Evaluation of apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) wood on pulp and paper production

In this study, pulp and paper production conditions from apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) wood were investigated. 10 cooking experiments were performed in order to determine optimum pulping condition. Variables in the cooking conditions were sodium borohydride (NaBH4) ratio (0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5%) and cooking time (130, 150, 170 min). Pulps were produced from Apricot wood with Kraft- NaBH4 method and effects of NaBH4 on pulp yield and obtained papers’ physical and optical properties were investigated. Obtained results show that, depending on ratio of added NaBH4, total pulp yield increased 34.05% and kappa number decreased 31.25%. According to these results, optimum cooking condition was determined as 0.5% NaBH4 charge and 170 min cooking time. However, in parallel with increasing ratio of NaBH4, breaking length, burst index, tear index, whiteness and brightness of obtained paper values increased about 52.72%, 19.61%, 13.11%, 22.28% ve 25.32%, respectively.