Continuous nano- and ultra-filtration of kraft pulping black liquor with ceramic filters -: A method for lowering the load on the recovery boiler while generating valuable side-products

Ceramic membranes coated with ZrO2 were used for the continuous separation of a well-defined low molecular weight lignin from softwood and hardwood kraft black liquors on a pilot scale. The membranes used had M-w cut-offs of 1000, 5000, and 15,000 Da, respectively. The flux (permeate flow) through the different membranes measured as L/(m(2 .)h) was studied by varying the inlet pressure and temperature. The black liquor lignins in the permeate from the filters were isolated and studied with GPC and UV spectroscopy. The low molecular weight lignin fraction was highly phenolic and could be polymerised by one-electron oxidation. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.