Evaluation of chloroform formed in process of kraft pulp bleaching mill using chlorine dioxide

Abstract

Chloroform formation, balance, and discharge were estimated in a kraft pulp mill that used an elemental chlorine-free (ECF) bleaching line with chlorine dioxide as well as an effluent treatment process. This was achieved by collecting and analyzing discharge water and air samples that contained measurable levels of chloroform. Chloroform formation in ECF bleaching of hardwood oxygen-delignified kraft pulp (LOKP) was estimated to be 2.07–5.34 g/pulp air-dried ton (adt), and approximately 30% of the chloroform produced was discharged to bleaching effluents. Chloroform in the effluents was not decomposed by activated sludge, and more than 97% was emitted to the air by volatilization. It is suggested that chloroform formation in Japanese LOKP bleaching mills can be decreased to 16–42 t/year with a production of 8 million adt pulp by introducing ECF bleaching into all mills. This is a considerable fall from the chloroform discharge from ECF and chlorine bleaching mills in Japan that was estimated to be approximately 1000 t for the 1999 fiscal year.