Delignification Kinetics of Soda Pulping of Kenaf

ABTRACT

Kenaf (Hibiscus Cannabihus) is an alternative, non wood fiber source for pulping and papennaking. Delignification kinetics of extractive free samples from three fractions of kenaf procured from Mississippi State University, U.S.A have been studied. The extractive free samples were cooked at three different temperatures: 140° C, 155° C, and 170° C with soda cooking liquor. The results indicate that the activation energies for the bark, core, and whole kenaf are 68 kJ/mole, 91 kJ/mole, and 75 kJ/mole respectively. These are significantly lower than the reported values for the conifers. The delignification selectivity for the three samples was also investigated.