An analysis of the water soluble components of Sappi Saiccor's effluent streams

Sappi Saiccor is a pulp mill that produces high-grade chemical cellulose (dissolving pulp) from predominantly hardwood timber and is currently the world's largest manufacturer of this type of pulp. Attempts to isolate pure lignosulphonates were unsuccessful; however, an acid hydrolysis of the aqueous portion of the calcium effluent stream yielded a range of organic compounds. These included lignans, lignin-type precursors as well as small quantities of vanillin and syringaldehyde. The structures of these compounds were determined using NMR spectroscopic and mass spectrometric techniques.