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2025 Vol.57, Issue 1 Preview Page

Research Article

Evaluation of Filter Press Performance for Extracting Lignin from Acid-based Black Liquor

산성 흑액 내 리그닌 분리를 위한 필터프레스 성능 평가

Hyeon Ji Im1
,
Sa Rang Choi2
,
Jung Myoung Lee3†
임 현지1
,
최 사랑2
,
이 중명3†
1Major in Wood and Paper Science, Dept. of Wood and Paper Science, School of Forestry, Science and Landscape Architecture Kyungpook National University
2Agricultural Science and Technology Research Institute, Kyungpook National University
3Dept. of Wood and Paper Science, School of Forestry, Science and Landscape Architecture Kyungpook National University
1경북대학교 산림과학·조경학부 임산공학전공 학생
2경북대학교 농업과학기술연구소 연구원
3경북대학교 산림과학·조경학부 임산공학전공 교수
†Corresponding author: E-Mail: jmylee@knu.ac.kr (Address: Dept. of Wood and Paper Science, School of Forestry, Science and Landscape Architecture, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, 41566, Republic of Korea)
28 February 2025. pp. 50-57
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Abstract

Lignin, extracted from the black liquor of the pulping process, is one of abundant renewable biopolymers and is considered a potential alternative to petroleum-based compounds. Currently, research focusing on the utilization of technical lignin is increasing, leading to a growing demand for lignin for commercial applications. Therefore, research on efficient dehydration to obtain lignin from black liquor with a simple pretreatment process is essential. This study used fast and simple mechanical dehydration in a filter press as an alternative to efficiently isolate lignin from black liquor. An acidic black liquor was used as the feedstock, which does not require a pH adjustment process, unlike the alkaline black liquor coming out of the kraft pulping process. As a result, a high degree of lignin purity (87.2‒89.2%) can be extracted, which is comparable to technical lignin. Furthermore, the molecular weight and polydispersity of the extracted lignin are constant, regardless of whether it is washed, which supports the performance of the filter press and filter cloth used in this study to produce homogeneous lignin. These findings demonstrate the potential of the filter press dewatering process for commercial-scale lignin production.

Keywords
Lignin
black liquor
filter press
dewatering
dehydration
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Information
  • Publisher :Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
  • Publisher(Ko) :한국펄프종이공학회
  • Journal Title :Journal of Korea TAPPI
  • Journal Title(Ko) :펄프종이기술
  • Volume : 57
  • No :1
  • Pages :50-57
  • Received Date : 2025-02-03
  • Revised Date : 2025-02-04
  • Accepted Date : 2025-02-04
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.7584/JKTAPPI.2025.2.57.1.50
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