This study investigates the impact of pulp screening on oxygen delignification of high lignin content kraft pulps from spruce wood. An alternative process is proposed: terminating kraft cooking at higher kappa numbers and applying oxygen delignification directly to unscreened and non-defibrated pulp. The objective is to evaluate whether this non-standard approach can maintain delignification efficiency while improving yield and reducing energy input. The findings demonstrate that screening prior to oxygen delignification is not essential for effective lignin removal or pulp quality. Similar delignification degrees and ISO brightness levels were obtained after oxygen delignification, whether it was performed on screened or unscreened pulps. Notably, the delignification rate in the oxygen stage was the same for the non-standard procedure as for pulp from the standard procedure with the reject fraction removed prior to the oxygen stage. No significant differences were seen in fiber morphology, brightness level, or brightness stability. The amount of total fiber charges in pulps not screened before oxygen delignification was slightly higher than in screened pulps. In conclusion, the study shows that screening before oxygen delignification is not essential for effective and homogeneous lignin removal or pulp quality. Applying oxygen delignification directly to unscreened pulp with high lignin content can enhance yield, when applied on high kappa numbers, and reduce energy demand, since the wood chips do not need to be mechanically refined to continue the process. This change can offer a more sustainable and efficient approach to kraft pulp production.

The hypothesis was that low residual alkali after cooking would cause lignin re-precipitation during washing and in turn affect the subsequent oxygen delignification stage negatively. To test the hypothesis, kraft cooks were performed in lab-scale to different residual alkali levels, ranging from 5 to 15 g/L and the pulps were subjected to washing with either water or 0.1 M NaOH and then oxygen delignified. The results show that even at low residual alkali and washing with water, the pH in the liquor after washing was above 11 which is sufficiently high to keep lignin in solution. No effect of residual alkali level was observed on the performance of the oxygen delignification stage.

From a circular economyperspective, one-pot strategies for theisolation of cellulose nanomaterials at a high yield and with multifunctionalproperties are attractive. Here, the effects of lignin content (bleachedvs unbleached softwood kraft pulp) and sulfuric acid concentrationon the properties of crystalline lignocellulose isolates and theirfilms are explored. Hydrolysis at 58 wt % sulfuric acid resulted inboth cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and microcrystalline celluloseat a relatively high yield (>55%), whereas hydrolysis at 64 wt% gaveCNCs at a lower yield (<20%). CNCs from 58 wt % hydrolysis weremore polydisperse and had a higher average aspect ratio (1.5-2x),a lower surface charge (2x), and a higher shear viscosity (100-1000x).Hydrolysis of unbleached pulp additionally yielded spherical nanoparticles(NPs) that were <50 nm in diameter and identified as lignin bynanoscale Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and IR imaging.Chiral nematic self-organization was observed in films from CNCs isolatedat 64 wt % but not from the more heterogeneous CNC qualities producedat 58 wt %. All films degraded to some extent under simulated sunlighttrials, but these effects were less pronounced in lignin-NP-containingfilms, suggesting a protective feature, but the hemicellulose contentand CNC crystallinity may be implicated as well. Finally, heterogeneousCNC compositions obtained at a high yield and with improved resourceefficiency are suggested for specific nanocellulose uses, for instance,as thickeners or reinforcing fillers, representing a step toward thedevelopment of application-tailored CNC grades.

The effect on softwood fiber wall nanostructure of kraft cooking, oxygen delignification and refining was evaluated by X-ray scattering. A recently developed simulation method for modelling small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) data was used to estimate the apparent average sizes of solids (AAPS) and interstitial spaces in the fiber wall (AACS). Fiber saturation point and wide angle X-ray scattering were also used to calculate the pore volume in the fiber wall and the crystallite size of the fibril, respectively. The experimental modelled SAXS data was able to give consistent values for each kraft-cooked and oxygen-delignified pulp. Kraft delignification seems to have the major influence on the fiber nanostructure modification, while oxygen delignification has little or no significant impact even for different kappa numbers. The particle sizes values were more stable than the cavities sizes and no significant differences were seen between different delignification processes, refining or delignification degree. Pulps evaluated after PFI-refining, showed an increase in the fiber wall porosity evaluated by FSP and an increase in the interstitial spaces in the fiber wall, while the crystallite size and the particle sizes were very little or not affected at all.

In recent years, there has been extensive research into the development of cheaper and more sustainable carbon fiber (CF) precursors, and air-gap-spun cellulose-lignin precursors have gained considerable attention where ionic liquids have been used for the co-dissolution of cellulose and lignin. However, ionic liquids are expensive and difficult to recycle. In the present work, an aqueous solvent system, cold alkali, was used to prepare cellulose-lignin CF precursors by wet spinning solutions containing co-dissolved dissolving-grade kraft pulp and softwood kraft lignin. Precursors containing up to 30 wt% lignin were successfully spun using two different coagulation bath compositions, where one of them introduced a flame retardant into the precursor to increase the CF conversion yield. The precursors were converted to CFs via batchwise and continuous conversion. The precursor and conversion conditions had a significant effect on the conversion yield (12-44 wt%), the Young's modulus (33-77 GPa), and the tensile strength (0.48-1.17 GPa), while the precursor morphology was preserved. Structural characterization of the precursors and CFs showed that a more oriented and crystalline precursor gave a more ordered CF structure with higher tensile properties. The continuous conversion trials highlighted the importance of tension control to increase the mechanical properties of the CFs.

: The demand for carbon fibers (CFs) based onrenewable raw materials as the reinforcing fiber in composites forlightweight applications is growing. Lignin−cellulose precursorfibers (PFs) are a promising alternative, but so far, there is limitedknowledge of how to continuously convert these PFs underindustrial-like conditions into CFs. Continuous conversion is vitalfor the industrial production of CFs. In this work, we havecompared the continuous conversion of lignin−cellulose PFs (50wt % softwood kraft lignin and 50 wt % dissolving-grade kraft pulp)with batchwise conversion. The PFs were successfully stabilizedand carbonized continuously over a total time of 1.0−1.5 h,comparable to the industrial production of CFs from polyacrylonitrile. CFs derived continuously at 1000 °C with a relative stretch of−10% (fiber contraction) had a conversion yield of 29 wt %, a diameter of 12−15 μm, a Young’s modulus of 46−51 GPa, and atensile strength of 710−920 MPa. In comparison, CFs obtained at 1000 °C via batchwise conversion (12−15 μm diameter) with arelative stretch of 0% and a conversion time of 7 h (due to the low heating and cooling rates) had a higher conversion yield of 34 wt%, a higher Young’s modulus (63−67 GPa) but a similar tensile strength (800−920 MPa). This suggests that the Young’s moduluscan be improved by the optimization of the fiber tension, residence time, and temperature profile during continuous conversion,while a higher tensile strength can be achieved by reducing the fiber diameter as it minimizes the risk of critical defects.

This study investigated whether the yield improvement after high alkali impregnation (HAI) is maintained after oxygen delignification and whether the potential of oxygen delignification to increase the mechanical properties is affected by high alkali impregnation. The yield improvement achieved by high alkali impregnation (1 %) was preserved after oxygen delignification, particularly of glucomannan. The total fiber charge and swelling increased after oxygen delignification regardless of the type of impregnation in the cooking step. The tensile index improvement obtained by oxygen delignification was retained if this was preceded by high alkali impregnation. The stiffness index was higher and elongation slightly lower after HAI impregnation than after a standard (REF) impregnation. Fibers obtained through high alkali impregnation seem to be slightly less deformed and slightly wider than fibers obtained after a standard impregnation.

High alkali impregnation (HAI) increases the total yield of softwood pulps following kraft cooking. This yield improvement is also maintained after oxygen delignification. This study evaluates how bleaching with either chlorine dioxide or hydrogen peroxide affects the final yield of samples obtained with standard and HAI. The chemical composition, viscosity, brightness, mechanical and morphological properties were studied. Compared to cooking after standard impregnation the yield improvement achieved by HAI was preserved in both types of bleaching sequences (2% units for chlorine dioxide and 4% units for hydrogen peroxide). The introduction of charged groups into the cellulose fibers was higher with hydrogen peroxide bleaching than with chlorine dioxide however, no significant impact was seen on the swelling or mechanical properties. The brightness was higher for the pulps bleached with chlorine dioxide compared with hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide bleaching resulted in similar brightness development for both standard and HAI. Fibers bleached with chlorine dioxide had the highest curl index (16-17%) compared to the fibers bleached with hydrogen peroxide (15%). 

The fiber properties after oxygen delignification and kraft pulping were studied by looking into the chemical characteristics and morphology. The effect of the two processes on the fibers was evaluated and compared over a wider kappa number range (from 62 down to15). Wide-angle X-ray scattering, nuclear magnetic resonance and fiber saturation point were used to characterize the fiber network structure. Fiber morphology and fiber dislocations were evaluated by an optical image analysis. The total and surface fiber charges were studied by conductometric and polyelectrolyte titrations. The fiber wall supramolecular structure, such as crystallinity, size of fibril aggregates, pore size and pore volume, were similar for the two processes. The selectivity, in terms of carbohydrate yield, was equal for kraft cooking and oxygen delignification, but the selectivity in terms of viscosity loss per amount of delignification is poorer for oxygen delignification. Clearly more fiber deformations (2–6% units in curl index) in the fibers after oxygen delignification were seen. Introduction of curl depended on the physical state of the fibers, i.e. liberated or in wood matrix. In the pulping stage, the fiber continue to be supported by neighboring fibers, as the delignified chips maintain their form. However, in the subsequent oxygen stage the fibers enter in the form of pulp (liberated fibers), which makes them more susceptible to changes in fiber form.