Difference between revisions of "Pulping"

{{Infobox technology|Name=Pulping|Category=Conversions|Feedstock=Woody biomass|Product=Pulp}}<onlyinclude>'''Pulping''' is a process that extracts fibrous material from biomass, most commonly as a precursor for paper making. The process separates the fibrous cellulose and lignin from the other components and impurities in the biomass. Main processes are mechanical, chemical, and a combination of mechanical and chemical pulping in a hybrid pulping process.</onlyinclude> Mechanical pulping relies on physical separation methods without added chemicals. However, water can be added to reduce the damage to the fibres from friction. Chemical pulping uses chemicals to remove the lignin from the pulp, resulting in a higher quality pulp. Hybrid technologies use chemicals to soften the lignin before a physical separation results in a pulp that still contains a substantial amount of the lignin.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|year=|title=PrintWiki, The Free Encyclopedia of Print|e-pub date=|date accessed=6-9-2021|url=http://printwiki.org/Pulping}}</ref> Finally, biological pulping uses biotechnology for the pulping process<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|title=A review of the traditional pulping methods and the recent improvements in the pulping processes|year=2021-01-03|author=Drake Mboowa|journal=Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery|doi=10.1007/s13399-020-01243-6}}</ref>.

Pulping is performed on feedstock with a high fibre content. Before the pulping process, any material that is low in fibrous material should be removed. For example, wood undergoes debarking before the pulping process. Next, the biomass should be sized, for example by chipping.<ref name=":0" /> The most common feedstock for pulping is woody biomass. Examples of non-woody biomass are sisal, rice straw, cotton linen, sugarcane bagasse, pineapple, and straw.<ref name=":1" />