MODELING HYDROGEN PEROXIDE BLEACHING OF SODA PULP FROM OIL-PALM EMPTY FRUIT BUNCHES

The influence of the variables soda (0.5-3.0%), hydrogen peroxide (1.0-6.0%) and time (1-5 h) in the bleaching of soda pulp of empty fruit bunches (EFB) from oil-palm, on the properties of bleached pulps, was studied. Polynomial and neural fuzzy models reproduced the results of brightness, kappa number, and viscosity of the pulps with errors less than 10%. By the simulation of the bleaching of pulp, using the polynomial and neural fuzzy models, it was possible to find optimal values of operating variables, so that the properties of bleached pulps differed only slightly from their best values and yet it was possible to save chemical reagents, energy, and plant size, operating with lower values of operating variables. Thus, operating with 1.13% soda concentration and 2.25% hydrogen peroxide concentration for 3 hours, a pulp with a brightness of 75.1% (8.1% below the maximum) and a viscosity of 740 mL/g (10.4% less than the maximum value), was obtained.