Sodium carbonate pre-extraction of Trema orientalis in the production of paper grade pulp

To increase the profitability of the pulp and paper industry, additional value added products from lignocelluloses are needed, and consistent with this goal, a biorefinery concept based on the sodium carbonate pre-extraction of Trema orientalis prior to pulping was proposed. The solid content in the sodium carbonate pre-extracted liquor was much lower than the hot water pre-extraction, which affected the pre-hydrolysis yield and overall pulp yield positively. The alkaline pre-extraction had a beneficial effect on delignification in the subsequent soda-AQ-pulping. In addition, the alkaline pre-extraction improved the pulp bleachability. The papermaking properties of the alkaline pre-extracted soda-AQ pulp were very close to non-extracted pulp after D0EpD1 bleaching.