ENHANCED SELECTIVITY OF OXYGEN DELIGNIFICATION BY CHERRY AND GUAR GUM ADDITIVES

Natural polysaccharide-based gums produced by plants in response to biotic or abiotic factors are used in various industries due to their biodegradability, renewability, biocompatibility, and non-toxic properties. This study examined the use of these gums in a new application, such as adding them to the delignification liquor to decrease the negative effects of radicals formed during the oxygen delignification of stone pine kraft pulps. For this purpose, the effects of sweet cherry gum, both with and without hydrogen peroxide reinforcement, and guar gum on oxygen delignification were examined in this study. The addition of both gums, up to a certain usage level, increased the selectivity of the reaction and protected the viscosity from oxidative damage, while causing only a limited reduction in the kappa number during the delignification process. However, it was determined that cherry gum, in hydrogen peroxide-reinforced oxygen delignification, showed no effect on selectivity, but increased pulp strength properties and better bleached pulp could be produced.