Terminology General terms

GENERAL TERMS..................................................................................................................2

COOKING TERMS ..................................................................................................................5

SCREENING TERMS ..............................................................................................................7

WASHING TERMS ..................................................................................................................8

BLEACH SEQUENCE...........................................................................................................10
Description ............................................................................................................................................................................10

Terms.....................................................................................................................................................................................11

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General terms
AD Air Dry. Wood or pulp weight expressed with a dryness of 90%.
This is a trade term related to the fact that pulp is generally sold
on air dry basis.

OD Oven Dry. Wood or pulp weight expressed with a dryness of

100%.

BD Bone Dry = oven dry.

Black liquor Residual or spent liquor after cooking. Excess of black liquor
from washing is normally evaporated and burnt for recovery of
chemicals and heat generation.

White liquor The liquor used in kraft (sulphate) cooking. Contains sodium
hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium sulphide (Na2S) as active
chemicals and more or less sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) and
sodium sulphate (Na2SO4) as inactive substances.

Oxidized white liquor White liquor (NaOH + Na2S + Na2CO3) where Na2S has been
converted to Na2S2O3 by oxidation. In this form the white liquor
may be used as alkali in oxygen delignification.

Stock Wet pulp at any stage and consistency.

Brown stock Unbleached pulp.

Filtrate The liquor removed from the pulp with dewatering equipment,
e.g. a filter.

White water An unspecified filtrate, e.g. originating from a paper machine.

Usually without too much colouring substances.

Cooking liquor The actual liquor to cook the raw material with, e.g. white liquor
diluted with black liquor.

BOD Biological Oxygen Demand. A standard measurement for the

oxygen amount that a fluid will consume by the influence of
natural bacteria.

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COD Chemical Oxygen Demand. A standard measurement for the

equivalent oxygen amount that a fluid will consume when
oxidized chemically. The COD value is also an estimation of the
total amount of dissolved organic matter.

Cons. Consistency. Percentage of oven-dry fiber in a slurry of fiber with

water or liquor.

Conc. Concentration. Percentage of a chemical dissolved in a fluid.

Cellulose A long-chained molecule made up of thousands of glucose units;

the main organic matter in the fiber.

Lignin The binding substance between and in the fibers. Lignin gives
strength properties to a tree in the same way as plastics in fiber
reinforced plastics, FRP.

Delignification Removal of lignin from cellulose fibers by a chemical reaction so

that the lignin can be washed out of the pulp. Most of the
Delignification is done in the digester, but it also takes place in the
oxygen stage and final bleaching.

Kappa No A standard method of measuring the degree of delignification –

the lower the number, the less lignin.

K-number and Standard or no standard methods for lignin

permangante number content. These numbers are not directly convertible to Kappa No.

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Drainage rate The ability of a pulp suspension to give up its free water due to
the force of gravity, pressure or vacuum is generally referred to as
drainage rate and is expressed as slowness or freeness. The unit
used for expressing slowness is oSR (Schopper-Riegler). CSF
(Canadian Standard Freeness) is used for freeness. The drainage
rate depends on the following factors:

I) Fiber length – amount of fine material

II) Viscosity of liquor – temperature of liquor
III) Consistency of pulp
IV) Amount of air bubbles entrapped in the pulp
V) pH of liquor

Slow draining pulp requires a larger drainage area, whereas a free

draining pulp requires a smaller drainage area.

pH A measure on a scale 0 - 14 of the hydrogen ion concentration. pH

indicates whether the solution/slurry is acidic or alkaline. Below 7
is acidic; above 7 is alkaline. 7 is the neutral point. Observe, the
pH number is logarithmic. This means for instance that a solution
with pH 3 contains 1000 times more hydrogen ions (is 1000 times
more acidic) than a solution with pH 6.

Recovery Refers to the department or the process, where the black liquor is
evaporated and burnt to regenerate inorganic chemicals and
generate steam for heating and electric power.

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Cooking terms

White liquor Chemical mixture used in sulfate pulping. The effective chemicals
of it are sodium sulfide (Na2S). The concentration of those
compounds in white liquor is expressed as affecting e.g. active
alkali or effective alkali (g/l).

Black liquor White liquor which has reacted in digester and to which wood
compounds have dissolved. Black color comes from lignin
compounds colored by alkali and dissolved to liquor.

Sodium hydroxide and sulfide are expressed in grams per liter of

sodium hydroxide or sodium oxide (Na2O) equivalents. Practice is
based on sodium contents of the compounds. Conversion factor
from Na2O to NaOH is 1.29 and 0.775 in reverse direction.

Green liquor Recovery boiler smelt dissolved to weak liquor. In other words it
is black liquor with organic incinerated. In addition other reactions
have taken place, for example sodium sulfate has transformed to
sodium sulfide. Green liquor is processed to white liquor in
recaustizing plant.

Sodium sulfide concentration in cooking liquor is expressed as

sulfidity (%). Sulfidity is usually on the level 35-45 % in modern
mills. Reduction (%) shows how completely the nearly inert
sodium sulfate has been reduced to useful sodium sulfide.
Reduction takes place in recovery boiler. Causticity (%) shows
chemical efficiency of white liquor production (causticization). It
shows how much inert sodium carbonate has been transformed to
useful sodium hydroxide.

Effective alkali, active alkali and sulfidity are the most important
properties of white liquor. Effective alkali indicates OH-ion
concentration, active alkali total amount of OH- and HS –ions and
sulfidity HS and OH ion ratio.

Alkali charge is usually expressed as percentages of wood. This

means alkali amount in relation with completely dry wood.

Due to reaction balance during white liquor production the white

liquor concentration is approximately 140 – 170 g/l active alkali
as NaOH. White liquor includes also other sodium salts, such as
sodium sulfate (Na2SO4) and sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) and
small amounts of sulfites and chlorides. All sodium salts can be
expressed as total alkali (TTA, titrating alkali, g/l). All sodium
compounds are taken into account, such as sodium sulfate and
carbonate. Large amounts of sulfate and carbonate in white liquor

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indicate malfunctions in recovery boiler or recausticizing plant.

Because sulphate and carbonate don’t significantly participate in
cooking processes, they are only unnecessary loads in chemical
circulation. The white liquor contains also other substances not
reacting in cooking, such as chlorides and calcium compounds.
The amount of these so called inert materials depends greatly on
mill chemical circulation, for example on white liquor filtration
success.

Cooking control and reactions

H-factor Indicates relative speed of lignin dissolution. It depends on

cooking time and temperature. H-factor’s dependency on
temperature is very strong due to delignification temperature
dependency. Even a difference of couple of degrees in cooking
temperature can make a big difference in pulp quality. H-factor
has been defined so that 1 hour in 100 oC is equivalent with H-
factor 1.

Liquor-to-wood ratio Indicates the total liquid amount compared to completely dry
wood. It includes all liquids involved in cooking; cooking liquor,
possible supplementary liquor and water contained in chips after
possible presteaming.

Presteaming Means treating chips with steam before cooking. Steam treatment
removes air from chips pores and helps cooking chemicals
absorption in the beginning of cooking.

Delignification Means lignin dissolving in cooking liquor Condensation means

lignin reprecipitation from cooking liquid onto fiber surface.
Residual alkali indicates amount alkali, which is in cooking
liquor after cooking.

TRS compounds (Total Reduced Sulfur) are uncondensing reduced sulfur

compounds. In the other words they are VOC compounds
containing sulfur. TRS compounds form in cooking reactions and
in every black liquor treatment phase. TRS compounds have a
strong smell. Even in low concentrations they cause the smell
typical for pulp mills. However, odor problems have decreased
considerably with modern technology (odorous gas collecting and
burning).

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Screening terms
Screen Term commonly used for all types of equipment with perforated
or slotted plates to remove unwanted material.

Cleaner Also called vortex cleaner and hydrocyclone. A piece of

equipment to separate unwanted material by the centrifugal force.
Several cleaners can be built together in banks or canisters. The
efficiency is depending on the difference in gravity between the
fibres and the impurities, the g-force and the consistency of the
pulp sues-pension. Normally cleaning is not performed at a higher
consistency than 0.6%.

Accept Pulp fibers which meet certain criteria, usually size criteria and
are sent to the next step in the process.

Reject Unacceptable material removed in the screening and cleaning

process, usually on the basis of size.

Inject/feed The material entering the screen.

Cascade screening A screen-room configuration where accepts from one screening

stage is recirculated to the pulp inlet the previous screening stage.

Feed forward A screen-room configuration, where the accept from the

secondary screen is combined with the accept from the primary
screen instead of being cascaded.

Coarse/pre-screening Screening which separates big particles such as knots, uncooked

chips and large foreign objects from the pulp.

Barrier screening Screening to prevent particles larger than a certain size to pass the
screen plate. This is normally synonymous with screening through
slots.

Fractionation Screening based on the fact that the probability for a particle to
pass through a hole decreases with increasing particle size.

Double screening A screen-room configuration, where the accepted pulp from the
first screen is rescreened in another screen before being
considered as final accept and sent to the next step in the process.

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Washing terms
Counter-current flow Washing filtrate is used on the previous washing stage. The
cleanest wash liquor, normally clean water, is used on the last
stage; the filtrate with maximum amount of dissolved solids will
then leave the first stage.

Diffusion Movement of molecules and ions without external forces.

Diffusion occurs when there is a difference in the concentration of
liquor between the inside and outside of the fibre. The rate of
diffusion is high when the difference in concentration of liquor is
large.

Dilution factor The quantity of water used for washing the pulp is normally
expressed as dilution factor. Dilution factor is defined as the
weight of wash water introduced into the original black liquor per
unit weight of oven dry pulp being washed. This amount of added
water is equal to the difference between the wash water amount
applied to the washing and the water amount remaining in the
pulp after washing. Dilution factor is expressed as:

DF= F/P - (100 - C)/C,

where

F= wash water flow rate (t/h or m3/h) on last stage

P= production rate (tOD/h)
C= consistency of pulp leaving the last stage (%)

The normal dilution factor range is +2.0 to +3.0. A higher dilution

factor means more wash water addition to the system. A negative
dilution factor means less wash water addition than what is
leaving the washer with the pulp.

Ex.: Production rate = 1750 tAD/d,

F = 650 m3/h, P = 66 tOD/h, C = 12%

DF = 650 – 100-12 = 9.8-7.3 = 2.5 m3/t OD

66 12

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Displacement ratio
Displacement ratio (DR) is a term that expresses the effectiveness
of a single displacement washing stage in removing dissolved
solids from the pulp. It is defined as the ratio of the actual
reduction in the solids content in the stage compared with the
maximum possible reduction:

DR = Cv - Cs
Cv - Cw

Cv = concentration in g/l of dissolved solids in the liquor entering

the stage with the pulp. (For rotary vacuum washers Cv =
concentration of dissolved solids in the washer vat)

Cs = concentration in g/l of dissolved solids in the liquor leaving

the stage with the pulp.

Cw = concentration in g/l of dissolved solids in the wash water

added to the stage.

In the ideal case, the liquor in the pulp leaving the washer will
have the same concentration of dissolved solids as in the wash
water. i.e. DR = 1.0. In reality, however, displacement ratios for
vacuum washers are in the range of 0.6 to 0.9.

Washing efficiency A measure of how efficient dissolved solids are removed in a

single washing stage or a number of washing stages:

100 * solids content in pulp at outlet

solids content in pulp at washing inlet

Note, as opposed to DR, the washing efficiency measure includes

the effect of dewaterig the pulp to a consistency higher than the
feed consistency.

Washing loss/soda loss
The efficiency of the washing plant can be expressed in terms of
soda loss. Soda loss is defined as the sodium content of the pulp
leaving the washing system, expressed as amount of Na2SO4 per
ton of oven dry pulp. (Salt cake is sometimes used for sodium
sulphate although it is rather NaHSO4). Sodium, Na, is converted
into equivalent amount of sodium sulphate, Na2SO4, by
multiplication by 3.09.

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Bleach sequence

Description

Bleach sequences are described by using letters in a line where the symbols are:

B = borohydride NaBH4
C = chlorine Cl2
D = chlorine dioxide ClO2
E = alkaline extraction NaOH
O = oxygen O2
H = hypochlorite NaClO, Ca(ClO)2
Y = dithionite, hydrosulphite S2O42-
S = sulphur dioxide SO2
W = washing, neutral or alkaline
A = acid treatment other than SO2
P = peroxide e.g. H2O2
X = enzymes
Z = ozone O3
Q = chelating e.g. DTPA, EDTA

– Symbols enclosed within parenthesis ( ) denote no wash between the additions of

chemicals, e.g. (CD).

– The symbol for the larger quantity is shown first when a mixture is added.

– Symbols separated by a plus (+) within parenthesis denotes a mixture or simultaneous

addition, e.g. (C+D).

– Consecutive symbols within parenthesis denotes sequential addition, e.g. (CD) or

(DC) with first chemical first. If either chemical is a mixture a comma (,) may be used
to clarify e.g. (D+C,C). This means that chlorine dioxide containing minor amounts of
chlorine is added first followed by the addition of chlorine. Observe, the comma is
used for clarity and must not be used like C,D instead of (CD) or (C+D).Washing loss
may also be expressed in terms of COD.

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– The stages can be numbered:

C1 E1 H1 D1 E2 D2 or
C1 E1 H1 D1 E2 D2 . This way with indices is discouraged by the international standard.
The same is true for using 0 for zero (similar to the letter O). D0 or D0 should not be
used according to the standard, but D0 is at least less confusing.

If a stage is appearing only once the number can be omitted e.g.

C E1 H D1 E2 D2.

– If chemical ratio is shown it should immediately follow the chemical symbol and be in
terms of oxidizing equivalents: (C85+D15) meaning a mixture of 85% chlorine and
15% of chlorine dioxide as active chlorine. (D50C50) means sequential charge with
equal amounts of chlorine and chlorine dioxide as active chlorine.

Terms

Carbohydrate Chemical compound of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen e.g. sugar,

alcohol, starch and cellulose.

Chelating agent An organic compound that can build a “cage” around certain other
elements e.g. heavy metal ions. This way these ions can be
entrapped and washed away. Certain metal ions are influencing
the bleaching negatively.

Chlorine Cl2. An effective bleach agent that works by chlorination,

oxidation and substitution. Unfortunately these reactions not only
lead to bleaching but also to the attack on cellulose and to the
formation of organic chlorine compounds that are toxic. See ECF.

Chlorine dioxide
ClO2. An efficient bleach agent that is attacking the lignin and
other coloured substances without too much influence on the
cellulose. Chlorine dioxide is also used at lower ratio (10-20% of
total act. Cl) not as a bleach agent but as a protector against the
attack on cellulose by chlorine.

Sodium hypochlorite
Calcium hypochlorite NaClO, Ca (ClO)2. Bleaching agents formed by mixing chlorine
with alkali. Rather detrimental to pulp strength, particularly
around the neutral point.

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Sodium chlorate NaClO4. Chemical compound used for on-site generation of

chlorine dioxide.

Hydrogen peroxide H2O2. A bleach agent that will both delignify and bleach the
fibres. H2O2 will also attack cellulose.

Dithionite Na2S2O4. An old bleach agent little used today; mainly in

combination with peroxide and on mechanical or semi-chemical
pulps.

Oxygen O2. The most environmental-friendly bleach agent that can be

used for lignin-removing bleaching together with sodium
hydroxide or oxidized white liquor. Most efficient in a pressurized
stage at elevated temperature as prebleaching. Oxygen can also be
used for reinforcing an extraction stage, (EO), or a peroxide stage,
(PO) or (EOP).

Ozone O3. A bleach agent consisting of three oxygen atoms. Ozone is

extremely aggressive against organic matter, also cellulose.
Therefore, ozone bleaching is performed at lowest possible
temperature and shortest possible time. Ozone is primarily
attacking the surface layers of the cellulose.

Sulphur dioxide SO2. A gas that is used dissolved in water. Nowadays normally
not used as a bleaching agent but as a reduction agent for residual
oxidants – “chlorine killer”. Without the use of sulphur dioxide
the pulp’s ageing properties will be worse and the corrosion on the
equipment will be large. Sodium sulphite can be used instead of
sulphur dioxide. SO2 is also used for neutralization after (PO)-
stages ahead of paper machines.

AOX Adsorbable Organic Halogen. A standardized measure of organic

halogens used for the indication of the environmental influence of
bleach plant effluents. Halogen refers to all the five elements
fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine and astatine. In practice AOX
is a measure of organically bound chlorine.

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Brightness An optical property of the product’s ability to reflect light. The

brightness is normally expressed in % ISO. Other standardized
and non-standardized methods also exist as GE (General Electric)
and Elrepho (only instrument-specified). The Photovolt
instrument is not valid nowadays.

Bleaching A chemical process to remove the coloured substances to increase

the brightness. This can be done by removing or retaining more or
less of the lignin.

Chloro-organic Organic compound – carbon compound containing chlorine.

ECF Elemental chlorine free. Pulp bleached without chlorine gas, Cl2.
ECF bleaching has less impact on the environment than bleaching
with chlorine.

TCF Totally chlorine-free. Refers to pulp bleached with other agents

than those containing chlorine in one or other form, e.g. peroxide,
dithionite, oxygen and ozone may be used.

Active chlorine Term used for expressing the the oxidizing power of other
chlorine containg bleach agents than elemental chlorine. For
example: 1 kg of pure chlorine is 1 kg active chlorine; 1 kg of
chlorine dioxide is 2.63 kg of act.Cl.

Available chlorine = active chlorine.

Bleachability Term to describe the relative ease of bleaching a pulp. The

bleachability can be expressed as the inverted value of the
consumption of active chlorine per unit Kappa No to reach a
certain brightness.

Viscosity In pulping used to indicate the length of the cellulose chains, i.e. it
is proportional to the degree of polymerisation. Higher value
means longer chains. The pulp viscosity is a measure of the
strength potential.

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Selectivity To what extent the delignification or bleaching is working without

degrading the cellulose. It can be expressed as Kappa No units per
unit viscosity drop.

Pitch A sticky material containing resin and fatty acids.

Resin A water insoluble material in wood. (The resin is used by the plant
to mend damages to prevent further attack by insects and fungus.)

Rosin A material manufactured from natural resin that is used for paper
gluing and in the paint industry.

Residence time The dwell time in a vessel – reaction time. Is quite often
erroneously called retention time which is something else.
Retention is related to the proportion of a component in the
original mixture which remains in the mixture at some stage in the
process or in the final product. Cf. retention on a paper machine
wire and retention of nitrogen in an adsorption process for oxygen
manufacture.

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