Available Services - Pulping
Pulping studies can be performed to evaluate wood and non-woody raw materials, chemical additives, and on any stage of chemical and/or mechanical pulp production.
Chipping and Screening
The University of Maine has modern equipment for evaluation of different kinds of raw material for pulp and paper production. In chips for pulp production, we can analyze for important properties such as:- Size and thickness distribution
- Bark content
- Basic density
- Bulk density
- chemical composition
Chemical Pulping
In chemical pulping, chemicals are used for dissolving and removing the lignin that holds the fibers together. Common pulping processes may be studies at UMaine. Our main cooking equipment consists of a recirculatory digester. It is a flexible cooking system where injection, withdrawal and displacement of cooking liquors can be carried out at predetermined temperatures and pressures.Mechanical Pulping
In mechanical pulping, the original chemical constituents of the fibrous material are unchanged. The Sprout-Bauer TMP has been used to pulp wood chips and for non-woody plant pulping. It has the capability of also being used as part of the recycle system for evaluating paper as a raw material.Bleaching
The main objective of bleaching is to produce a brighter pulp. This is accomplished in chemical pulps primarily through lignin removal. The removal of other compounds is another objective of the bleaching process. These compounds include resins, fatty acids and other extractives.UMaine can perform a wide range of laboratory scale pulp bleaching sequences. Both TCF and ECF sequences are routinely performed. Oxygen delignification and hydrogen peroxide bleaching at high temperature and high pressure are carried out in reactor vessels. Ozonation at high consistency takes place in a rotating glass vessel. For liquid bleaching agents, the more conventional technique involving polyester bags is used.