Bamboo kraft pulping

Despite of the wide use worldwide, the industrial potential of bamboo species in Brazil is not much investigated. However, some encouragement to revert this situation was created in last few years. The aim of this research was to evaluate the technological characteristics of the Bambusa vulgaris biomass for the production of pulp by the kraft process. The technological characteristics of the raw material were determined by the basic density, the chemical composition and the morphology of the fibers. The cooking process was carried out with the application of eight charges of active alkali, in 90 minutes of heating time and 60 minutes in the maximum temperature of 170oC. All analyzes were also executed with the Eucalyptus spp. and the Pinus spp., in order to make a complete comparison among the species Bambusa vulgaris and the two most used raw materials for the pulp production in Brazil. The Bambusa vulgaris presented a higher basic density, lower holocellulose content and a higher total extractive content. Its fibers have intermediate length and wall thickness, similar to the Eucalyptus spp. and the Pinus spp. Considering the kraft pulping process, the species Bambusa vulgaris demonstrated to be easier to delignify besides presenting almost zero reject content and smaller consumption of active alkali. However, the Eucalyptus spp. and the Pinus spp. obtained the best yields, the lowest specific consumption of raw material and better selectivities.