Recycling of Solid Residues to the Forest: Experimental and Theoretical Study of the Release of Sodium from Lime Mud and Green Liquor Dregs Aggregates

Abstract

In order to optimize the recycling of solid residues back to the forest, it is necessary to measure and characterize the dissolution rate of the product under well-defined conditions. In this study, inorganic solid residues from a kraft pulp mill were characterized physically and chemically. The effect of pH, as well as physical characteristics and chemical composition, on the leaching rate was investigated. It was shown that the leaching behaviour differed depending on the production method of the aggregates. A model based on mass transfer was fitted to the experimental leaching data. It was shown that the leaching rate for the easily soluble species was reasonably well described using the concentration gradient of these species within the pellet. It was also shown that mass transfer within and from the pellet/granule was the rate-determining step.