The influence of process conditions during pulp storage on the optical properties of Norway spruce mechanical pulps

The aim of this work was to study the influence of process conditions (time, pH, temperature and consistency) on the optical properties of mechanical pulps during storage in a clean system as a reference for further work. Laboratory storage trials were performed with unbleached and hydrogen-peroxide bleached well-washed Norway spruce pulps. In general, the pulp darkened during storage due to an increase in light absorption, especially at shorter wavelengths. After long storage times, the light absorption coefficient, k had increased also at longer wavelengths. No specific peaks were seen in Delta k-spectra. The increase in light absorption was most rapid initially, during the first four hours, for all pulps when stored at high temperature (80 degrees C), and then proceeded more slowly. The corresponding change in colour, measured as a* and b*, was shifted towards red and somewhat towards yellow, and over longer periods of storage, the shift towards yellow became greater. Time and temperature were found to have the largest impact. The effects were similar regardless of the starting pH (4.3-9.7) and pulp consistency (5%-25%). The hydrogen-peroxide bleached pulps were more sensitive to storage compared to the unbleached pulp at temperatures above 50 degrees C. At storage times of up to four hours, the unbleached pulp showed no loss of brightness at either of the storage temperatures. A slightly less bleached pulp darkened more than a highly bleached pulp at all wavelengths. The only difference measured between the two pulps was that the less bleached pulp had a higher content of iron. This higher iron content may be at least part of the reason for the more extensive darkening.