Evaluation of Prosopis juliflora as a potential feedstock for the production of sodium lignosulfonate from the spent liquor of a laboratory digester

Abstract

Chopped stems of Prosopis juliflora, an invasive xerophyte, were digested in a laboratory digester following alkaline sulfite pulping process to generate spent liquor whereby lignin underwent sulfonation to produce sodium lignosulfonate (SLS). SLS was concentrated from the spent liquor by ultrafiltration. Raw wood was featured by high lignin (23.5%), low extractives (1.0%), low wax (0.41), and low ash (2.25%) content thus making it an ideal feedstock to produce lignosulfonates with appreciable physico-chemical property and relatively high mechanical strength. Attempts were made to provide basic information on SLS structure and structural changes that might occur during pulping of P. juliflora under the present experimental conditions. Spectral and X-ray diffraction studies on as-produced SLS revealed substantial depolymerization and structural modification of lignin during sulfite pulping. The derived SLS had higher crystallinity index than the feedstock wood. Effect of average size of raw wood chip and dose of sodium sulfite in the overall yield of pulp and SLS along with the kappa number of the pulp were also analyzed. Findings from this study would serve to cultivate a better understanding of the potential of P. juliflora as a feedstock, so far unexplored, to produce SLS − a value-added product with numerous commercial applications. The use of this particular plant species in paper and pulp industry could also be considered as an effective means of integrated agro management in rural areas.