Further development of dissolving pulp production processes

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This project is to establish collaboration of Dr. Yonghao Ni of the University of New Brunswick with Neucel Specialty Cellulose and AV Nackawic. The overall objectives are: 1) to improve the quality of dissolving pulps from the sulfite and pre-hydrolysis kraft-based dissolving pulps; 2) to decrease the manufacturing cost by optimizing the bleaching plant operation and using low-cost wood material. The Canadian dissolving pulp production capacity has been expanded significantly in recent years. The results from the project will be beneficial to this growing sector, in particular the industrial partners, AV Nackawic and Neucel Specialty Cellulose, by producing dissolving pulps with superior properties while optimizing the production cost; hence, enhancing the value and competitiveness of their dissolving pulp products in the international market. Therefore, the proposed program is of direct relevance to Canada. The project objectives/ deliverables include: - To develop the enzymatic pre-treatment technologies for brownstock aiming to produce high-purity dissolving pulp using xylanase or mannase and/ or mixture of xylanase/ mannase with glucanase for hardwood kraft-based and sulfite-based dissolving pulps; - To investigate the use of glucanase/mechanical treatments as post-treatment processes to improve the quality of dissolving pulps; - To explore the potential of fractionating the dissolving pulp and then applying the enzymatic treatment concept on different fractions, so that different grades of dissolving pulp can be produced; - To utilize the residual chlorite in the final chlorine dioxide stage by lowering the pH so that the bleaching cost can be decreased, and the pulp properties, such as pulp brightness and Fock reactivity, can be improved; - To develop the sulfite-based cooking technologies for using Douglas-fir, cypress, cedar, alder and beetle-killed pine, respectively, in compliance with current mill operating practice.