COMPARATIVE STUDY OF OLEA EUROPEA AND EUCALYPTUS UROGRANDIS KRAFT PULPS

The aim of the present work was to find an optimum Kraft pulping of olive tree prunings to obtain pulp with a Kappa number of about 17, in order to compare its properties with those of Eucalyptus urograndis. The sulfidity used was of 30%, the liquid/solid ratio was 4:1 and the effective alkali applied was 20%. The maximum cooking temperature was of 165 degrees C with a heating rate of 70 minutes and a working time of 60 minutes (after reaching the temperature). The produced pulps were subjected to chemical and morphological analysis and to PFI mill refining. Then, handsheets were formed in order to carry out physical-mechanical and optical tests. The hemicelluloses content of these agricultural residues is higher than that presented by E. urograndis, which makes olive tree prunings interesting for a secondary industry. The values of the analyzed properties of olive tree prunings are not higher than those found for E. urograndis, and in some cases they are very close. Also, some values found for olive tree prunings are higher than those of E. urograndis, such as the values of opacity, which makes Kraft olive pulp appropriate for printing and reading paper.