Alkali-O2 Delignification of Solid Waste of Sofia Grass Produced After Steam Distillation

Dearth of good quality of wood fibers in most of the Asian countries including India has compelled the paper technocrats to search for new alternative and hitherto unexploited sources of cellulosic fibers. Essential oil is extracted from sofia grass by steam distillation method. Steam distillation not only removes essential oil but removes hot water solubles also. It results an increase in porosity of solid waste of sofia grass. Therefore, loose anatomy of solid waste sofia grass facilitates faster penetration of cooking liquor. Since solid waste of sofia grass contains less lignin contents, so it requires milder cooking conditions for pulping. Solid waste of sofia grass produces a screened pulp yield of 44.8% with kappa number of 10 by alkali¬O2 pulping process. Further, introduction of 0.1% AQ mitigates the kappa number by 2 units with a slight improvement in screened pulp yield by 0.4% compared to alkali¬ O2 pulping process. The optimal mechanical strength properties are obtained at a beating level of 40±1 ºSR.