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Efficiency of dilution/thickening washing of pulp

Article · January 1999

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Frantisek Potucek Miloslav Milichovsky

University of Pardubice, Czech Republic, Pardubice University of Pardubice
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 EFFICIENCY OF DILUTION/THICKENING WASHING OF PULP

František POTŮČEK, Miloslav MILICHOVSKÝ

Department of Wood, Pulp and Paper, Faculty of Chemical Technology,
University of Pardubice, Doubravice 41, 532 10 Pardubice, Czech Republic
E-mail: Frantisek.Potucek@upce.cz

In Proceedings of Int. Conference „Historie a současnost papírenství ve střední Evropě“,

20 - 21. 10. 1999, Univerzita Pardubice, Czech Republic, No. SPPC-12.

Summary

This paper deals with the pulp washing based on the combination of dilution and thickening.
Under assumptions valid for ideal washing stage, the relationships between the displacement
ratio or wash yield and the wash liquor ratio were derived if the feed and discharge
consistencies are both the same and different. Both sequences of pulp washing, namely the
procedure consisting of dilution and subsequent thickening as well as the procedure
consisting of thickening and subsequent dilution, were compared from the point of view of
the washing efficiency.

Souhrn

Praní vláknitých materiálů založené na zředění a zahuštění se využívá zejména v kombinaci

s vytěsněním a v případech, kdy pouhé vytěsnění matečného výluhu by bylo nedokonalé.
Vysokých výtěžků praní se dosahuje, je-li možno zahustit vlákninu na dostatečně velkou
konzistenci. V práci je popsáno násobné neboli periodické praní, kdy v každém stupni je
používána čerstvá voda nebo slabý prací výluh. Jsou odvozeny vztahy mezi vytěsňovacím
poměrem, popřípadě pracím výtěžkem, a pracím poměrem za předpokladu ideálního pracího
stupně, a to jak při neměnné, tak i proměnné konzistenci proudu buničiny. Porovnány jsou
dvě sekvence sestávající ze zředění a zahuštění, v nichž je zaměněno pořadí obou operací.

Keywords: stage-wise washing; pulp; theoretical stage

Introduction

Pulp washing ranks among key unit operations in pulp manufacture. Washing is needed as
soon as chemicals have been used and wood substance dissolved in the production of pulp,
i.e. for chemical and semichemical pulps. The purpose of pulp washing is to remove the
spent pulping liquor from the pulp leaving the cooking process. Pulp is washed to recover
expensive cooking chemicals and organic chemicals, which are recovered for their heating
value. Increasing washing effectiveness in pulp production is important with respect to
increasing chemical and energy self-sufficiency, increasing product purity, and decreasing
environmental impact. Water added to the pulp stream during washing must be removed
again by evaporation. Hence, the objective of pulp washing is not only to remove as much of
the soluble impurities as possible, but to do it with as little water as possible.
In all common used industrial pulp washers, washing is achieved by dilution connected
with thickening or by displacement (ref.1). Both basic washing principles are accompanied by
leaching that occurs whenever there is a difference in liquor concentration between the inside
and the outside of fibres.. The leaching operation refers to the desorption and diffusion of
solute from within the fibres.
In this paper, two basic alternatives of pulp washing based on dilution and thickening
are compared from the point of view of the washing effectiveness.

Dilution/thickening washing

Inlet consistency the same as discharge consistency

Dilution/thickening washing is based on the principle of dilution and dewatering. This oldest
and simplest method of pulp washing is consisted of two steps. First the pulp slurry is diluted
and thoroughly mixed with clean water or weak liquor and then thickened by filtration or by
pressing. This procedure is repeated until the required degree of washing has been achieved
(Fig. 1). In the washing operation, solute is transferred from the pulp stream to the wash
liquor stream. Hence, the solute concentration in the pulp stream decreases.

Fig. 1 Flow diagram of stage-wise washing

One washing
stage (Fig. 2)
consists of mixing
pulp with wash
water and then
thickening back to
the original
consistency. It
should be noted that
the consistency is
the concentration of
moisture-free pulp
fibres expressed in
mass %. The pulp Fig. 2 Washing stage based on dilution and subsequent thickening
liquor mass flows

2
related to the mass of moisture-free pulp, concentrations of solutes (e.g. sodium hydroxide,
salt cake, or lignin), and pulp consistencies are denoted by L, X, and C, respectively. The
wash liquor mass flows related to the mass of moisture-free pulp, and concentrations of
solute are labelled with V, and Y, respectively. For convenience, suffixes i-1 and i will be
used to denote the inlet and outlet streams, respectively. The subscript, E, denotes the stream
of wash liquor entering given washing stage. Then the relationship between the consistency
and pulp liquor mass flow can written in the form

100
Li  1. (1)
Ci

The separation of fibres and liquor as a result of dilution with water or dilute liquor and
subsequent thickening can be predicted using simple mass balances. The liquor mass
balance is given by

Li 1  VE ,i 1  Li  Vi . (2)

The dissolved solids mass balance is given by the following equation

Li 1 X i 1  VE ,i 1YE ,i 1  Li X i  VY
i i . (3)

If the consistencies entraining, Ci-1, and leaving, Ci, the ith stage are the same, the amount of
wash liquor, VE,i-1, added to the stage is equal to the amount of liquor, Vi, leaving by
thickening. The equation (3) may be written in the form

Yi   RWi 1 ( X i  X i 1 )  YE ,i 1 . (4)

The equation (4) can be drawn as the

operating line, as shown in Fig. 3 using X and
Y linear coordinates. As follows from
equation (3), the slope of the operating line is
equal to – Li-1/VE,i-1. The wash liquor ratio,
RWi, is defined as the mass of the wash
liquor, VE,i-1, that is added to ith stage divided
by the mass of inlet pulp liquor, Li-1, as
follows

VE ,i 1
RWi  . (5)
Li 1
Fig. 3 Graphical determination of dissolved solids
Then the slope of the operating line can be concentration in streams outgoing ith ideal washing
-1 stage for dilution/thickening (the operating line has a
expressed as – RWi .
slope of -RWi-1) and thickening/dilution (the operating
line has a slope of 1-RWi-1) sequences.

3
 When sorption effects between
pulp and dissolved solids will not be
taken into account, the equilibrium
curve coincides with the diagonal
Y = X (ref.2). Since the inlet
concentrations Xi-1, and YE,i-1 are
specified, the outlet concentrations
Xi, and Yi then corresponds to
conditions given for outgoing
streams which, in the case of the
ideal washing stage, are in
equilibrium. Generally for cascade
of washers, the number of ideal Fig. 4 Graphical determination of the number of ideal
wash stages is equal to the number washing stages for dilution/thickening as well as
of operating lines constructed for thickening/dilution sequences
each washing stage in the limits of
inlet solute concentration, X0, and
outlet concentration, Xn, as illustrated in Fig. 4. This stepwise process is the graphical
solution for determining the concentrations of solute in streams pertaining to any perfect
washing stage in series if the concentration, YE,i-1, of dissolved solids in the wash liquor is
greater than or equal to zero.
The displacement ratio, DR, is representative of the dissolved solids concentration
reduction achieved in wash stages relative to the theoretical maximum that can be achieved.
For n stages in which the pulp stream flows through the several washers in series, while the
fresh water (YE,i-1 = 0 from i = 1 to i = n) is introduced into each stage, the following equation
can be written

X0  Xn
DR  . (6)
X0

Using these basic conditions mentioned above (i.e. Ci-1 = Ci, equilibrium curve
expressed as Y = X, and YE,i-1 = 0), the relation between the displacement ratio and the wash
liquor ratio can be written in the form

in
DR  1   (1  RWi )1 (7)
i 1

where n is a number of ideal mixing stages that must be conducted to get a given
displacement ratio. Assuming that the wash liquor ratio in each stage is the same, equation
(7) can be rewritten in the form

DR  1  (1  RW ) n . (8)

The number of ideal washing stages n that are required to reach a specified pulp liquor
composition, in coordinate Xn, can be calculated directly from equation (8) if the
equilibrium line is expressed as Y = X, the wash ratio in each stage is kept constant, and fresh
water is used in each stage. Then the solute concentration in the pulp liquor leaving the nth
stage is given by the following relationship

4
 X0
Xn  . (9)
(1  RW ) n

Different inlet and discharge consistencies

If the inlet and discharge consistencies are different, the displacement ratio alone does not
fully represent a parameter describing solute removal. It is necessary so that the inlet and
discharge consistencies were known as well. For this reason, the wash yield is a washer
performance parameter more convenient for expression of effectiveness of a washer. The
wash yield, WY, is defined as a ratio of dissolved solids mass removed and dissolved solids
mass entering multistage washing system as follows

L0 X 0  Ln X n
WY  . (10)
L0 X 0

It should be noted that, under assumptions when there are no solute entering the washer with
the wash liquor and no change in consistency through the washers, the displacement ratio
defined by equation (6) is equal to the wash yield defined by equation (10).
For multistage washing systems with washers operating at different inlet and discharge
consistencies (Ci-1 Ci), which occur more frequently, the wash yield, WY, depends on the
wash liquor ratio differing for each stage as follows

in
(100  Ci ) Ci 1
WY  1  (1  RWi ) 1 . (11)
i 1 (100  Ci 1 ) Ci

Thickening/dilution washing

Inlet consistency the same as discharge consistency

The second washing sequence consists of the same steps but in opposite order. First the pulp
slurry is thickened and then diluted with weaker liquor or clean water (see Fig. 5). The
modelling of dewatering and subsequent dilution entails easy material balance calculations if
ideal mixing, i.e. equilibrium between outgoing streams, is assumed, as it usually is.
The washing stage can be described using simple mass balance for liquor (see equation
(2)) and for dissolved solids

Li 1 X i 1  VE ,i 1YE ,i 1  Li X i  Vi X i 1 . (12)

After rearranging (see also Figs 3, and 5), we can obtain the following equation

Yi  (1  RWi 1 )( X i  X i 1 )  YE ,i 1 . (13)

5
which can be graphically drawn, as shown in Fig. 3. If the consistencies entering and leaving
the ith washing stage are roughly the same and the equilibrium line is simply the diagonal
Y = X (sorption is ignored), the operating line derived from equation (12) has a slope of
-1
1 - RWi . If values of the concentrations, Xi-1 and YE,i-1, and flows, Li-1 and VE,i-1, are known,
the equation (13) and the equilibrium curve can be used in a stepwise manner to calculate the
compositions of
wash liquor and
pulp streams
pertaining to the
various washing
stage in series (see
Fig. 4).
For a cascade
of ideal washing
stages, in which the
pulp stream from
one washing stage
is contacted with
additional fresh Fig. 5 Washing stage based on thickening and subsequent dilution
water (YE,i-1 = 0) in
a subsequent stage,
the relationship
between the displacement ratio and the wash liquor ratio can be written in the form

in
DR  1   (1  RWi ) . (14)
i 1

The number of ideal washing stages, n, that are required to reach a specified pulp liquor
composition, in coordinate Xn, can be calculated directly if fresh water (YE,i-1 = 0) is used in
each stage. If the wash liquor ratio is maintained constant in each stage, the equation (14) can
be rearranged in the form

DR  1  (1  RW )n . (15)

The solute concentration in the pulp stream leaving the nth stage can be expressed in the form
of an equation

X n  X 0 (1  RW )n . (16)

Different inlet and discharge consistencies

In practice, however, washers operating at different inlet and discharge consistencies are also
compared from the point of view of their efficiency. In this case, when Ci-1  Ci, YE,i-1 = 0,
and Y = X, the following relationship between the wash yield, WY, and the wash liquor ratio
differing for each stage can be written in the form

6
 in
(100  Ci ) Ci 1
WY  1  [  RWi ] . (17)
i 1 (100  Ci 1 ) Ci

Comparison of both washing alternatives

The separation efficiency possible by dilution and thickening is limited by the maximum
consistency to which the pulp can be thickened after dilution. It has to be reminded that, for
the second washing sequence in which thickening is followed by dilution, the value of the
wash liquor ratio defined by equation (5) may be held only within the range from 0 to 1. The
pulp consistency after thickening, CT,i (in mass %), can be expressed in terms of the wash
liquor ratio and the inlet pulp consistency, Ci-1 (in mass %), as seen in the following
relationship

100 Ci 1
CT ,i  . (18)
100  RWi (100  Ci 1 )

Table I The pulp consistency after thickening, CT,i (in mass %), evaluated from equation (18)

Ci-1, mass %
RW
5 10 15 20 25
0.1 5.5 11.0 16.4 21.7 27.0
0.2 6.2 12.2 18.1 23.8 29.4
0.3 7.0 13.7 20.1 26.3 32.3
0.4 8.1 15.6 22.7 29.4 35.7
0.5 9.5 18.2 26.1 33.3 40.0
0.6 11.6 21.7 30.6 38.5 45.5*
0.7 14.9 27.0 37.0 45.5* 52.6*
0.8 20.8 35.7 46.9* 55.6* 62.5*
0.9 34.5 52.6* 63.8* 71.4* 76.9*

*) It cannot be usually realized in industrial plants.

Table I lists some values of the pulp consistency after thickening, CT,i (in mass %), evaluated
for various values of the wash liquor ratio, RW, and inlet pulp consistency, Ci-1. It must be
noted that in practice, however, the pulp slurry can be pressed up to consistency of about
40 % when washing presses are used.

7
 For a more synoptical comparison 1.0 5

of both discussed washing sequences 5

4
3
the displacement ratio as a function of 4
0.8
the wash liquor ratio with the number
2
of ideal washing stages as parameter is 3

shown in Fig. 6. This graph can be used 0.6

for to make a quick estimate of the
number of ideal washing stages DR 1
2
required for a given separation in the 0.4
case that the inlet consistency is equal 1
to outlet one.
0.2

Concluding remarks
0.0
0.0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6
A pulp washing system,s efficiency is RW
defined in terms of how much of the Fig. 6 The displacement ratio as a function of the
solute it removes and the amount of wash liquor ratio with the number of ideal washing
wash water needed to accomplish this stages as parameter if the inlet consistency is the same
solute removal. Pulp washing based on as the outlet consistency. Dashed line:
dilution and thickening does not dilut-ion/thickening washing. Solid line:
remove all solutes unless it is repeated thickening/dilution washing
many times using clean water.
Generally speaking, the higher wash
liquor ratio will give somewhat lower numbers of washing stages, and vice versa. In
industrial situations, these conditions cannot be met. The disadvantage of this method is that,
as the number of washing stages increases and the concentration of dissolved solids in the
pulp stream continually decreases, recovery of the water becomes more expensive. The
stage-wise discontinuous washing is not generally economically attractive for large
commercial processes because water usage is high and solute concentration in the combined
filtrate is low. The stage-wise process based on dilution and thickening must, however, be
used when the mechanical flow properties of the pulp material do not permit the use of
displacement washing.
The efficiency of this operation depends primarily on the consistencies to which the pulp
is diluted and thickened. Efficiency also depends on the extent to which solute has been
sorbed onto the fibres and the time required for the solute to diffuse out of the fibres. In order
to minimize the amount of wash water, three or four washers are usually arranged in a
continuous countercurrent multistage manner (more details in ref.3). Of course, the optimum
design of washing systems cannot be reduced to an achievement of a minimum amount of
wash water and a maximum amount of solute removed but also further operating costs have
to be taken into account.

Symbols

C consistency (i.e. concentration of oven dried pulp), mass %

DR displacement ratio defined by equation (6)
L pulp liquor stream, tonnes of liquor/tonne of oven dried washed pulp
n number of ideal washing stages
RW wash liquor ratio defined by equation (5)

8
 V wash liquor stream, tonnes of liquor/tonne of oven dried washed pulp
WY wash yield defined by equation (10)
X concentration of dissolved solids in pulp stream, kg of dissolved solids/tonne of liquor
Y concentration of dissolved solids in wash liquor stream, kg of dissolved solids/tonne of
liquor
Subscripts
D referring to dilution
E referring to stream of wash liquor entering washing stage
i referring to stream outgoing ith washing stage
i-1 referring to stream entering ith washing stage
n referring to nth washing stage
T referring to thickening
0 referring to stream entering the first washing stage

References

1. Crotogino R.H., Poirier N.A., Trinh D.T.: Tappi J. 70(6), 95 (1987).

2. Norden H.V., Viljakainen E.: Svensk Papperstidn. 83(2), 50 (1980).
3. Potůček F.: Papír a celulóza 49, 9 (1994).

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