Recovery of manool from evaporator condensate by induced air flotation in a kraft pulp mill based integrated biorefinery

The conversion of conventional pulp and paper manufacturing processes into an integrated forest products biorefinery has great potential in the context of sustainable development. In this paper, we present a process concept which uses induced air flotation technology for recovery of manool, a valuable bioproduct, from the condensate of the multi-effect evaporation system in the kraft pulping process. The results showed that approximately 70% (purity of approximately 35%) recovery of manool was achieved from crude manool when the aeration time was about 7 min. The glass microbeads were effective in preventing sticking, due to their hydrophobic nature, and facilitating froth collection. Also, the use of a silicone defoamer at a dosage of approximately 40 ppm mitigated excessive foaming in the process.