PROCESSES FOR PRODUCING CELLULOSE PULP AND PULP-DERIVED PRODUCTS FROM LIGNOCELLULOSIC BIOMASS

摘要

The GreenBox+ technology is suitable to extract hemicellulose sugars prior to pulping of biomass into pulp products. The revenue obtainable from the sugar stream can significantly improve the economics of a pulp and paper mill. An initial extraction and recovery of sugars is followed by production of a pulp product with similar or better properties. Other co-products such as acetates and furfural are also possible. Some variations provide a process for co-producing pulp and hemicellulosic sugars from biomass, comprising: digesting the biomass in the presence of steam and/or hot water to extract hemicellulose into a liquid phase; washing the extracted solids, thereby generating a liquid wash filtrate and washed solids; separating the liquid wash filtrate from the washed solids; refining the washed solids at a refining pH of about 4 or higher, thereby generating pulp; and hydrolyzing the hemicellulose to generate hemicellulosic fermentable sugars.

主权项

1. A process for producing pulp from biomass, said process comprising:
(a) providing lignocellulosic biomass comprising cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin; (b) digesting said biomass in the presence of steam and/or hot water to extract at least a portion of said hemicellulose into a liquid phase, thereby generating extracted solids, wherein step (b) does not include a chemical pulping method; (c) separating at least some of said liquid phase from said extracted solids; (d) washing said extracted solids with water at a washing pH of about 7 or less, thereby generating a liquid wash filtrate and washed solids; (e) separating at least some of said liquid wash filtrate from said washed solids; (f) refining said washed solids at a refining pH of 4 to 6.5, thereby generating pulp; and (g) recovering or further processing said pulp, wherein step (c) is performed prior to step (d), wherein said liquid phase separated in step (c) and said liquid wash filtrate are separately processed and not later combined.