Comparison of diafiltration and size-exclusion chromatography to recover hemicelluloses from process water from thermomechanical pulping of spruce

Hemicelluloses constitute one of the most abundant renewable resources on earth. To increase their utilization, the isolation of hemicelluloses from industrial biomass side-streams would be beneficial. A method was investigated to isolate hemicelluloses from process water from a thermomechanical pulp mill. The method consists of three steps: removal of solids by microfiltration, preconcentration of the hemicelluloses by ultrafiltration, and purification by either size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) or diafiltration. The purpose of the final purification step is to separate hemicelluloses from small oligosaccharides, monosaccharides, and salts. The ratio between galactose, glucose, and mannose in oligo- and polysaccharides after preconcentration was 0.8: 1: 2.8, which is similar to that found in galactoglucomannan. Continuous diafiltration was performed using a composite fluoro polymer membrane with cutoff of 1000 Da. After diafiltration with four diavolumes the purity of the hemicelluloses was 77% (gram oligo- and polysaccharides/gram total dissolved solids) and the recovery was 87%. Purification by SEC was performed with 5, 20, and 40% sample loadings, respectively and a flow rate of 12 or 25 mL/min (9 or 19 cm/h). The purity of hemicelluloses after SEC was approx 82%, and the recovery was above 99%. The optimal sample load and flow rate were 20% and 25 mL/min, respectively. The process water from thermomechanical pulping of spruce is inexpensive. Thus, the recovery of hemicelluloses is not of main importance. If the purity of 77%, obtained with diafiltration, is sufficient for the utilization of the hemicelluloses, diafiltration probably offers a less expensive alternative in this application.