Investigation of deposit problem during sugarcane bagasse pulp molded tableware production. (10th November 2019) - Luan, Pengcheng
Abstract: Formation of brown deposit is quite a common problem in hot pressing stage of cellulosic pulp molded tableware production, especially using bleached sugarcane bagasse pulp as raw material which blocks the pipes, corrodes and damages the equipment, increases the cleaning frequency and correspondingly increases the costs as well as reduces the quality of the products. In this work, the composition of the deposit was analyzed, and the effects of fines to the drainage and drying process of cellulosic pulp molded tableware production was studied by thermogravimetric analysis to investigate the cause of this problem. It was found that high contents of fines containing waterproofing agent and oilproofing agent was the main cause of this problem. Compared to the pulps without fines, pulp composed of 100% fines had lower absolute value of zeta-potential and higher adsorption ability of waterproofing agent and oilproofing agent. Besides, fines could increase the water retention capacity and prolong drainage time of pulp, which would result in higher drying intensity and generated strong vapor during drying. During hot pressing process of cellulosic pulp molded tableware production, the strong vapor could bring the small and light fines containing waterproofing agent and oilproofing agent into the air vents and the deposit was formed. The finding of this work would give supports for cleaner production of cellulosic pulp molded tableware by understanding the mechanisms of deposit formation which would be helpful to reduce the deposit problem to some extent. Graphical abstract: Image 105734 Highlights: Influences cause scaling during sugarcane bagasse CPMT production was investigated. High content of fines in bagasse pulp is the main suspect to the scaling problem. High content of fines in bagasse pulp causes bulges on tableware products. Fines increase water retention, drainage time, drying intensity and strong vapor. The finding enhances cleaner production of CPMT by solving scaling problems.