Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Process performance in lignin separation from softwood black liquor by membrane filtration

Arkell, Anders LU ; Olsson, Johanna LU and Wallberg, Ola LU orcid (2014) In Chemical Engineering Research & Design 92(9). p.1792-1800
Abstract
Black liquor is a side-stream in the production of kraft pulp. The extraction of lignin and hemicelluloses from black liquor would reduce the load on the recovery boiler and give valuable by-products. Lignin was separated from black liquor by membrane filtration, using one ceramic and three polymeric nanofiltration membranes, with molecular weight cut-offs in the range of 200 Da to 1 kDa. Ultrafiltration was tested as a form of pretreatment prior to nanofiltration to separate hemicelluloses from lignin. The use of ultrafiltration prior to nanofiltration increased the flux drastically in the nanofiltration step with three of the membranes. The ceramic membrane exhibited a higher flux and lower lignin retention than the polymeric membranes.... (More)
Black liquor is a side-stream in the production of kraft pulp. The extraction of lignin and hemicelluloses from black liquor would reduce the load on the recovery boiler and give valuable by-products. Lignin was separated from black liquor by membrane filtration, using one ceramic and three polymeric nanofiltration membranes, with molecular weight cut-offs in the range of 200 Da to 1 kDa. Ultrafiltration was tested as a form of pretreatment prior to nanofiltration to separate hemicelluloses from lignin. The use of ultrafiltration prior to nanofiltration increased the flux drastically in the nanofiltration step with three of the membranes. The ceramic membrane exhibited a higher flux and lower lignin retention than the polymeric membranes. The two membranes with a molecular weight cut-off of 1 kDa were found to have the best performance in parametric studies, and were therefore used in concentration studies. The results were used for a preliminary economic evaluation of the process. These calculations showed that the most cost-effective alternative for the extraction of lignin was with the polymeric 1 kDa membrane without pretreatment, and that the production cost for a lignin solution with a concentration of 230 g L−1 would be 46 € per ton of lignin. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Black liquor, Ultrafiltration, Nanofiltration, Lignin, Hemicelluloses
in
Chemical Engineering Research & Design
volume
92
issue
9
pages
1792 - 1800
publisher
Institution of Chemical Engineers
external identifiers
  • wos:000342249300017
  • scopus:84906784286
ISSN
0263-8762
DOI
10.1016/j.cherd.2013.12.018
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
c42ddb61-9876-4bbe-a8be-4e7a65575e76 (old id 4249219)
alternative location
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0263876213005339
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 14:48:56
date last changed
2023-11-13 12:34:06
@article{c42ddb61-9876-4bbe-a8be-4e7a65575e76,
  abstract     = {{Black liquor is a side-stream in the production of kraft pulp. The extraction of lignin and hemicelluloses from black liquor would reduce the load on the recovery boiler and give valuable by-products. Lignin was separated from black liquor by membrane filtration, using one ceramic and three polymeric nanofiltration membranes, with molecular weight cut-offs in the range of 200 Da to 1 kDa. Ultrafiltration was tested as a form of pretreatment prior to nanofiltration to separate hemicelluloses from lignin. The use of ultrafiltration prior to nanofiltration increased the flux drastically in the nanofiltration step with three of the membranes. The ceramic membrane exhibited a higher flux and lower lignin retention than the polymeric membranes. The two membranes with a molecular weight cut-off of 1 kDa were found to have the best performance in parametric studies, and were therefore used in concentration studies. The results were used for a preliminary economic evaluation of the process. These calculations showed that the most cost-effective alternative for the extraction of lignin was with the polymeric 1 kDa membrane without pretreatment, and that the production cost for a lignin solution with a concentration of 230 g L−1 would be 46 € per ton of lignin.}},
  author       = {{Arkell, Anders and Olsson, Johanna and Wallberg, Ola}},
  issn         = {{0263-8762}},
  keywords     = {{Black liquor; Ultrafiltration; Nanofiltration; Lignin; Hemicelluloses}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{9}},
  pages        = {{1792--1800}},
  publisher    = {{Institution of Chemical Engineers}},
  series       = {{Chemical Engineering Research & Design}},
  title        = {{Process performance in lignin separation from softwood black liquor by membrane filtration}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cherd.2013.12.018}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.cherd.2013.12.018}},
  volume       = {{92}},
  year         = {{2014}},
}