Formic acid-peroxyformic acid pulping of Fagus sylvatica

Beech (Fagus sylvatica) wood samples were subjected to two-stage treatments following the philosophy of the Miler process. By means of incomplete, sec ond-order, factorial designs, the effects of selected operational variables on the composition and on the technical properties of pulps were assessed for optimization purposes. Under the best conditions assayed, a pulp with 5 .5% lignin, 86.3% cellulose and 4.3% xylan was obtained at 46.6% pulp yield . The selected pulp showed good technical properties (kappa number = 25, SC AN viscosity higher than 1000 mL/g, R-10 test for alkaline resistance = 88. 9%, R-18 test for alkaline resistance = 91.8%), showing potentiality to be used as feedstock for dissolving pulp production after TCF bleaching.