Bleached Kraft Pulps from Blends of Wood and Hemp. Part I. Demand for Alkali, Yield of Pulps, Their Fractional Composition and Fibre Properties

In the paper, results of the kraft pulping of blends of birch or pine with hemp stalks or a hemp-woody core composed of 80% wood and 20% hemp fibrous raw materials are presented. The unbleached kraft pulps produced were then subjected to oxygen delignification and bleaching in older to obtain bleached kraft pulps. The research performed made it possible to compare the final yield and viscosity of the bleached kraft pulps from raw material blends with those of kraft pulps from birch and pine. The effect of replacing 1/5 of birch or pine with hemp fibrous raw materials on the content of individual fractions of fibres in the bleached pulps, the relative content of fines in them, the average length and width of fibres, its coarseness and the fibres' deformation indices was also determined. From the study it follows that better effects of replacing a part of wood in the process of production of bleached kraft pulps are achieved with hemp stalks. Blends of wood with this fibrous raw material give a higher final yield of pulps, lower content of fines and higher average fibre length than using blends of wood and a hemp woody-core.