Generation of Hydrogen, Lignin and Sodium Hydroxide from Pulping Black Liquor by Electrolysis

Guangzai Nong, Zongwen Zhou and Shuangfei Wang
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Guangzai Nong: Institute of Light Industry and Food Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
Zongwen Zhou: Institute of Light Industry and Food Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
Shuangfei Wang: Institute of Light Industry and Food Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China

Energies, 2015, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Black liquor is generated in Kraft pulping of wood or non-wood raw material in pulp mills, and regarded as a renewable resource. The objective of this paper was to develop an effective means to remove the water pollutants by recovery of both lignin and sodium hydroxide from black liquor, based on electrolysis. The treatment of a 1000 mL of black liquor (122 g/L solid contents) consumed 345.6 kJ of electric energy, and led to the generation of 30.7 g of sodium hydroxide, 0.82 g of hydrogen gas and 52.1 g of biomass solids. Therefore, the recovery ratios of elemental sodium and biomass solids are 80.4% and 76%, respectively. Treating black liquor by electrolysis is an environmentally friendly technology that can, in particular, be an alternative process in addressing the environmental issues of pulping waste liquor to the small-scale mills without black liquor recovery.

Keywords: black liquor; electrolysis; energy; lignin; hydrogen (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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