The Effect of Hydrogen Peroxide Bleaching on the Properties of Hardwood Kraft Pulp Absorbed with Birchwood Xylan

Xylan can be applied to improve the strength properties of paper; however the optical properties, such as brightness, are decreased significantly. To solve that problem, an applicable bleaching process is therefore desired. The aim of this research was to investigate the impact of hydrogen peroxide bleaching on hardwood kraft pulp pretreated with birchwood xylan by measuring optical properties (whiteness, brightness, opacity) as well as physical properties (tensile index, tearing index, bulk) of handsheets made from the bleached pulp. Hydrogen peroxide bleaching, as a kind of totally chlorine free (TCF) bleaching method, is quite important industrially for chemical pulp. In our work, the process variables of peroxide bleaching including bleaching temperature, time, initial pH and $MgSO_4$ dosage were studied. The results showed that both good mechanical properties and optical properties could be achieved when the operating parameters were controlled properly and therefore hydrogen peroxide bleaching was proved to be a suitable method for bleaching hardwood kraft pulp with adsorption of birchwood xylan.