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.
Capabilities
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.
Available Equipment
-
Bomb Digester / reactor
- Rocking Digester (4:1 Liquor/Wood
Ratio)
- 1 ft3 Electric Heated Digester
- 4 ft3 Steam Heated Digester
- RDH Pulping System
- Electric Steam Boiler - 150 psi,
75#/hr
- Cooked Chip Pulverizer
- Flat Screen
- TMP / CTMP / RMP Pilot Disc refiner
- Carthage Disk Chipper
- Klockner Non-Wood and Brush Chipper
- Chip Thickness and Width Screens
- Chip Classifier
- Medium Consistency Oxygen Reactor
- Ozone Generator and High Consistency
Reactor
- Laboratory Bag Bleaching Apparatus
(Cl2, ClO2, H2O2, E, H, FAS, etc.)
- Pulp Evaluation Apparatus
- Environmental Testing Apparatus
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