Bleaching or Brightening
Since the raw pulp (brown stock) still contains an appreciable amount of lignin and other discoloration, it must be bleached to produce light colored or white papers preferred for many products. Bleaching is normally done in several stages (multistage bleaching). Through chlorination and oxidation the fibers are further “delignified” by solubilizing additional lignin from the cellulose. A number of bleaching agents may be used and are applied in a stepwise fashion within a bleaching sequence. These include chlorine gas, chlorine dioxide, sodium hypochlorite, hydrogen peroxide, and oxygen. Between bleaching treatments, a strong alkali (usually sodium hydroxide) is used to extract the dissolved lignin from the surface of the fibers. The bleaching agents and the sequence in which they are used depend on a number of factors, such as the relative cost of the bleaching chemicals, type and condition of the pulp, desired brightness of the paper to be produced, and sometimes in response to environmental guidelines and regulations.
Bleaching of mechanical pulp is much different than that for chemical pulp. Mechanical pulping leaves the lignin and the cellulose intact, whereas the purpose of chemical pulping is to chemically separate the lignin from the cellulose fibers and remove it from the pulp. A major advantage of mechanical pulping is the high yields of pulp that can be achieved from a given volume of wood. Therefore, bleaching or brightening of mechanical pulps is designed to minimize the removal of the lignin that would reduce fiber yields.
Chemicals used for bleaching mechanical pulps selectively destroy coloring impurities but leave the lignin and cellulosic materials intact, These include sodium bisulfite, sodium or zinc hydrosulfite (no longer used in the United States), calcium or sodium hypochlorite, hydrogen or sodium peroxide, and the Sulfur Dioxide-Borol Process (a variation of the sodium hydrosulfite method). Originally, much of the mechanical pulp was not bleached, but the bleaching of groundwood has increased and improved technology now enables bleached groundwood pulp to be used for printing papers, tissues, and
towelling.