This paper discusses the recovery of acetic acid in kraft pulp mills.  Acetyl groups in wood hemicellulose can be hydrolyzed using alkali to form alkali acetate which is a precursor to acetic acid. The objective of the study reported here is to identify the optimum conditions for cleavage of acetyl groups from wood hemicelluloses for conversion to acetic acid. Experimental data are presented for the extraction of northeast hardwood using alkali streams that are available in kraft pulp mills; caustic, green liquor and white liquor. In the work, the effects of extraction time, chip soaking temperature, alkali concentration, extraction temperature, and chip thickness are discussed. A comparison is made to previous literature data. The data being developed will be used to design a process for recovery of acetic acid from kraft pulp mills.

Cleavage of acetyl groups from northeast hardwood for acetic acid production

244th National Meeting (2012)

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