Xylanase-Aided Chlorine Dioxide Bleaching of Bagasse Pulp to Reduce AOX Formation

Xylanase pretreatment was used to improve the chlorine dioxide bleaching of bagasse pulp. The pulp was pretreated with xylanase, which was followed by a chlorine dioxide bleaching stage. The HexA content of the pulp and the AOX content of the bleaching effluent were measured using UV-Vis and GC-MS methods, respectively. The results showed that a good correlation occurred between HexA and kappa number. HexA content of the pulp decreased significantly after the xylanase pretreatment. The AOX content of the bleaching effluent decreased as HexA was removed from the pulp. It was found that AOX could be reduced by up to 29.8%, comparing XD0 with a D0 stage. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was employed to determine the breakage of chemical bonds in the pulp. It revealed that some lignin and hemicellulose were removed after xylanase treatment. The GC-MS results showed that some toxic chloride such as 2,4,6-trichlorophenol could be completely removed after xylanase pretreatment.