The EFC bleaching with the current technologies, based on the chlorine dioxide use represents the second greatest cost in the eucalyptus kraft pulp bleaching (US$ 25-30/t), being the wood the first (US$ 40-80/t). On the other hand, the bleaching reagents offer, typically chlorine dioxide, has been a limiting factor for the production increase in many old industrial units since
the units capacity generating this reagent can only be increased by its complete substitution. Besides, the bleaching effluent with the chlorine dioxide is of difficult re-circulation in the chemical recovery. Pulp bleaching alternative technologies, which minimize the use of chlorine dioxide are, therefore, very welcome. The focus of the investigations searching for alternative reagents have been based on the pulp pre-bleaching, i.e., in the two stages of the bleaching sequence, aiming at using less chlorine dioxide
and lower the number of kappa pulp that follows the bleaching phase. The practical industrial experience in Brazil shows that the kappa number, after the wood cooking and delignification with oxygen, varies from 9 to 11. The subsequent pulp bleaching with this level of kappa number requires from 33 to 44kg of active chlorine per pulp ton, that is, about 4kg of chlorine per kappa number unit. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to investigate alternatives, which allowed, not only the specific chlorine dioxide consume reduction but also, and mainly, the kappa pulp number reduction that follows to the bleaching phase. Such alternatives included: (1) increase in the delignification efficiency with oxygen by the use of additives and optimization of the operational variables; (2) substitution of the acid stage and/or first de-oxidation stage by a peroxide acid catalyzed with molybdenum salts (PMo) or other salts; (3) industrial evaluation of the PMo stage in a PMoZDP sequence; and (4) NaOH substitution by Mg(OH)2 in the P and Ep stages of the AZDP, a/(Ze)DP and D*(Ep)D bleaching sequences. These objectives accomplishments resulted in the four chapters of this work. The MgSO4 use in the oxygen delignification and the application of the most severe alkali conditions (25kg/t) and of the temperature (115oC) allow the kappa pulp number reduction to values of 9,0, thus reducing the bleaching cost by the Oa/(Ze)DP sequence, without pulp quality loss. The substitution of the sequence AZDP acid stage by the peroxide acetic stage (produced from the glucose pentacetate), also reduced the kappa of the bleaching start, with the bleaching time reduction. The peroxide acid catalyzed with molybdenum (PMo) use in substitution of the acid stage (A) reduced substantially the kappa of the bleaching start, having also reduced the bleaching total cost by the AZDP sequence in R$2,13/t of pulp. Such results were confirmed in a trial mill in a 1200t/day plant without pulp quality loss and the bleaching effluent. The best conditions to operate the PMo stage were: temperature 90-95OC; pH 3,5; 2 hours; 0,1kg/t molybdenum and; 5kg/t hydrogen peroxide. The principal effect of the kappa reduction observed in the PMo stage occurred through the hexenuronic acid removal from the pulp. That the substitution of 25% of the sodium hydroxide and 100% of magnesium sulphate used in the Ep stage by the Mg(OH)2 was demonstrated to be possible without significant damage to the viscosity and brightness of the pulp bleached by the D*(Ep)D sequence.
