Abstract:
A wall passageway, having openings therein only at opposite, inlet (14) and outlet (18) ends thereof, has a shaft (22) journalled therein. The shaft carries a screw thereon for moving shredded pulp through the passageway. The screw (24) is foreshortened, having a length less than that of the passage way, and causes inlet-admitted pulp to form into a continuously moving pulp plug. The plug, albeit having some porosity, comprises a gas seal within the passageway, and inhibits any migration of downstream gas from escaping to the atmosphere via the passageway and the inlet (14) thereof. In addition, a source (32) of oxygen or such gas as is inert to any downstream process is controllingly admitted into the inlet (14) to maintain an upstream pressure equal to, or greater than any downstream process pressure to insure against release of downstream gas into the atmosphere.
Abstract:
A method for bleaching cellulosic and lignocellulosic pulp using hydrogen peroxide as a bleaching reagent, utilizes a two-step reaction, viz. a short high temperature step at a pressure sufficient to suppress boiling and a longer atmospheric pressure reduced temperature step to consume a substantial portion of the hydrogen peroxide remaining after the short phase. The method includes the steps of introducing pulp (15), at a consistency of 10 %-18 %, to a mixer (100) in which the pulp is heated to a temperature above 100 DEG C; adding sufficient sodium hydroxide to bring the pulp to a pH of 8.5; adding sufficient hydrogen peroxide (36) to equal from about 0.5 %-5.0 %, by weight, of the pulp; passing the pulp through a pressurized reactor column (400) at a rate providing a reaction time in the column of between 1 and 30 minutes; and depositing the pulp in a reaction tower and allowing the reaction to proceed for 1-5 hours until a substantial portion of the residual hydrogen peroxide has been consumed. It may be desirable to introduce the pulp to a mixer and add alkali to reactivate residual hydrogen peroxide by bringing the pulp to a pH of at least 9 between bleaching steps.