Heterogeneous studies in pulping of wood: Modelling mass transfer of alkali

Abstract

In this paper a heterogeneous lumped parameter model is proposed to describe the mass transfer of effective alkali during the kraft pulping of wood. This model, based on the spatial mean of the concentration profile of effective alkali along the chip thickness, enables the estimation of the effective diffusion coefficient that characterizes the internal resistance to mass transfer and the contribution of the external resistance to mass transfer which has often been neglected.