Enhancement of TMP reject refining by enzymatic modification of pulp carbohydrates - A mill study

摘要

In this work, surface carbohydrates of TMP pulp were enzymatically modified prior to reject refining in mill scale and the effects on specific energy consumption and pulp quality were evaluated. The modification of pulp with CBH was performed in the reject tank at slightly acidic pH for 6-8 hours. The enzymatic treatment was followed by analysing the soluble carbohydrates liberated into white water. Minor modification of carbohydrates on TMP reject pulp brought about an increase of refiner load, which resulted in intensification of reject refining and to energy savings of about 10 to 15%. Importantly, the pulp quality was maintained and no deterioration of strength properties was detected. This enzymatic method turned out to be a reasonable altenative while searching new means for decreasing the energy consumption in mechanical pulping.