%0 Journal Article
%T The chemical oxidation of lignin found in Sappi Saiccor dissolving pulp mill effluent
%A B Moodley
%A DA Mulholland
%A HC Brookes
%J Water SA
%D 2012
%I Water Research Commission
%X Sappi Saiccor (situated in Durban, South Africa) dissolving pulp mill effluent, produced from an acid bisulphite pulping process, uses acacia and eucalyptus hardwoods to produce a unique and different blend of lignin that has not been previously studied. The chemical oxidation of lignin found in Sappi Saiccor¡¯s effluent has been investigated using a number of different chemical oxidising agents, such as nitrobenzene, oxygen with and without the presence of a copper sulphate pentahydrate catalyst, and hydrogen peroxide. The reaction products were extracted with acid and identified using GC-MS and LC-MS techniques. Nitrobenzene is a good oxidising agent but tends to produce many toxic by-products and would not be acceptable on an industrial scale. Oxygen oxidation has previously been shown to produce aldehyde-type compounds, and in this work has produced good yields of both vanillin and syringaldehyde compared to previous oxygen oxidation reactions. Hydrogen peroxide is a strong oxidising agent that tends to over-oxidise the lignin during long reaction times.
%U http://www.ajol.info/index.php/wsa/article/view/73303