, respectively with the increase of bark portion from 0 to 100 % in raw material furnish. The physical strength properties like tensile, burst and tear indices in the pulp obtained from bark were reduced by 58.5 %, 60.7 % and 68.4 %, respectively as compared to that with bark free mixed hardwood.