DEVELOPMENT OF PHENOLIC LIGNIN DURING CLO2 BLEACHING OF KRAFT PULP

The development of the phenolic lignin content in kraft pulp during Clq bleaching was quantitatively determined by the periodate oxidation method. The effect of hypochlorous acid, an intermediate formed during chlorine dioxide bleaching, was eliminated by addition of sulfamic acid, a scavenger of hypochlorous acid. It was found that the number of free phenolic lignin groups per 100 lignin monomer units decreased from about 29 for unbleached kraft lignin to about 6.5 after 1 minute of ClO2 bleaching. It was also shown that the in-situ generated hypochlorous acid created phenolic hydroxyl groups during chlorine dioxide bleaching. Since it was found that delignification by chlorine dioxide itself was mostly restricted to free phenolic lignin, these findings were used to explain the effect on delignification of addition order of chlorine and chlorine dioxide during bleaching of kraft pulp.