Orange tree prunings as raw material for cellulose production by the kraft process

Abstract

The aim of this work was to study the influence of operational variables in the orange tree pruning kraft pulping, such as temperature (155-185 ºC), processing time (40-90 min) and active alkali concentration (10-16%) at constant values of liquid solid ratio, anthraquinone and sulfidity concentration of 8:1, 1% and 20%, respectively, on the pulp yield, lignin content, Kappa number and viscosity of the pulps and the tensile index, burst index, tear index and brightness of the paper sheets. The experimental data obtained were used to estimate the parameters or constants in the equation for the neural fuzzy model. The predictions for the yield, Kappa number, lignin content, viscosity, tensile index, burst index, tear index and brightness differ by less than 9, 8, 21, 14, 17, 21, 9, and 6% from their respective experimental values.