Xueping Song

Pectinase pretreatment prior to bagasse soda-anthraquinone (AQ) pulping was conducted, and the effects of pectinase pretreatment on the pulp strength properties, energy consumption, and pulpability were evaluated in this study. Considering the pulp properties, the optimal conditions for the pectinase pretreatment were a pectinase dosage of 60 U/g (with respect to oven-dry bagasse) and 60-min treatment time. Compared with the control pulps obtained under the same treatment conditions with enzyme pretreatment (just without enzyme addition), the pretreated pulps attained a reduction in kappa number of 17.8% and an increase in total pulp yield of 15.8%. Moreover, higher breaking length, burst factor, and tear factor after soda-AQ pulping were found in the pectinase-pretreated samples, which suggests some improvements in pulp strength properties. With pectinase treatment, a 1% reduction in alkali charge and 20% decrease in pulping time were observed in subsequent pulping stages without affecting the pulp properties. Pectinase treatment prior to pulping seems to be a promising, economically feasible, and eco-friendly concept.