Bleached kraft pulp of Pinus tecunumanii

Abstract

We evaluated use of 12 year-old Pinus tecunumanii (Eguiluz & Perry) grown in Colombia for bleached kraft pulp production. Kraft pulps of kappa number 30 + 1 were produced, further oxygen delignified and bleached to 90% ISO with ECF processes. The bleached pulp produced under optimum conditions was evaluated regarding strength properties. P. tecunumanii wood required low effective alkali charge to reach the desired kappa number and the brown pulp showed high oxygen delignification efficiency and bleachability with sequences of the OD(EO)DED type. The bleached pulps showed good physical-mechanical properties, which are comparable to those obtained with more traditional pines such as loblolly and radiata. The results demonstrate that this tropical pine species is a suitable raw material for bleached kraft pulp production.