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Integrated forest biorefineries: green liquor extraction in eucalyptus wood prior to kraft pulping

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Abstract

The biorefinery concept associated with pulp mills, which already have the infrastructure and logistics to handle large volumes of forest biomass, appears to be one of the best options for the valorization of lignocellulosic biomass. This work investigates alternatives to the partial recovery of the hemicelluloses present in wood, by a green liquor extraction stage prior to kraft pulping of eucalyptus chips. The aim is to obtain an extract rich in hemicelluloses suitable for use as feedstock in the production of bioethanol without modifying the quality of the cellulose pulp produced. Different green liquor charges (0–6 %), several temperatures (100–165 °C), and reaction times (30–150 min) were studied with a constant liquor-to-wood ratio of 3.5. The best results are obtained at 155–160 °C for 150 min and working with a green liquor charge of 2 %. At these conditions, 2.9–3.2 % of xylose and 3.0–3.4 % of acetic acid are obtained from wood.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to express our gratitude to the Agencia Nacional de Investigación e Innovación (ANII-FSE) for the financial support to do this work, to UPM Fray Bentos personnel for providing the industrial chips, and to the Department of Forest Projects at Laboratorio Tecnológico del Uruguay (LATU) for their kind collaboration.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Forest Process Engineering Group, Chemical Engineering Institute, School of Engineering, Universidad de la República, J. Herrera y Reissig 565–5th Floor, Montevideo, Uruguay

    Ma. Noel Cabrera, Ma. Fernanda Arrosbide & Patricia Franzoni

  2. Industrial Project Department, Chemical Engineering Institute, School of Engineering, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay

    Norberto Cassella

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  1. Ma. Noel Cabrera
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  2. Ma. Fernanda Arrosbide
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  3. Patricia Franzoni
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  4. Norberto Cassella
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Correspondence to Ma. Noel Cabrera.

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Cabrera, M.N., Arrosbide, M.F., Franzoni, P. et al. Integrated forest biorefineries: green liquor extraction in eucalyptus wood prior to kraft pulping. Biomass Conv. Bioref. 6, 465–474 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-016-0203-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-016-0203-0

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