Enzymatic bleaching of eucalyptus kraft pulp: effects on the prebleaching filtrate, pulp quality and paper properties

Abstract Enzymatic bleaching appears to be a promising approach for clean bleaching processes and the reduction of bleaching chemical consumption. In this work, the quality of the filtrates and the pulps has been characterized after enzymatic prebleaching stages of eucalyptus kraft pulp. Four different conditions with xylanase were investigated. Following each prebleaching stage, the properties of the pulp [kappa number, brightness, content of hexenuronic acid (HexA), xylan removal, and pulp yield lost], and of the resulting effluents (chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), color, and conductivity) were determined. In addition, a complete bleaching sequence was performed to characterize the pulp quality at the end of the sequence. Finally, the pulp was refined in a PFI mill, and the mechanical and physical properties of the resulting paper were determined. The best pulp quality was achieved at pH 7, at which a lower kappa number, higher pulp brightness, and smaller amount of HexA were observed. Under this condition, however, a larger yield loss and a higher effluent COD load had to be accepted. After the complete bleaching sequence, the enzymatic treatments yielded pulps with higher brightness and viscosity as well as with a lower kappa number. The enzymatic treatments resulted in small changes in the mechanical and physical properties of the paper handsheets produced.