Enzymatic Improvement of Kraft Dissolving Pulp Reactivity: Mill Trials

AV Nackawic is part of a new and innovative group of companies (AV Group), which are focused on producing specialty pulp products to service the textile and paper industry. The pulp produced is the raw material for the rayon production process, where reactivity of pulp is an important parameter determining the quality of the product. In the first phase of this internship, improving pulp reactivity by enzyme treatment was studied and the best enzyme type was found, with reactivity improvements of up to two times of the untreated pulp achieved. In the extended phase of this internship, mill trials will be conducted to evaluate the feasibility of scaling up the enzymatic treatment. Successful implementation of enzymatic treatment will increase the pulp reactivity and better its processability and improve the quality and market demand of the final product, and also decrease the load of bleaching chemicals, reducing costs and environmental impacts of the process. It will also look at the improvement of a-cellulose purity through cold alkali treatment. This internship aims knowledge-based optimization and improvement of an industrial plant, providing AV Nackawic Inc. with greater access to knowledge, research and development found at the University of New Brunswick.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Yonghao Ni

Student:

Mir Mojtaba Baktash

Partner:

AV Nackawic Inc.

Discipline:

Engineering - chemical / biological

Sector:

Pulp and paper

University:

University of New Brunswick